ROBERT  IIAM1LL  NASSAU 


Frontispiece 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
Robert  Ham  ill  Nassau 


BANTU  PRONUNCIATION 

In  Bantu  all  the  English  letters  are  used,  except  C,  Q, 
and    X. 

Instead  of  hard  C  is  used  K,  e.g.,  Kongo. 

Instead  of  soft  C  is  used  S,  e.g.,  Sette. 

Instead  of  Q  is  used  Kw,  e.g.,  kwango. 

G  is  always  hard. 

5J  has  the  nasal  sound  of  ng. 

Close  every  syllable  with  a  vowel. 

Accent  the  penult. 

Among  the  vowels : 
a  has  the  sound  as  in  far,  e.g.,  ka-la-ka. 
a  has  the  sound  as  in  all,  eg.,  Ba-na-ka. 
e  has  the  sound  as  in  they,  eg.,  E-lo-bi. 
e  has  the  sound  as  in  met,   e.g.,   A-ye-nwe. 
o  has  the  sound  as  in  note,  e.g.,  Ko-ngo. 
u  has  the  sound  as  in  rule,  e.g.,  U-ga-nda. 

Ng  reduplicates  itself,  e.g.,  Mba-ngwe,  as  in  the  English 
"finger"    (as  if,  fing-nger). 

In  the  case  of  two  or   three  initial  consonants,   a  semi- 
vowel sound  may  he  prefixed,  e.g.,  Ngweya,  as  if  iNgweya. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface      n 

CHAPTER 

I  Preparations 13 

II  Entering  the  Ogowe 18 

III  Prospecting 40 

IV  Overland  to  the  Coast  —  December,  1874     .      .  59 
V  At    the    Seaside    Stations  —  December,     1874- 

March,   1875 63 

VI  Return  to  the  Ogowe  —  April,  1875    ....  67 

VII  At  Kasa's  Town  —  April-June,   1875        ...  70 

VIII  Up  the  Ogowe  by  Canoe  —  August,  1875       ■      •  $9 

IX  With  an  Insane  Companion  —  August,  1875     .  93 

X  Return  to  Kasa's,  August,  1875 96 

XI  The  Belambla  Hut  —  October,  1875   ....  100 

XII  The  Belambla  House — -March,   1876       .      .      .  132 

XIII  A  Highway  Robber,  August,  1876 149 

XIV  Belambla  Plundered,  August,  1876     ....  155 
XV  Belambla  Station  Abandoned,  September,   1876  162 

XVI  With  Re-nkombe,  November,   1876       ....  174 

XVII  At  the  Kangwe  Hut,  January,  1877   ....  195 

XVIII  Ox  the  Kangwe  Hill-side,  October,   1877-jAN- 

UARY,     1880 233 

XIX     On     a     Furlough  —  February,     i88o-December, 

1881 335 

XX     A  Honeymoon,  October-December,  1881    .      .      .   360 

XXI     Prospecting  Again,     January,   1882     ....   368 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXII     In    Camp    at    Talaguga,    July,    i882-December, 

1882 397 

XXIII  In  the  Talaguga  Hill-side  Cottage,  February, 

1883-DECEMBER,  1883 424 

XXIV  In  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow,  January,  1884- 

AUGUST,    1884  445 

XXV    A  Mother-Task,  August,  1884-1886     ....  461 
XXVI     The  Mother-Task  Continued,  February,   1886- 

JULY,    1888 515 

XXVII     The  Task  Ended,  August,  i888-February,   1891  583 
XXVIII     Furloughed.     February,  1891-JuLY,  1893        .     .  696 

XXIX     The  Ogowe  Passes,  1892 700 

Index        701 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Robert  llamill  Nassau Frontispiece 


FACING 
PAGE 


Mission  du  Congo  (map) n 

English  Trading-house,  Libreville   (side  view) 16 

English  Trading-house,  Libreville  (front  view) 18 

The  Lower  Ogowe 21 

Climbing  Perch 23 

View  Down  the  Ajumba  Branch  from  Eyenano  Island  ...  34 

Baraka  Premises 62 

Plateau  Government  House 64 

Bamboo-palm  Building  Material 82 

Hut  Building 84 

River  Canoe-travel 89 

Mygale  Spider 138 

Fetish  Doctor  and  Attendant  Drummers 153 

A  Village  Palaver 158 

View  Up-river  from  Kangwe  Hillside 160 

Congo  Francais   (map) 174 

Mpongwe  Woman  and  Child 193 

Village  Preaching 203 

Otanga,  German  Trading-house,  Lambarene 218 

Rear  View  from  Kangwe  House 232 

Baraka  House 240 

The  Ravine  Bridge 247 

Galwa   Women 258 

Palm-wine  Gourd-bottles 271 

The  Man-leopard 286 

A  Bunch  of  Palm-nuts 338 

English  Trading  Steamer  at  Aguma.  Lambarene      ....  368 

Andende  Boat-landing 370 

Fanwe  Woman 380 

Fan  we  Man  and  Wife 382 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


French  Fleet  of  Canoes 399 

The  Mountain  Brook 406 

Mouth  of  Talaguga  Brook,  and  Log-bridge 408 

Fanwe 439 

Ivory  Tusks 453 

Big  Tree-stumps  at  East  End  of  the  House 481 

Ogowe  1st  Church,  Andende  (side  view) 495 

Ogowe   1st  Church,  Andende   (rear  view) 497 

Rear  View  of  Andende  House 506 

Kangwe  School-girls 513 

Miss  I.  A.  Nassau,  Dr.  Nassau  and  Infant,  and  Nurse  Keva  .   515 

Talaguga,  Ogowe  River 517 

Caught 520 

Kangwe  Hill  and  Andende  House 522 

English  Trading-house,  Asange 527 

Talaguga  Chapel 566 

Palm-oil  Trees 580 

French  Trading-house,  Asange 594 

English  Trading-house   (Ivory  and  Thatch),  Asange    .      .      .   602 

Igenja  Church 607 

German  Trading-house,  Cape  Lopez 633 

Flat-bottomed,  Stern-wheel  French  Steamer,  Lambarene   .      .   665 

Fan  we  Warrior 681 

I'anwe  Warrior 683 

Faiiwe  Warrior 685 

Talaguga  Brook,  Bridge,  Chapel,  and  Shop 687 

Talaguga  House,  Grove,  Prayer-room,  and  Chapel  ....   689 


PREFACE 

I 

In  June,  1842,  a  Mission  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  had  been  es- 
tablished on  "  Baraka  "  Hill,  in  the  town  of  Libreville,  on  the 
Estuary  of  the  Gaboon  River,  West  Africa,  twenty-three  miles 
north  of  the  equator.  Efforts  to  extend  to  the  interior  by  route 
of  that  river,  reached  only  seventy  miles,  at  a  point  called  Angom. 
Native  obstruction  barred  farther  advance. 

A  Mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (north)  was  located, 
in  1850,  on  Corisco  Island,  in  Corisco  Bay,  one  degree  north  of 
the  equator.  An  attempt,  some  ten  years  later,  by  Rev.  Messrs. 
Mackey  and  Clemens,  to  penetrate  the  interior,  by  route  of  the 
Muni  River  (one  of  the  two  affluents  of  the  Bay),  was  success- 
ful for  only  thirty  miles,  being  barred  by  native  obstruction ;  and 
was  never  again  attempted. 

In  1869,  Rev.  S.  Reutlinger,  my  associate  at  Mbade,  the  mouth 
of  the  Benito  River,  one  hundred  miles  north  of  the  equator, 
tried  to  reach  the  interior,  by  that  river.  He  penetrated  only 
fifty  miles,  and  returned,  dying  of  erysipelas. 

All  along  the  coast,  the  native  tribes  welcomed  white  men, 
both  missionaries  and  traders,  for  the  sake  of  the  trade  of  the 
latter,  and  for  the  goods  that  the  former  necessarily  spent  in 
purchase  of  food,  and  employment  of  workmen.  As  long  as 
these  white  men  prosecuted  their  respective  works  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  coast  tribe,  on  only  the  sea-beach,  or  not  more  than  a 
few  miles  interior-ward,  they  were  treated  with  respect,  were 
allowed  large  liberty  in  the  control  of  their  households,  and  in 
the  making  of  short  journeys.  But,  any  attempt,  by  a  white 
man,  to  make  any  permanent  location  interior-ward  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  coast  tribe  that  claimed  a  monopoly  in  him  and  his 
goods,  was  met  by  a  boycott  of  all  means  of  travel.  A  deter- 
mined attempt  on  his  part,  would  be  met  by  personal  injury,  and, 
as  an  extreme  means  of  prevention,  even  his  murder.  Coast 
monopoly  must  be  maintained  at  any  cost !  The  despised  "  bush- 
men  "  of  any  interior  tribe  must  not  be  allowed  a  full  share  in 
the  foreigner's  riches! 

That  monopoly  had  thus,  for  thirty  years  of  the  Mission's  life, 
barred  all  missionaries  from  reaching  the  tribes  of  the  Interior. 


12  PREFACE 

During  my  furlough  in  the  U.  S..  of  iS>y2-'jT„  after  more  than 
ten  uninterrupted  years  of  service  on  the  coast  at  Corisco  and 
Benita,  Secretary  Rev.  F.  F.  Ellinwood,  D.D.,  spoke  to  me  very 
decidedly  as  to  our  Mission's  duty  to  reach  the  interior.  Said 
he,  "  All  these  thirty  years  you  missionaries  have  been  hanging 
on  to  only  the  edge  of  the  continent.  Why  don't  you  go  ahead 
inland?"  I  explained  that  our  apparent  slowness  was  not  due 
to  indolence  or  lack  of  attempt,  but  to  that  impassable  monopoly, 
that  thus  far  had  hindered  even  the  traders  who  possessed 
stronger  means  of  power  than  we.  He  still  protested,  "  The 
Church  at  home  will  not  be  satisfied  with  that  explanation,  nor 
will  it  continue  cordially  to  support  the  work,  unless  a  demon- 
stration is  made  to  prove  progress." 

A  spirit  of  adventure  that,  from  boyhood,  had  made  me  wish 
to  be  a  soldier,  had  always  quickened  my  pulses  at  thought  of 
the  interior.  T  enjoyed  the  idea  of  itineration,  and  forest-travel, 
and  camp-fires.  And,  I  had  been  the  first  to  obtain,  in  1864, 
permission  to  break  away,  from  the  restriction  of  the  little  Co- 
risco Island,  to  the  larger  field  of  the  mainland  at  Benita. 
(Though,  to  my  regret,  I  had  allowed  my  friend  George  Paull 
to  precede  me  alone  by  a  few  months,  to  what  proved  to  be  his 
death.) 

I  replied,  "  Dr.  Ellinwood.  the  Gaboon,  the  Muni  and  Benito 
rivers  have  been  tried,  in  vain,  as  pathways  to  the  Interior. 
When  my  furlough  is  ended,  I  am  willing  to  attempt  a  route  by 
the  Ogowe  River:  but,  I  do  not  think  the  Mission  will  permit 
me.  Will  you.  not  only  authorise  me  to  make  the  attempt,  but 
also  direct  the  Mission  to  appoint  me?"  He  promised  that  he 
would  see  that  the  Board  should  make  the  way  clear  for  me. 

Thus  it  was  that  I  returned  to  Africa  in  the  Spring  of  1874, 
authorised  to  make  a  station  on  the  Ogowe. 


MY  OGOWE 


CHAPTER  I 

PREPARATIONS 

ON  my  arrival  at  Libreville,  in  June,  1874,  while  waiting 
formal  appointment  by  the  Mission,  I  gathered  infor- 
mation from  various  sources,  acquainting  myself  with 
the  topography  of  the  Ogowe  region. 

At  Cape  Lopez,  some  sixty  miles  south  of  the  equator,  a 
large  river,  whose  name  is  variously  spelled :  by  the  English, 
Ugobai ;  by  the  French,  Ogooue;  by  the  Germans,  Ogowe;  by 
the  native  Mpongwes,  Ogovi  (pronounced,  Ogowi),  empties 
itself  into  the  South  Atlantic  by  numerous  mouths,  making  an 
enormous  Delta,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Nile,  the  Niger,  and  the 
Mississippi.  Two  of  those  months,  viz.,  the  Nazareth,  and  the 
Ogowe  (proper),  open  into  Nazareth  Bay,  north-east  of  Cape 
Lopez:  a  third,  the  Yambe,  at  the  Cape  itself;  the  Mexias  and 
Fernan  Vaz  emerge  to  the  south  of  the  Cape.  The  stream  that 
opens  by  the  Fernan  Vaz  mouth  is  the  longest  side  of  the  tri- 
angle of  the  Delta,  as  it  starts  from  the  Ogowe,  at  least  seventy- 
five  miles  up  the  river. 

Living  at  the  mouths  north  of  the  Cape  was  the  Orungu  tribe. 
They  had  done  a  large  business  in  slaves  in  past  years,  and  had 
amassed  a  great  deal  of  wealth.  One  of  their  kings  at  Sanga- 
tanga  on  the  coast,  was  the  possessor  of  three  hundred  wives, 
and  slaves  whose  number  he  had  ceased  to  reckon.  Notwith- 
standing the  proximity  of  the  Orungu  to  the  French  at  Gaboon, 
they  were  still,  by  aid  of  the  Portuguese,  exporting  slaves  to  St. 
Thomas  and  Prince's  Islands,  some  two  hundred  miles  west- 
ward. 

Up  the  Ogowe.  for  seventy  miles,  were  scattered  villages  of 
the  Nkami  tribe  (mis-written  by  Du  Chaillu,  "  Commi  " ;  and 
by  the  English,  "Camma").  Beyond  this,  for  seventy  miles 
farther,  there  were  the  Galwa,  with  a  sprinkling  of  two  or  three 
other  smaller  tribes.  All  these.  Orungu,  Nkami.  Galwa, 
Inenga,  etc.,  spoke  such  close  dialects  of  Mpongwe,  that  they 

13 


i4  MY  OGOWE 

had  no  difficulty  in  making-  themselves  perfectly  well  understood 
by  each  other.  For  forty  miles  beyond  the  Galwa,  was  the 
Akele  (plural  Bakele).  Their  language  (called  Dikele)  resem- 
bled more  the  Benga  than  it  did  Mpongwe. 

Farther  on,  were  the  Okota  and  other  tribes,  whose  speech 
also  was  said  to  resemble  the  Benga. 

So,  of  the  numerous  tribes  of  this  river,  the  two  dialects, 
Benga  and  Mpongwe  (in  the  former  of  which  I  was  fluent) 
already  written,  would  suffice  for  my  prospective  interior  ad- 
vance, without  requiring  me  to  reduce  any  to  a  grammar,  or  to 
print  the  Scriptures  for  each.  Except,  it  might  be,  for  the  one 
tribe,  larger  than  any  other  of  which  we  knew,  the  Faiiwe. 

Nevertheless,  in  each  tribe,  it  still  would  be  the  first  and  all- 
important  duty  of  the  missionary  to  learn  to  speak  the  dialect 
of  his  people.  I  regarded  this  as  indispensable.  Happily,  for 
whoever  should  locate  among  the  Bakele,  their  language  had 
been  written,  and  a  portion  of  the  Scriptures  printed  in  it,  by 
Rev.  Ira  S.  Preston,  when  he  lived  among  that  tribe  on  the 
Gaboon  River.  Without  disparagement  of  the  admitted  attain- 
ments of  others,  it  is  true  that  the  old  Gaboon  Mission  lost  its 
best  linguist  when  Mr.  Preston,  by  a  strange  Providence  that 
deprived  him  of  his  voice  for  even  extended  conversation,  had 
reluctantly  to  return  with  his  wife,  a  most  devoted  missionary. 
to  America.  Mrs.  Preston,  in  the  United  States,  still  tried  to 
work  for  Africa,  by  writing  a  little  book,  "  Gaboon  Stories  " 
(published  by  the  American  Tract  Society). 

Though  no  missionary  work  had  been  done  in  the  Ogowe,  it 
had  not  been  entirely  closed  to  the  entrance  of  white  men. 
Portuguese  slave-traders,  under  the  guidance  and  control  of  na- 
tive chiefs,  had  been  allowed  to  enter  140  miles,  to  the  mouth 
of  an  affluent,  the  Ngunye.  Its  point  was  a  sacred  fetish, 
beyond  which  no  white  man  might  go.  The  entrance  of  these 
Portuguese  was  an  exceptional  privilege.  Their  only  trade  was 
for  slaves  from  the  far  interior,  in  which  they  were  hand-in- 
hand  with  the  lower  river  tribes,  and  for  which  they  paid,  not 
in  goods  but  in  cash. 

Long  ago  also,  in  the  prosperous  days  of  the  old  "  Gaboon 
Mission,"  before  its  weakness  had  made  it  seek  strength,  in 
1871.  by  union  with  the  (then)  equally  weak  former  "  Corisco 
Mission."  Rev.  Messrs.  Wm.  Walker  and  Ira  Preston  had  made 
an  inspection  of  the  Ogowe,  in  an  open  boat.  They  found  the 
usual  mangrove  forest  lining  the  marshy  shores,  for  the  first 
twenty  miles;  scarcely  enough  of  solid  land  on  which  to  build 


PREPARATIONS  15 

even  native  huts.  Then,  for  the  next  forty  miles,  they  found 
only  a  scattering  Nkami  population.  But,  there  was  so  much 
opposition  by  that  tribe  to  their  even  visiting"  the  next  tribe,  the 
Galwa,  where  might  be  found  healthy  high  grounds  for  a  white 
station,  that  the  Gaboon  Mission  made  no  further  effort,  though 
either  of  those  gentlemen  was  willing  to  make  the  difficult  at- 
tempt, if  the  other  members  of  the  Mission  had  relieved  them 
of  their  posts  in  Libreville. 

The  French  Government  had  entered  the  river,  and  made  a 
survey,  with  its  gun-boat.  But  it  did  no  trading,  nor  built 
any  house.  Its  guns  prevented  any  native  opposition.  But 
that  same  Orungu  and  Nkami  opposition  would  probably  have 
been  made  to  my  entering. 

I  thought  of  attempting  an  overland  journey,  via  the  Gaboon 
and  one  of  its  affluents,  the  Rembwe,  with  the  expectation  of 
emerging  onto  the  Ogowe,  in  the  limits  of  the  Galwa  tribe,  who, 
I  believed,  would  welcome  me.  That  had  been  done,  by  a 
Frenchman,  simply  as  a  traveler.  And,  again  in  1866  by  a 
trader,  Mr.  R.  B.  N.  Walker,  in  an  attempt  to  circumvent  the 
Orungu  and  Nkami.  He  had  emerged  on  the  Ogowe,  in  the 
limits  of  the  Akele  tribe,  beyond  that  sacred  Fetish  Point.  For 
which  offense  he  had  been  held  a  prisoner  by  the  Inenga  tribe, 
until  a  French  gun-boat  came  to  his  rescue.  With  their  aid, 
he  forced  his  way,  with  much  danger  and  loss,  in  an  exploration 
for  a  hundred  miles  farther.  And  fortunately  for  me,  in  1872, 
he  had  safely  ran  the  gauntlet  of  opposition  from  the  Orungu 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  by  means  of  a  small  steamer,  the 
Pioneer,  and  had  established  a  trading-house  ("factory") 
in  the  Galwa  tribe,  at  a  point  130  miles  up  the  course  of  the 
river.  His  success  had  been  followed  by  a  rival  German  firm 
of  Woermann.  And  French  explorers,  March  and  Compeigne, 
had  availed  themselves  of  the  fruits  of  his  daring. 

Our  Mission,  though  reduced  by  the  final  return  to  the  United 
States  of  several  of  its  members,  felt  called  on,  like  Gideon  with 
only  his  300,  to  go  up  to  the  Ogowe  interior.  I  was  formally  ap- 
pointed for  this  purpose,  at  the  mission  meeting  held  on  Corisco 
Island,  Monday,  July  13.  I  immediately  proceeded  to  Libre- 
ville, to  prepare  for  the  journey,  intending  to  go  over-land,  with 
a  chosen  few  of  the  mission  employees,  and  a  minimum  of  bag- 
gage. Various  hindrances,  by  the  season  of  the  year,  by  mis- 
sion necessity,  and  even  by  native  traders  and  others  who  did 
not  sympathize  with  the  idea  of  enlightening  the  interior  tribes 
among  whom  they  traded,  delayed  me. 


16  MY  OGOWE 

I  could  have  gone  in  our  mission  cutter,  the  Hudson,  the 
seventy-five  miles  south  to  the  Ogowe,  towing  a  boat,  in  which 
I  might  attempt  to  ascend  the  river.  But  the  attempt  would 
have  been  in  vain.  Personally,  I  would  not  have  been  injured ; 
but.  my  goods  would  have  been  robbed  and  the  boat  seized. 

A  request  to  the  German  firm,  to  give  me  passage  on  their 
little  steamer,  was  refused.  They  had  little  sympathy  with 
missionary  work. 

In  a  very  different  spirit.  Mr.  Walker  offered  me  passage  and 
protection  on  the  Pioneer.  But,  I  was  to  wait  until  near  the 
close  of  the  long,  cool,  dry  season  (June-September),  when  the 
beginning  of  the  rains  would  flood  the  river,  and  make  safe 
the  Pioneer's  passage  of  the  Ogowe's  many  sand-bars.  His 
observation  of  previous  years  made  him  willing  to  start  the 
vessel,  in  advance  of  any  rains,  the  river  always  rising  from  in- 
terior floods  in  its  sources  lying  under  a  different  latitude  from 
its  mouth.  Returning  to  Benita  to  pass  the  interval  in  visiting 
my  sister,  I  finally,  at  Mr.  Walker's  appointment,  started  from 
there,  with  two  faithful  Kombe  young  men.  on  Saturday.  Aug- 
ust 29,  to  Elobi  Island,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Muni  River, 
arriving  on  the  31st.  But.  the  Pioneer  was  not  readv  until  Sat- 
urday. September  5.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Walker.  I  was 
made  a  comfortable  passenger  on  the  Pioneer.  (The  same  as 
used  by  Livingstone  on  the  Zambesi,  in  1858.  while  he  was 
British  consul.) 

With  healths  drank,  and  a  hand-shake  all  around,  and  kind 
good  wishes,  the  Pioneer  steamed  out  of  Corisco  Bay.  to 
stop  en  route  at  Libreville.  There  I  took  on  my  supply  of  goods 
and  provisions.  Of  the  two  young  Kombe  men.  one,  Ingumu. 
was  to  be  my  cook;  the  other,  Mediko.  my  general  helper.  Both 
understood  English. 

Everybody  at  Libreville  prophesied  that  there  was  no  use  in 
our  starting  so  very  early  in  the  rainy  season:  that  the  water 
of  the  river  was  not  risen:  and  that  the  steamer,  drawing  five 
feet,  could  not  pass  the  numerous  sand-bars.  Nevertheless. 
as  the  Pioneer  was  proceeding  on  its  own  trade-orders.  T 
clung  to  its  fate.  So.  with  Captain  Johns,  we  started  out  of  the 
Gaboon,  and  around  Pongara  Point,  and  out  to  sea.  southward 
the  seventy  miles  to  Nazareth  Bay. 

The  Ogowe,  after  flowing  through  a  delta's  length  of  over 
a  hundred  miles,  dividing  and  subdividing  itself  in  a  series  of 
intricate  channels,  finally  emerges  into  the  South  Atlantic  by 
the   alreadv   mentioned   five   months.     Of   the   two   that   empty 


PREPARATIONS  17 

into  Nazareth  Bay,  one  is  regarded  as  the  proper  Ogowe.  It 
is  reached,  from  the  north  over  extended  shallows,  made  by  de- 
posits of  soil  brought  down  by  the  river's  swift  currents  in  the 
semi-annual  rloodings,  that  require  careful  soundings  as  a  vessel 
approaches.  At  the  very  mouth  itself  lies  a  small  island,  the 
narrow  channel  around  which  describes  a  perfect  capital  S. 


CHAPTER  II 

ENTERING    THE   OGOWE 

IT  was  an  inspiration,  at  the  very  inception  of  my  Ogowe 
life,  as,  on  the  ioth  of  September,  1874,  we  entered  the  Naz- 
areth mouth  of  the  river,  to  know  that  I  was  standing  on 
the  deck  of  a  vessel  that  once  had  been  Livingstone's !  When 
he  made  his  second  great  journey,  back  from  Angola,  to  the 
Zambesi,  down  its  canyons,  out  to  its  mouth  on  the  Indian 
Ocean,  revealing  to  the  world  the  magnificent  Victoria  Falls  of 
that  river,  and  its  possibilities  for  the  development  of  the  eastern 
Interior  through  the  Shire  branch  and  Lake  Nyasa  connections, 
the  British  Government  rewarded  him  with  a  consulship  of 
East  Africa,  assigning  to  him  for  the  support  of  consular  dig- 
nity, one  of  its  damaged  gun-boats,  the  Pioneer.  With  its 
engines  wheezing  with  age,  he  had  threaded  the  shallow  chan- 
nels of  the  lower  Zambesi ;  in  it  he  had  explored  the  Shire ;  and, 
in  its  cabin,  Mrs.  Livingstone  had  died. 

Condemned,  as  no  longer  fit  to  represent  Britain's  power,  the 
Pioneer,  at  public  sale,  was  bought  by  the  Liverpool  firm  of 
African  merchants.  Hatton  &  Cookson.  and  was  sent  by  them, 
dismantled  of  all  signs  of  war,  except  two  little  cannon,  on  the 
forward  deck,  to  their  trading-house  in  the  Gaboon. 

And,  now,  I  was  treading  where  Livingstone  had  trod,  and 
was  resting  in  the  little  cabin  where  his  brave  Mary  Moffat  had 
yielded  up  her  life  for  Africa!  Could  I  win,  even  in  a  small 
measure,  some  of  his  success!  Might  I  be  inspired  with  some 
of  her  bravery! 

Captain  Johns  could  not  conceal  his  anxiety,  as  the  Pioneer, 
not  daring  to  go  at  more  than  "  half-speed,"  slowly  crept 
through  the  tortuous  S  channel.  What  if  he  should  run 
aground!  Within  view  were  villages  of  the  monopolist  Orungu 
tribe.  Out  in  the  Bay  were  canoes.  Were  they  fishing,  or  were 
they  spying?  In  motion,  the  vessel  was  safe;  but,  aground,  it 
could  readily  be  robbed  by  a  horde  of  Orungu,  who  viewed  with 
bitter  jealousy  the  passage  by  steamer  of  their  once  dominated 
trade  from  their  hands  to  the  hands  of  the  interior  Galwa  tribe, 
from  whom  they  had  obtained  their  riches  of  ivory  and  rubber, 

18 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  19 

but  to  whom  they  had  allowed  only  a  very  small  per  cent,  of 
the  profits  received  from  white  men.  And,  now,  those  white 
men  were  dealing  directly  with  the  Galwas,  who,  the  tables 
turned,  were  permitting  only  a  small  share  of  gain  to  the  proud 
Orungu. 

The  two  little  cannon  on  the  bows  were  loaded  and  shotted. 
A  dozen  rifles  were  conveniently  arranged  on  the  captain's 
quarter-deck.  The  native  crew  could  not  be  depended  on  in  any 
contest  with  other  natives.  Besides  the  captain,  the  only  other 
white  men  were  the  mate,  the  engineer,  two  young  trading-clerks, 
and  myself.  I  had  with  me  a  sixteen-repeater  Winchester  rifle, 
intended  for  defense  against  wild  beasts.  The  captain  revealed 
that  in  any  encounter  with  the  Orungu,  I  would  not  be  allowed 
to  be  a  neutral.  My  transportation  was  a  favor ;  my  interest  to 
reach  the  Interior  was  a  common  one  with  the  traders.  "  Dr. 
Nassau!  fill  up  that  sixteen  magazine  of  yours!  I'll  call  on  you 
if  we  are  attacked !  " 

The  Orungu  probably  knew  of  the  Pioneer's  armament; 
and,  whatever  they  may  have  thought  or  felt,  we  saw  no  signs  of 
any  demonstration  against  us.  We  drew  a  sigh  of  relief  as  the 
vessel  glided  into  the  deep  and  safe  though  narrow  stream  of 
the  river  itself. 

Instead  of  fearing,  we  seemed  to  have  inspired  fear  on  a  crew 
of  Portuguese  whom  we  met  emerging  from  the  river  with  a 
large  canoe-load  of  slaves.  Notwithstanding  the  vigilance  of 
British  cruisers,  Portugal  was  still  carrying  on  a  successful  slave- 
trade  for  the  supply  of  labor  in  its  plantations  of  the  adjacent 
islands  of  St.  Thome  and  Principe.  The  three  tribes  succes- 
sively parallel  to  the  coast,  Orungu  for  thirty  miles,  Nkami  for 
fifty  more,  and  Galwa  for  seventy  more,  encouraged  Portuguese 
to  enter  the  river  for  the  one  object  of  trading  slaves.  (But. 
beyond  the  140  miles  no  white  man  was  allowed  to  go.) 

Those  tribes,  with  salt  (more  valuable  than  gold),  went  them- 
selves into  the  interior,  and  bought  the  criminal,  the  disorderly, 
the  maimed,  the  idiotic,  the  orphan  child,  the  useless  woman, 
and  the  witch  or  wizard  whose  death-penalty  had  been  commuted 
to  sale  into  slavery.  These  slaves,  as  gathered  at  small  depots 
near  the  coast,  were  well  hidden  with  their  boats  in  the  back 
channels  of  the  delta,  under  the  dense  mangroves,  and  in  streams 
uncharted  too  small  for  the  cruisers,  miles  out  at  sea,  to  ob- 
serve or  follow.  Under  the  shadows  of  dark  nights,  and  with 
the  favorable  land-breeze,  the  small  slave-schooners  could  run 
out  of  the  river,  unseen  by  the  cruiser,  and  escape  to  St.  Thome. 


20  MY  OGOWK 

This  canoe's  crew  looked  on  the  Pioneer  with  terror. 
They  hid  behind  the  canoe's  gunwales.  Our  flag  was  English ! 
Perhaps  we  were  a  British  gun-boat!  And,  perhaps,  they  had 
forgotten  to  make  the  fetish  charm  (trusting  in  the  same  super- 
stitious beliefs  of  their  helpless  captives)  that  was  to  make  them 
invisible  to  any  enemy!  But,  we  passed  without  sign,  on  our  re- 
spective ways,  the  slavers  glad  to  escape  the  Pioneer,  and  the 
Pioneer  glad  to  escape  the  Orungu. 

At  its  mouth,  the  river  was  lined  on  each  side  by  a  growth 
of  mangrove  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height.  No  shore  was 
visible,  nor  any  spot  where  one  could  have  set  one's  foot ;  every- 
where was  the  encroaching  mangrove.  It  emerges  from  the 
shallow  water,  a  stem  only  a  few  inches  in  thickness ;  and,  im- 
mediately, as  it  shoots  up  to  its  attainable  height,  sends  out  a 
variety  of  branches ;  while,  from  its  base  there  are  pushed  out 
rootlets  that  turn  downward  and  enter  the  mud  as  supports  for 
the  future  tree,  the  original  tap-root  finally  disappearing.  The 
tree  therefore  seems  to  stand  on  stilts.  From  the  ends  of  the 
branches  spring  leafless  feelers  or  air-roots,  themselves  sub- 
dividing and  depending  until  they  reach  the  water  where  they 
finally  take  root.  And,  from  these  arise  new  trunks;  which, 
in  their  turn,  send  down  new  air-feelers  or  rootlets.  It  was 
most  astonishing!  A  perfect  palisade,  impenetrable  by  man. 
and  almost  so  by  beast.  Only  with  an  axe  or  hatchet  could 
one  have  made  any  advance  through  it ;  and,  even  then,  only  at 
a  snail's  pace. 

How  wonderful  that  mangrove  forest!  For  miles  and  miles, 
no  other  tree  or  plant!  Tall  trees,  big  and  little,  some  of  them 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  with  bare  lower  trunks,  their 
interlaced  tops  struggling  to  the  light.  Standing  in  water  and 
an  ooze  of  mud.  with  no  firm  ground:  and  yet.  by  their  mesh  oi 
twisted,  bent,  intertwined  mass  of  roots,  defending  a  conti- 
nent's ragged  edges  from  the  ocean's  abrasion;  and,  in  the  con- 
test, coming  off  victor  by  adding  to  the  continent  year  by  year  a 
few  more  acres  taken  from  the  sea.  The  silt  and  sand  and  float- 
ing jetsam  of  the  river's  semi-annual  floods  are  caught  in  that 
mesh.  The  deposited  soil  pushes  its  swampy  way  into  the 
ocean;  and  the  mangrove  promptly  follows  with  new  seedlings, 
whose  clawlike  root-lingers  grip  the  mud  for  a  new  outpost  in 
the  endless  contest  for  supremacy.  Without  a  tap-root,  the 
trees  stand  on  their  meshed  feet,  as  Mary  Kingslev  wittily  wrote. 
"  Dame  Nature  up-gathering  her  skirts  from  the  ambient  mud." 
Tn  and  out  of  these  meshed  roots  the  tide  flows.      Down    from 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  21 

the  tree-tops,  seeds,  already  sprouted  before  they  fall,  are  drop- 
ping into  the  mud,  the  young  tree,  from  the  very  first  contact 
with  earth,  already  supplied  with  leaves,  and  fitted  for  the  fray 
with  the  tides.  And,  banyan-like,  the  long  forty-foot  hangars 
grow  down  to  anchor  themselves  in  that  soft  swamp,  and  thence 
start  a  new  tree-growth. 

The  tall  tree  branches,  pushing  everywhere  for  sun-light, 
hang  out  over  the  stream  so  far  that  the  steamer  with  ample 
depth  of  water,  safely  rushed  at  full-speed  so  near-  to  them  that 
they  brushed  her  side-wheels.  Some  travelers  have  called  the 
mangrove  forest  monotonous.  True,  there  is  mingled  with  it 
no  other  tree  or  vine ;  and,  in  its  outline  against  the  horizon, 
there  is  no  feature  of  height  or  prominence  or  any  other  mark 
to  distinguish  one  point  from  another  in  the  stream's  frequent 
windings.  But,  I  never  felt  any  monotony.  Rather,  there  was 
a  fascination  in  the  infinite  variety  of  the  twists  and  turns  and 
curves  of  those  stilted  roots,  thrown  out  at  tangents  from  the 
trunk  to  every  point  of  the  compass.  No  forest  is  ever  entirely 
silent.  In  other  forests,  there  is  constantly  either  the  tread  of 
beast,  or  whisper  of  leaves,  or  twitter  of  birds,  or  at  least  the 
song  of  the  cicada.  But,  in  the  mangrove,  there  are  no  beasts, 
unless  it  be  a  crocodile,  breaking  the  silence  with  a  splash  in  the 
muddy  ooze.  Yet,  for  the  mangrove,  there  is  the  tense  mystery 
of  the  silence  of  expectation.  Silence!  but,  hark!  the  crash  of 
the  expected  fall  of  a  dead  branch.  Silence !  listen  to  the  scream 
of  the  fish-eagle !  Silence !  only  a  few  yards  away  see  the  ridicu- 
lously eyed  peri-ophthalmus  fish  flopping  out  of  the  mud,  and 
climbing  those  endlessly  varied,  claw-fingered  roots. 

The  mangrove,  loving  only  brackish  water,  monopolizes  the 
first  ten  miles  of  the  river.  For  the  next  ten  miles,  it  shares 
the  interest  of  the  traveler's  eye  with  impenetrable  thickets  of 
the  pandanus  or  screw-pine.  No  "  pine  "  at  all :  but,  its  long 
thorn^edged  bayonet-like  leaves  are  most  regularly  arranged 
around  the  stem  in  the  curve  of  a  pine-cone.  Its  fruit,  a  good 
imitation  of  a  pine-apple  in  shape,  is  inedible,  except  its  large 
nut-like  seeds.  The  pandanus  too  loves  only  the  brackish 
waters.  Its  strong-fibered  leaves  are  a  veritable  blessing  to  the 
women  of  coast-tribes.  Dried,  split,  and  dyed,  they  are  skil- 
fully woven  into  matting  graced  with  a  variety  of  geometrical 
figures :  which  mats  form  very  comfortable  bedding,  and  are  a 
valuable  commodity  in  sale  to  the  interior  tribes,  with  whom  the 
pandanus  refuses  to  grow.  As  we  advanced,  the  land  began 
to  rise,  and  a  larger  and  more  varied  vegetation  presented  itself. 


22  MY  OGOWE 

The  mangroves  still  continued,  but  in  very  much  fewer  num- 
bers. As  they  decreased  in  number,  they  grew  in  size;  and, 
though  now  large  trees  in  height,  they  continued  to  send  down 
those  same  long  feelers,  leafless,  swinging  in  the  air,  and  seeking 
toward  the  water  thirty  or  fifty  feet  below.  The  tall,  shady, 
dark-green,  waxy-leafed,  cotton-wood  tree  ramified  its  gnarled 
roots  in  the  fertile  soil  of  the  ascending  bank.  It  is  a  tree;  not 
an  over-grown  cotton-plant,  though  its  flowers  do  produce  a  cot- 
tony filament. 

Another  ten  miles  was  marked  by  a  decrease  of  both  man- 
grove and  pandanus,  the  appearance  of  low  but  solid  earth  banks, 
and  the  growth  of  palms  of  the  bamboo-,  oil-,  and  calamus  or 
rattan  species,  and  other  varieties  of  trees.  The  palms  stood 
with  their  tall  leafless  branchless  trunks,  crowned,  at  the  height  of 
twenty  or  forty  feet,  with  their  tufts  of  feathery-looking  fronds 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  long,  and  each  narrow  leaflet  two  feet  in 
length.  From  one  palm  came  the  coco-nut ;  from  another  the 
oil  nut;  and  from  another  the  leaves  are  used  for  thatch. 

Farther  on,  beneath  and  closely  set  around  these  trees,  was 
a  wilderness  of  shrubs  and  bushes  and  vines;  some,  beautiful  for 
their  flowers;  one,  white  and  resembling  the  camellia  japonica: 
another,  large  straw-colored  and  campanulate ;  another  blue,  of 
the  convolvulus  family;  others,  singular  for  their  leaves  of  re- 
markable shape  or  color ;  one  with  mixed  white  and  green  leaves, 
another  with  leaves  alternately  white  and  green. 

Sunset  brought  the  Pioneer  at  the  end  of  thirty  miles,  to 
the  village  of  Angala,  the  first  place  where  land  stood  sufficiently 
high  and  solidly  above  the  river's  edge,  for  human  habitations. 
The  alternating  river  current  and  ocean  tide,  swung  the  vessel 
as  it  lay  at  anchor.  It  was  the  boundary  between  the  Orungu 
and  the  Nkami  tribes.  Old  Chief  Esongi  came  off  to  the  vessel, 
to  ask  the  captain,  in  a  friendly  way,  for  a  "  present.''  For- 
merly, it  would  have  been  demanded  as  "  tribute."  But,  Esongi 
was  a  wise  old  man.  He  appreciated  the  shadow  cast  forward 
by  coming  events.  His  Orungu  acquaintances  might  attempt  to 
avenge  their  injured  pride  by  threats  of  assault  on  the  trading 
white  men  who  were  breaking  the  traditional  monopoly.  But, 
Esongi  hasted  to  bow  to  the  new  power,  and  make  his  gains  by 
a  demonstration  of  friendship.  He  included  me  in  his  welcome ; 
and,  instead  of  asking  the  newcomer  for  a  "  gift,"  courteously 
recognised  that,  in  his  status  of  host,  he  should  give  me  one. 
Thus  began  a  friendship  that  lasted  unbroken  to  the  end  of  his 
life.     He  never  deceived  me,  or  took  an  unfair  advantage  of 


w  fr 

mm 

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u 

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o 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  23 

my  needs.  He  was,  at  least  to  me,  whatever  he  may  have  been 
to  other  white  men  who  met  him  on  only  commercial  grounds, 
true,  honest,  and  just.  He  had  gathered  comfortable  riches  and 
position,  by  his  slave-dealings  with  the  Portuguese.  He  did  not 
hesitate  to  tell  me  of  the  sums  of  silver  he  had  handled,  before 
Great  Britain's  cruisers  had  made  the  foreign  slave-trade  pre- 
carious. His  conversations  on  religion,  in  subsequent  years, 
were  most  intelligent;  though  he  always  retained  his  supersti- 
tions. In  a  later  year,  while  resting  in  his  village  over-night, 
I  heard  him  make  the  official  new-moon  prayer  to  the  spirits  of 
the  air.  Pleading  his  own  virtues,  he  begged  them  not  to  in- 
jure him  or  his  people.  As  the  spirits  were  supposed  to  be 
malevolent,  his  prayer  contained  no  praise,  no  love,  no  thanks, 
only  an  offering,  and  deprecation ! 

The  next  day,  the  next  twenty  miles  showed  a  greater  variety 
in  the  vegetation,  until  we  came  to  long  stretches  of  level  delta- 
land  where  the  papyrus  was  almost  the  only  plant.  The  banks 
still  rose;  but,  the  rivers  sides  were  steep  perpendicular  cuts. 
The  feathery  papyrus  was  mingled  with  large  white  convolvuli. 
I  looked  with  intense  interest,  for  the  first  time,  on  those  papyri. 
Little  Moses'  basket  could  readily  have  been  placed  among  these, 
on  the  very  verge  of  the  bank,  but  safe  from  being  carried  away 
by  the  water;  for,  the  edge  of  the  bluish-clay  cut  of  the  bank 
was  a  perpendicular  height  of  a  fathom  or  more  above  the  stream 
(during  dry  seasons).  This  Ogowe,  three  thousand  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  Egyptian  Nile,  was  sharing  in  its  papyrus,  but  had 
never  shared  in  the  civilization  that  had  left  its  records  on  the 
tissue  of  that  plant. 

As  the  stretches  of  the  river  widened,  its  depth  decreased. 
The  channels  were  numerous  and  tortuous.  Which  should  we 
choose  ?  Captain  Johns  depended  on  the  native  pilot.  Pilot  was 
of  the  kind  that  depended  on  memory.  "  Last  year  there  was 
a  channel  on  this  line,  and  a  sand-bar  over  yonder/'  The  lead 
was  thrown  constantly,  and  the  Pioneer  went  cautiously 
ahead.  But,  bump !  here  we  are  aground !  Last  year's  "  yon- 
der "  bar  had,  with  the  last  rains,  shifted  over  onto  "  this  " 
line.  That  is  the  Ogowe's  habit.  A  more  successful  pilot  is 
of  the  kind  who  almost  ignore  all  of  "  last  year's  "  outlines, 
and,  with  rarely  alert  eyes,  watch  the  difference  in  color  of  shal- 
low or  of  deep  water,  and  the  gentle  surface-ripple  near  the  edge 
of  a  submerged  bank,  warning  of  a  decrease  in  depth  of  water. 


24  MY  OGOWE 

Progress  became  slower;  groundings  and  backings-off  became 
more  frequent.  While  thus  aground  near  certain  villages,  two 
old  chiefs  came  off  to  visit  the  steamer,  to  hear  the  news,  and 
definitely  to  be  given  presents  appropriate  to  their  dignity. 
"  Treating,"  on  the  African  coast,  was  universal,  outside  of 
Protestant  missionary  circles.  The  host's  very  first  invariable 
act  is  to  set  out  the  bottles,  varying,  according  to  the  character 
of  the  guest,  over  rum,  gin,  brandy,  wine,  vermuth,  absinthe, 
soda,  and  lesser  mixtures,  with  a  flourish  of  "  What'll  you 
have?  "  The  two  old  men  promptly  took  their  glass  of  rum. 
But,  native  etiquette  and  inherited  superstition  were  seen  even 
in  this  act.  Good  form  forbids  inferiors,  and  even  equals  (if 
strangers)  to  look  on  one's  act  of  eating.  And,  the  common 
fear  of  "  evil  eye,"  particularly  of  a  white  man's  hard  eye  (other 
than  black)  hides  also  the  act  of  drinking.  One  of  these  chiefs, 
a  very  big  tall  man,  held  up  a  towel  before  his  face,  as  he  drank; 
and  the  other,  a  very  fat  man,  "  blew  a  blessing  "  over  the  fetish- 
charm  ring  on  one  of  his  fingers.  This  blowing  is  so  forcible. 
that  saliva  is  sometimes  ejected  in  the  act.  Some  travelers  have 
misunderstood  the  rite,  and  have  regarded  the  "  spitting  "  as  the 
essential  part  of  the  ceremony. 

We  had  entered  the  Ogowe  on  the  morning  of  Thursday, 
September  10,  and,  after  going  some  fifty-five  miles,  by  the  even- 
ing of  September  12,  the  shallows  and  impassable  sand-bars 
definitely  blocked  our  further  progress.  The  river  was  still  run- 
ning with  a  swift  current,  and  less  than  one  thousand  yards  wide ; 
for,  my  Winchester  rifle,  ranged  for  that  distance,  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  striking  almost  any  point  on  the  journey,  from  bank  to 
bank.  The  Pioneer  lay  at  anchor  there,  for  two  weeks,  waiting 
for  the  unusually  late  and  daily  expected  rains.  We  were  in  a 
cul-de-sac.  We  could  back  out ;  and  that  the  captain  did  several 
times,  only  to  ground  at  any  turn  to  right  or  left.  Back  again 
into  the  cul-de-sac  there  was  water  under  us ;  also,  for  a  few 
yards  to  our  right;  and,  a  few  feet  distant,  on  our  left  the  per- 
pendicular clay  edge  of  the  river's  right  bank,  crowned  with  the 
dense  papyri.  The  vessel's  bow  also  was  clear,  but  barred  by 
the  end  of  the  pocket  in  which  we  lay.  And,  there  we  lay  for 
twelve  days!  Mr.  R.  B.  N.  Walker  had  told  the  captain  that 
he  would  find  the  water  rising  as  he  advanced.  That  was  usually 
true.  But,  the  rains  were  late.  Those  were  anxious  days. 
There  was  no  lack  of  fresh  provisions  brought  by  the  natives 
from  the  adjacent  villages:  and.  the  vessel  lay  safe  with  free 
keel.     But,  how  long  would  native  cupidity  refrain  from  avail- 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  25 

ing  itself  of  our  helplessness?  Those  two  old  chiefs  had  been 
satisfied  with  their  present  on  the  first  day.  But,  able  to  sum- 
mon a  horde  of  their  adherents,  might  not  the  ethics  held  by 
them,  in  common  with  the  modern  civilized  wrecker,  claim  the 
"  imano  "  that  Providence  had  cast  in  their  way?  How  easy 
to  make  a  night  attack! 

There  was  a  sudden  and  startling  alarm  on  the  night  of  Sep- 
tember 13.  The  day  had  been  quiet ;  but,  no  opportunity  or  audi- 
ence for  any  Sunday  services.  At  night,  there  was  an  outcry  on 
the  forward  deck,  among  the  Kroo  crew.  And,  then,  there 
were  shouts  from  the  startled  ones.  Then,  shouts  from  those 
who  did  not  know  at  what  they  were  shouting.  And,  then  shots 
from  the  officer,  who  thought  a  warning  demonstration  desir- 
able. When  all  was  investigated,  it  was  found  the  whole  con- 
fusion had  begun  with  the  yells  of  a  vicious  monkey  protesting 
against  a  deserved  punishment ! 

I  varied  time  during  the  long  delay.  One  day,  I  borrowed 
the  captain's  little  boat,  and,  with  my  two  Benita  employees, 
rowed  to  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  to  the  town  of  that  fat  old 
chief  Njagu  (Elephant).  It  was  an  unusually  large  town.  In- 
stead of  only  the  typical  one  long  street,  there  were  cross  streets ; 
and  the  huts  were  larger  and  well-built.  I  had  a  long  and 
pleasant  conversation  with  Njagu.  Around  the  houses  I  found 
lime  and  orange  trees,  the  seeds  of  which  he  had  procured  from 
the  sea-coast.  He  presented  (or.  to  quote  a  very  objectionable 
trade-English  word,  which,  though  adopted  even  by  some  mis- 
sionaries. I  have  never  used)  "  dashed "  me  a  duck.  At  the 
village  of  the  other  old  chief,  Onwa-ombe  (Bad-child),  I  was 
given  two  chickens. 

The  immense  quantity  of  water  brought  down  in  the  semi- 
annual flood  was  shown  when  I  saw  distinctly,  on  the  face  of 
the  perpendicular  clay  bank,  the  water-line  of  the  previous  rise. 
Sitting  on  the  Pioneer's  deck,  some  yards  below  that  line,  it 
was  difficult  to  believe  that,  in  a  few  weeks,  all  those  lands 
would  be  submerged.  We  thrust  into  that  bank  a  broken  plate, 
on  a  level  with  the  water;  and  then  daily  we  watched  whether 
the  water  would  rise  above  it. 

It  spoke  well  for  the  good  natural  traits  of  most  of  the  Nkami 
people,  that  so  far  from  attempting  to  rob  (they  never  having 
had  contact  with  missionaries,  and.  for  only  a  few  years  previ- 
ously, with  any  white  men,  other  than  Portuguese)  they  were 
glad  of  the  opportunity  to  find  a  market  for  their  meats  and 


26  MY  OGOWE 

garden  products.  We  feasted  on  fresh  fish,  and  vegetables,  and 
wild  meats,  or  chickens  and  eggs,  etc.  One  day,  there  was 
brought  a  crocodile.  The  white  flesh  looked  attractive ;  but, 
at  that  time,  I  had  not  been  taught  by  the  stern  mother  Necessity 
to  accept  almost  any  flesh  for  food.  Our  crew  of  Kroo-men, 
however,  had  a  feast. 

The  days  were  not  without  amusement.  I  had  brought  with 
me  from  the  United  States  a  quantity  of  fire-crackers,  torpedoes, 
Roman  candles  and  rockets,  which  I  had  found  useful,  in  previ- 
ous years,  for  pleasing  our  Benito  children  on  holiday  occasions. 
With  permission  of  the  captain,  one  evening,  I  started  some  fun 
among  the  Kroo-men,  by  carefully  exploding  some  of  my  treas- 
ures in  the  vicinity  of  their  feet.  They  soon  appreciated  the 
fun,  and  were  quick  to  beg  of  me  a  supply,  with  which  in  turn 
to  startle  their  companions.  Soon,  the  whole  deck  was  in  con- 
fusion. There  was  a  great  deal  of  chasing  and  screaming. 
The  vessel's  dog  "Lion,"  entered  into  the  excitement;  he  felt 
that  something  was  wrong.  Or,  why  should  these  men  be  flee- 
ing, when  (as  far  as  he  could  tell)  no  one  was  pursuing?  Ris- 
ing to  an  apparent  sense  of  duty,  he  pursued  a  flying  cook,  much 
to  the  terror  of  the  latter,  and  caused,  as  evidence  of  the  ef- 
ficiency of  his  pursuit,  a  sad  rent  in  the  cook's  trousers.  But, 
my  candles  and  rockets,  and  especially  the  captain's  blue-lights, 
attracted  an  immense  number  of  white-winged  insects  from  the 
papyri.  Fascinated,  they  rushed  into  the  burning  lights,  and 
were  destroyed  by  hundreds  of  thousands.  Their  assaults  on 
our  hands  and  faces  became  intolerable.  All  lights  had  to  be 
extinguished.  The  next  day  I  saw  a  bushel  basketful  of  their 
remains  swept  up  from  the  deck. 

Slave-canoes  occasionally  stopped  to  barter  for  food ;  they 
having,  on  their  route,  learned  that  we  were  not  a  British  gun- 
boat. In  one  of  those  canoes  was  a  little  boy  certainly  not  four 
years  of  age.  He  was  such  a  bright-looking  child !  After  all 
this  long  interval  of  years,  I  can  still  see  that  boy's  eyes,  as 
clearly  as  yesterday.  Not,  as  I  had  seen  in  others,  terror,  or 
pain,  or  hopelessness.  He  was  not  speaking,  nor  were  the 
muscles  of  his  face  moving.  But,  the  eyes  were  full  of  intense 
interest  of  expectation.  I  do  not  think  that  such  a  child  had 
been  sold  to  the  man  in  whose  charge  he  was.  I  felt  sure  he 
had  been  kidnaped.  Such  things  happened.  Little  packets  of 
the  valued  salt  (too  precious,  in  the  Interior,  to  be  allowed  to 
children  or  women)  would  be  laid  on  the  path  by  the  village 
spring.     When  children  came  to  their  task  of  drawing  water, 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  27 

they  seized  the  salt,  as  our  children  would  seize  candy.  From 
an  ambush  would  spring  out  the  slave-trader,  and  would  carry 
off  the  child  (if  justification  were  needed)  on  the  charge  of 
stealing. 

By  our  long  stay  in  that  neighborhood,  undesirable  acquaint- 
ances were  made.  Under  the  low  code  of  native  morals,  it  was 
everywhere  a  part  of  a  host's  hospitality  to  provide  for  a  guest 
a  female  companion  at  night.  This  hospitality  was  extended 
also  to  all  white  visitors.  Most  of  the  traders  accepted ;  and  the 
simple-hearted  woman,  who  willingly  came,  at  the  suggestion  of 
her  husband  or  brother,  felt  that  to  be  even  the  "  temporary 
wife  "  of  a  white  man  was  an  honor.  The  next  morning,  she 
returned  to  her  hut,  laden  with  yards  of  calico  print  and  an 
abundance  of  trinkets.  There  were  actual  prostitutes  in  her 
village;  but,  her  temporary  alliance  did  not  place  her  down 
among  them.  Some  of  the  latter  were  brought  to  the  Pioneer, 
doubtless  at  the  request  of  the  crew.  The  captain  probably 
would  not  have  taken  notice  of  the  transaction,  had  not  dispute, 
and  finally  angry  quarrel,  arisen  over  the  matter  of  the  amount 
of  compensation.  Confusion  finally  became  so  pronounced,  that, 
under  the  captain's  direction,  the  mate,  with  a  long  "  kasa-nguvu  " 
( hippopotamus-hide  lash ;  in  later  years  King  Leopold's  "  chi- 
cotte")  invaded  the  crowd,  and  the  visitors  were  driven  tumbl- 
ing pell-mell  over  the  railing  and  into  the  river,  whence  they  swam 
ashore.  Quiet  was  soon  restored ;  and  our  sleep  was  not  again 
broken  by  that  cause. 

Mutterings  of  distant  thunder  made  us  hopeful  of  a  rise  in 
the  river.  Other  mutterings,  that  kept  the  captain  in  daily 
anxiety,  of  the  possibility  of  native  demands  on  his  goods,  ma- 
terialised one  day.  Fifteen  miles  farther  up  river  from  our 
fifty-five  mile  limit,  lived,  at  the  town  of  Ngumbe,  the  Nkami 
Chief,  Isagi.  Unlike  Chief  Esongi,  he  had  not  fully  accepted 
that  the  Orungu-Xkami  monopoly  should  be  broken.  When 
Mr.  Walker  had  made  his  daring  journey,  carrying  trade  to 
the  interior  Galwa  and  Bakele,  he  had  succeeded  in  passing 
Ngumbe  only  by  consenting  to  Isagi's  demands  that  a  trading- 
house  should  be  built  there,  a  trader  permanently  located  with 
him,  and  a  regular  supply  of  goods  be  placed  in  his  hands.  It 
was  sheer  piracy.  But,  Mr.  Walker  yielded.  He  built  the 
house,  sent  there  an  intelligent  American  mulatto,  John  Ermy, 
and  deposited  with  Isagi  a  large  amount  of  goods.  All  these 
were  only  a  sop  to  Cerberus,  the  price  of  freedom  from  assault. 
And,  on  his  books,  he  put  the  cost  to  Profit  and  Loss.     Little 


28  MY  OGOWE 

would  he  receive  from  Isagi,  in  ivory  or  rubber,  in  return  for 
those  goods!  The  real  gain  for  the  firm  of  H.  &  C.  was  to  be 
made  (and  was  made)  in  the  Galwa  trading-house,  under  his 
sub-factor,  Mr.  T.  Sinclair.  The  Nkami  were  jealous  of  the 
Pioneer's  goods  being  carried  beyond  Ermy's  "  factory." 

Capt.  Johns,  hopeless  of  getting  up  the  river,  had  sent  a  canoe 
messenger  to  Mr.  Sinclair,  distant  about  eighty  miles,  asking  him 
to  come  with  boats  and  canoes  into  which  the  cargo  should  be 
transferred  and  carried  to  its  destination.  On  the  night  of  Sep- 
tember 1 8,  arrived  Ermy,  with  a  tale  of  native  reports  of  how 
Isagi  intended  to  seize  the  Pioneer's  entire  cargo!  If  Isagi 
did  that,  I  thought  he  would  despise  the  little  I  had,  and  per- 
haps I  might  slip  through  his  fingers !  I  planned  with  Ermy 
about  getting  up  river  in  one  of  his  canoes.  But,  next  morn- 
ing, I  arranged  to  send  my  two  young  men  with  him.  Just  as 
he  was  about  leaving,  arrived  his  employer,  Mr.  Sinclair.  I 
handed  him  the  excellent  letter  of  introduction  Mr.  Walker  had 
given  me,  and  I  felt  at  once  that  Mr.  Sinclair  would  be  all  atten- 
tion. With  this  gentleman  began  an  agreeable  acquaintance 
that  extended  over  a  dozen  years.  Though,  like  most  of  the 
Traders,  he  had  let  down  the  bars  of  civilized  morality,  his 
Scotch  Presbyterianism  and  former  Christian  life  constantly  as- 
serted themselves.  He  never  treated  me  with  discourtesy;  was 
sympathetic  with  missionary  work ;  and,  during  all  those  years, 
was  generous  and  helpful  in  matters  of  transportation.  And, 
presently,  came  Isagi,  with  five  large  war  canoes,  and  flags,  and 
native  drums,  and  shouts,  and  songs  of  more  than  a  hundred 
men !  I  have  never  known  what  was  his  real  intention.  Cer- 
tainly, intimidation  was  part  of  his  scheme.  He  succeeded. 
A  spectator  would  have  thought  that  he  owned  the  Pioneer. 
Captain  Johns  and  Mr.  Sinclair  gave  him  deference  as  a  King. 
They  "  saved  their  face."  by  giving  him.  as  if  an  advance  on 
account  in  the  usual  "  Trust  "  system  of  the  Ivory  Trade,  a 
large  amount  of  goods,  that  were  at  once  placed  in  his  canoes. 
Mr.  Sinclair  also  lightened  the  Pioneer  by  loading  his  canoes, 
in  which  he  kindly  placed  also  my  goods. 

Isagi  having  been  satisfied,  there  was  assurance  that  the  vessel 
would  not  be  molested  in  passing  Ngumbe.  The  dove  of  peace 
settled  on  the  heads  of  all;  and  it  drank  to  the  safety,  good-will 
and  prosperity  of  all,  in  many  a  glass  of  liquor.  Isagi  was  in- 
troduced to  me;  but,  he  deigned  me  slight  notice,  on  being  told 
that  I  was  a  missionary.  He  had  heard  of  missionaries,  and  he 
was  not  interested  in  them ;  they  were  poor;  did  not  drink  rum; 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  29 

had  no  presents  to  give  in  exchange  for  a  female  companion  at 
night;  and  did  not  buy  ivory  and  rubber.  In  subsequent  years, 
on  my  boat-journeys,  I  stopped  at  Ngumbe ;  but,  I  never  had 
any  conversation  with  Isagi.  There  seemed  an  impassable  bar 
between  us.  He  was  tall,  thin,  silent,  stern.  His  face  seemed 
marked  with  treachery  and  cruelty;  and,  I  knew  that  his  hands 
were  red  with  many  a  murder.  After  our  formal  salutation  at 
his  town,  he  would  disappear.  I  never  knew  whether  it  was 
because  of  hatred  or  of  fear.  For,  he  was  intensely  supersti- 
tious. He  left  me  to  the  good-will  of  his  women,  of  whom  he 
had  many.  But,  they  too,  seemed  constantly  under  fear  of  him. 
He  had  few  children.  But,  his  imperious  tribal  government 
could  summon  at  will  a  thousand  men  for  any  purpose.  Ermy 
assured  me  that  the  demonstration  had  no  reference  to  myself, 
and  he  and  my  two  young  men  left,  in  company  with  Isagi's 
flotilla.     Mr.  Sinclair  followed  shortly  after. 

Besides  the  two  firms  doing  a  regular  business  up  the  river  in 
Galwa.  there  was  a  third  man,  Schmieder,  acting  for  the  great 
German  firm  of  Woermann,  who  lived  on  a  little  steam-yacht, 
that  could  run  anywhere  over  the  shallows  of  the  sand-banks, 
and  who  wasted  no  goods  in  giving  out  "  trust  "  on  account. 
In  a  somewhat  free-booting  way,  he  flitted  from  place  to  place, 
buying  up  at  first  hand  from  the  natives,  ivory  and  rubber  that 
had  been  obtained  by  them,  through  "  trusted  "  goods  and  which 
really  belonged  to  the  two  other  firms.  He  came  down  river, 
and  anchored  near  us.  On  board  with  him  was  a  young  Ger- 
man, who  years  later,  achieved  fame  as  a  traveler  to  Timbuctoo. 
I  wrote  letters  to  Mr.  Bushnell.  to  my  sister  at  Benita,  and  to 
my  sons  in  the  U.  S.  And,  the  little  steam-launch  carried  them 
to  Libreville. 

The  long  delay  in  that  low  water  and  by  those  marshy  banks 
began  to  have  a  malarious  effect.  Even  at  the  sea-side,  I  had 
found  the  two  rainy  seasons,  with  their  skies  that  cleared  so 
beautifully  after  the  almost  daily  or  nightly  rain,  were  enliven- 
ing to  one's  spirits,  and  better  for  one's  health,  than  the  long 
dry  season ;  which,  though  cooler,  was  murky  and  obscured 
with  dull  November-like  clouds.  Intermittent  fever  and  diarrhea 
laid  hold  of  me.  They  were  an  old  story.  I  knew  what  to 
do  for  them.  They  are  not  fatal,  though  they  may  so  far  weaken. 
as  to  make  an  open  road  for  either  of  the  two  more  dangerous 
"  African  "    fevers,   a   bilious   remittent,    or   a   globo-hematuric. 

Such  beautiful  moonlights!     I  have  reveled  in  the  moonlights 


30  MY  OGOWE 

of  America,  on  the  Ocean,  at  the  sea-coast,  under  a  variety  of 
surroundings.  But,  none  of  them  surpass  the  sunsets  and  the 
moonlights  of  the  nights  of  the  African  Interior.  It  is  difficult, 
even  now,  to  say  just  what  it  is  that  constitutes  its  superior 
charm.  Whatever  it  was,  was  mysterious  in  its  fascination. 
Perhaps  something  in  the  shade  of  coloring;  perhaps  a  shim- 
mering that  may  have  been  caused  by  the  amount  of  moisture 
diffused ;  perhaps  in  the  intense  darkness  of  the  preceding  moon- 
less nights ;  perhaps  in  the  fewer  stars  of  the  southern  hemis- 
phere. True,  there  was  the  faithful  Bear,  and  Scorpio,  and 
Orion,  and  the  Southern  Cross ;  but,  then,  there  were  large 
patches  of  sky  that  were  either  starless,  or  marked  by  stars  of 
small  magnitude. 

During  all  those  thirteen  days,  I  went  ashore  to  "  King " 
Njagu's  only  once.  I  sat  in  the  shade  of  the  Pioneer's 
roofed  quarter-deck ;  enjoyed  the  afternoon  sea-breeze,  and  cool 
land  wind  at  nights ;  luxuriated  in  abundance  of  fresh  fish ; 
wrote  a  good  deal ;  and  read  a  great  deal.  I  felt  a  little  ashamed 
of  the  easy  time  I  was  having  on  the  steamer,  doing  nothing 
compared  with  the  busy  lives  of  my  associates  at  the  sea-coast 
stations.  Yet  I  was  not  doing  nothing.  I  was  learning 
Mpongwe,  for  use  up  river,  and  making  large  notes  of  flying 
pieces  of  information  about  the  river.  I  might  have  gone  ashore 
oftener ;  but  I  wished  to  avoid  any  questionings  about  my  pro- 
jects, from  the  Nkami  people,  as  my  objective  point  of  location 
lay  even  beyond  Galwa. 

Hurrah !  on  September  23,  we  saw  that  our  broken  plate  sign  in 
the  river's  bank  was  covered  by  a  few  inches  of  water.  The  river 
was  rising!  Though  no  rains  had  conje  to  us,  they  had  begun 
to  fall  in  a  different  latitude,  where  lay  the  Ogowe  sources,  and, 
in  their  downward  flow,  the  rising  flood  had  reached  us.  Cap- 
tain Johns,  in  a  serio-comic  spirit,  put  up  a  memorial  to  his  long 
trial,  by  nailing  to  two  stout  posts  on  the  top  of  the  bank,  a  long 
board,  on  which  was  painted. 

"JOHNS'  REST,  Pioneer,  1874." 

The  next  day.  September  24,  the  Pioneer  backed  out  of  her 
cul-de-sac,  dropped  down  the  river  a  few  hundred  yards  to  get 
below  the  point  of  the  shallow,  and  then  dared  diagonally  across 
the  river.  The  lead  line  constantly  sounding,  at  "  dead-slow  " 
speed,  with  what  intensely  quiet  anxiety  we  felt  ourselves  just 
scraping  on  the  e(\^e  of  the  long  shallow  opposite  Chief  Njagu's 
town  !     Then  stuck  for  a  little  while  !     Then  off  again  !      Passed 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  31 

Chief  Oiiwa-ombe's;  startled  a  sleeping  crocodile;  stuck!  Off 
again;  and  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief,  as  we  emerged  into  a 
wider  channel.  Of  course,  we  anchored  at  night.  We  had 
made  only  seven  miles  that  day! 

The  river  became  broader,  the  channels  more  numerous  and 
perplexing,  and  all  of  them  shallow.  Such  places  are  the  chosen 
resorts  of  hippopotami,  who  do  not  like  deep  water.  Our  prog- 
ress had  a  new  interest,  in  watching  the  animals  that  we  alarmed ; 
crocodiles  dreaming  on  logs  that  they  simulated ;  hippos  variously 
submerged,  often  only  nose,  ears,  and  eyes  on  the  surface. 
Startled,  the  father  would  lift  his  massive  head,  open  his  enor- 
mous mouth,  and  uttering  a  combined  snort  and  bellow,  called 
his  family  to  sink  out  of  sight  until  the  vessel  had  passed.  Mon- 
keys peered  from  the  few  trees  (we  had  not  left  the  papyrus  en- 
tirely behind  us),  chattered  their  indignation  at  the  wheezing  of 
the  engine,  and  leaped  from  tree  to  tree  for  a  safer  distance  from 
the  guns  of  my  fellow-passengers.  How  those  hippos  did  bel- 
low at  night!  Perhaps  mystified  by  the  lights  of  our  anchored 
vessel.     Perhaps  males  fighting  for  supremacy ! 

One  evening,  borrowing  the  little  boat,  Mr.  Percy,  one  of  the 
two  young  clerks,  and  I  rowed  out  to  do  a  little  hunting  for 
fresh  meat.  There  were  kingfishers,  but  they  are  small  prey;  a 
wild  duck  was  wounded,  but  lost ;  and  we  lay  in  ambush  for  two 
hippopotami.  We  had  been  told  that  hippo-steak  is  good. 
(I  frequently,  in  later  years,  found  it  was  true.)  But,  the  ap- 
parently wary  animals  did  not  come  ashore ;  to  shoot  them  in  the 
water  is  waste,  unless  the  hunter  has  time  to  go  down  stream 
and  meet  the  body,  that,  having  sunk,  will  rise  a  few  hours 
later,  at  some  point  to  which  the  current  will  carry  it. 

On  Sunday,  September  27,  we  had  safely  passed  the  shallows 
fronting  Ngumbe,  the  half-way  house  of  our  hundred  and  thirty 
mile  journey.  My  two  Benitas  again  joined  the  Pioneer,  and 
we  were  met  by  Mr.  Sinclair's  clerk.  Woodward,  who  had  come 
clown  with  canoes,  into  which  to  lighten  the  Pioneer's  cargo,  and 
which,  preceding  us  and  punting  instead  of  paddling,  kept  us 
constantly  informed  of  the  water's  depth. 

We  were  next  in  Galwa  territory.  The  river  banks  became 
higher,  heavily  wooded ;  and,  in  the  distance,  were  blue  hills. 
Every  hour's  advance  toward  them  brought  us  to  deeper  water, 
straighter  channels,  and  oftener  the  order  of,  "  Full  speed, 
ahead!" 

The  whole  panorama  of  the  Ogowe  was  a  most  interesting 
study.     The  river  is  remarkably  varied  in  the  aspect  of  its  banks, 


32  MY  OGOWE 

and  the  characteristics  of  its  vegetation.  The  advance  up  the  river 
showed  day  by  dav  the  constant  rise  in  the  land  toward  the  in- 
terior highland.  In  the  first  thirty  miles  the  banks  were  lined 
successively  with  mangroves,  pandanus,  and  palms.  Then,  un- 
til the  seventy-mile  limit,  with  papyrus,  bulrush,  palms  and  a  few 
forest  trees.  Next,  until  the  hundredth  mile,  palms,  forest  trees, 
high  banks,  and  rocky  points.  Then,  to  the  trading  limit,  at 
which  we  were  aiming,  high  rocky  banks,  and  isolated  hills. 
Singularly,  because  of  the  delta,  the  mouth,  which  in  most  rivers 
would  be  wide,  was  narrow.  And  it  widened,  instead  of  nar- 
rowing as  we  ascended,  until  just  beyond  the  delta's  end,  it  was 
a  mile  in  width.  It  is  thus  splendidly  described  by  Miss  Mary 
Kingsley.  some  twenty  years  later,  on  her  journey  with  the  Ger- 
man steamer  Move: 

"The  day  soon  grew  dull,  after  the  delusive  manner  of  the  dry 
season.  The  climbing  plants  are  finer  here  than  I  have  ever 
seen  them.  They  form  great  veils  and  curtains  between  and 
over  the  trees,  often  hanging  so  straight  and  flat,  in  stretches  of 
twenty  to  forty  or  so  wide,  and  thirty  to  sixty  or  seventy  feet 
high,  that  it  seems  incredible  that  no  human  hand  has  trained 
or  clipped  them  into  their  perfect  forms.  Sometimes  these  cur- 
tains are  decorated  with  large  bell-shaped,  bright-colored  flowers, 
sometimes  with  delicate  sprays  of  white  blossoms.  This  forest 
is  beyond  all  my  expectations  of  tropical  luxuries  and  beauty; 
and  it  is  a  thing  of  another  world  to  the  forest  of  the  Upper 
Calabar,  which,  beautiful  as  it  is.  is  a  sad  dowdy  to  this.  There 
you  certainly  get  a  great  sense  of  grimness  and  vastness:  here, 
you  have  an  equal  grimness  and  vastness,  with  the  addition  of 
superb  color.  This  forest  is  Cleopatra,  to  which  Calabar  is  but 
a  Quaker.  Not  only  does  this  forest  depend  on  flowers  for  its 
illumination;  for,  there  are  many  kinds  of  trees  having  their 
young  shoots,  crimson,  brown,  pink,  and  creamy  yellow.  Added 
to  this,  there  is  also  the  relieving  aspect  of  the  prevailing  fashion 
among  West  African  trees,  of  wearing  the  trunk  white,  witli 
here  and  there  upon  it  splashes  of  pale-pink  lichens,  and  ver- 
milion-red fungus,  which  alone  is  sufficient  to  prevent  the  great 
mass  of  vegetation  from  being  a  monotony  in  green.  All  day 
long  we  steam  past  ever-varying  scenes  of  loveliness,  whose 
component  parts  are  ever  the  same,  yet  the  effect  ever  different. 
Doubtless,  it  is  wrong  to  call  it  a  symphony;  yet  T  know  no  other 
word  to  describe  the  scenerv  of  the  Ogowe.  It  is  as  full  of  life 
and  beaut v  and  passion  as  any  symphony  ever  written,  the  parts 
changing,   interweaving  and   returning.      There   are   lc'\t    motifs 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  33 

here  in  it,  too.  See  the  papyrus  ahead ;  and  you  know  when  you 
get  abreast  of  it  you  will  find  the  great  forest  sweeping  away 
in  a  bay-like  curve  behind  it  against  the  dull  gray  sky,  the  splen- 
did columns  of  its  cotton-  and  red-woods,  looking  like  a  facade 
to  some  limitless,  inchoate  temple.  Then  again,  there  is  that 
stretch  of  sword-grass,  looking  as  if  it  grew  firmly  on  to  the 
bottom,  so  steady  does  it  stand.  But  as  the  Move  goes  by,  her 
wash  sets  it  undulating  in  waves  across  its  broad  acres  of  ex- 
tent, showing  it  is  only  riding  at  anchor;  and  you  know  after  a 
grass-patch  you  will  soon  see  a  red,  dwarf,  clay  cliff,  with  a  vil- 
lage perched  on  its  top,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof,  in  their  blue 
and  red  cloths,  standing  by  to  shout  and  wave  to  the  Move,  or 
legging  it  like  lamp-lighters  from  the  back  streets  and  the  plan- 
tation, to  the  river  frontage,  to  be  in  time  to  do  so.  And, 
through  all  these  changing  phases,  there  is  always  the  strain  of 
the  vast  forest,  and  the  swift,  deep,  silent  river."  * 

We  had  left  the  ocean-tide  far  behind  us.  Even  at  Ngumbe, 
where  we  marked  a  rise  of  a  few  inches,  the  sweep  of  the  sur- 
face current  was  still  down  river.  No  anchored  boat  any  longer 
swung  to  the  tide.  Swifter  and  stronger  against  our  bow  came 
the  rapidly  rising  flood  from  the  Interior.  And,  out  of  the  lake 
region,  at  Oranga,  the  triple  bodies  of  Onanga-Ogemwe-Isanga, 
rushed  the  water  that  had  been  pent  up  in  them.  The  journey 
now  was  exhilarating.  We  had  left  behind  us  the  marshes. 
Those  hills,  in  the  vistas  opened  by  every  turn  in  our  now  rapid 
progress,  looked  life-giving!  So  many  new  birds!  Flamin- 
goes, with  their  streaks  of  red !  Stories  of  the  rich  meat  of 
manatee  or  dugong.  (Which  in  later  years  I  proved  true.  I 
know  no  richer  meat.)  Here,  also,  natives  repeated  to  me 
stories  that  had  been  told  me  at  Benita,  of  a  strange  monster, 
one  hundred  feet  in  length,  with  a  mouth  somewhat  like  that  of 
a  crocodile,  and  with  scales,  but  without  feet.  I  have  never 
been  able  to  identify  it  with  any  known  animal.  For  some  of 
the  strange  stories  told  by  coast  tribes,  of  monsters  of  the  In- 
terior, there  have  been  found  bases,  on  which  native  fancy  had 
built.  For  example,  the  tailed  tribe  of  the  Interior  has  been 
proved  to  be  people  who  wore  skins  of  beasts,  the  tail  being  re- 
tained as  an  ornament.  But  for  the  hoofed  tribe  I  have  heard 
no  explanation.  Their  existence  was  asserted  by  Benita  people. 
"Where?"  "In  the  Interior."  And  here,  on  the  Ogowe,  the 
assertion  was  the  same,  "  In  the  Interior."  But,  I  never  found 
what  was  the  basis. 

*"  Travels    in   W.   Africa,"   page    129. 


34  MY  OGOWE 

Finally,  in  the  morning  of  Thursday,  October  i,  the  Pioneer 
reached  its  journey's  end,  before  Mr.  Sinclair's  trading-house 
at  the  Galwa  town  of  Adali-na'nanga  (Observed-of-the- 
Tribes).  All  rivers  are  dotted  with  islands  in  their  course  to 
the  ocean.  They  divride  their  waters  at  each  island's  head,  and 
unite  again  at  its  lower  end.  But  there  conies  a  day  when  an 
exceptional  island  is  met  with,  around  which  the  divided  waters 
never  again  unite;  but,  as  they  continue  their  flow  to  the  sea, 
they  divide  again,  and  subdivide  in  a  network  of  streams  that 
finally  reaches  the  sea  through  several  distinct  mouths.  That 
exceptional  island  always  marks  the  beginning  of  the  river's 
delta.  In  the  case  of  the  Ogowe,  its  divisive  island  was  130 
miles  of  the  river's  course  from  the  sea.  The  Ogowe,  coursing 
from  the  east,  there  made  a  sudden  turn  northward.  Dividing 
at  the  head  of  a  large  island  several  miles  in  length,  the  "  main  " 
branch  swept  to  the  left,  the  smaller  branch  taking  its  independ- 
ent course  to  the  right.  At  the  island's  head  was  the  town  of 
Eyenano  (the  Seen).  Three  miles  farther  up,  on  the  left  bank, 
a  town  of  the  Inenga  tribe.  It  was  by  them  that  Mr.  Walker 
had  been  made  captive.  On  a  high  ridge,  to  the  right  bank  in 
the  river's  angle,  and  at  the  head  of  the  smaller  branch,  was 
Adali-na-'nanga,  the  town  of  the  Galwa  king.  One  of  the 
women  of  his  harem  had  devoted  herself  to  the  captive  white 
man.  When  the  French  rescued  him,  and  authorized  him  to  re- 
main and  set  up  a  trade,  he  rewarded  her  by  locating  his  trad- 
ing-house at  her  town. 

Mr.  Sinclair  with  his  clerk  Mr.  Woodward,  and  a  German 
house  with  its  clerk  and  assistant,  were  the  only  white  residents 
in  the  river;  though  there  were  others  who  had  been  attracted, 
in  the  interest  of  science  or  adventure,  to  this  only  open  door 
to  the  Interior  from  the  equatorial  portion  of  the  west  coast. 
Two  French  gentlemen,  the  Marquis  de  Compeigne  and  M. 
March,  had  lately  returned  from  400  miles  farther  up  the  river. 
And  Dr.  Lenz,  of  Dr.  Geisefeldt's  German  Kongo  expedition. 
That  expedition  had  not  been  successful.  Tt  had  lost  two  sets  of 
instruments  and  other  equipments  worth  $10,000;  one,  on  the 
African  steamer  Nigrctia,  wrecked  at  Sierra  Leone,  and  another 
on  a  steamer  never  heard  from  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  Dr.  (ieise- 
feldt  had  gathered  several  good  skeletons,  specimens  of  the 
gorilla,  and  numerous  auriferous  quartz  and  other  stones,  indi- 
cating the  geological  presence  of  diamonds  and  other  stones. 

At  the  German  house  was  also  the  Baron  von  Koppenfels,  an 
officer   in   the   German    Army,    seeking   independent    adventure. 


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ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  35 

He  had  gathered  $1500  worth  of  rare  birds  and  skins  and  curi- 
osities. 

A  mile  down  the  smaller  branch  was  Andende  Creek  and 
Kangwe  Hill  (to  appear  later  in  this  history). 

A  few  years  later  the  deposit  of  silt  in  front  of  Mr.  Sinclair's 
house  (called  "  Aguma")  so  barred  the  approach  of  all  vessels 
that  he  removed  it  out  into  the  main  stream,  a  half  mile  below 
the  island's  head,  at  a  place  since  then  called  Lembarene ;  which, 
still  later  was  occupied  also  by  the  French  as  their  government 
Paste. 

I  remained  at  Mr.  Sinclair's ;  and  purposely  did  not  go  out  to 
visit  in  any  of  the  villages.  I  feared  that  the  Gal  was  might  at- 
tempt to  detain  me :  so,  I  avoided  communication  with  them. 
From  Mr.  Sinclair  and  others,  I  acquainted  myself  with  "  the 
lay  of  the  land."  Some  ten  miles  farther  up  river  was  a  large 
affluent  of  the  Ogowe,  the  Ngunye,  on  the  left  bank.  Its 
sources  were  from  the  south  and  west.  Its  upper  region  was  the 
locality  of  Du  Chaillu's,  "  My  Apinji  Kingdom."  When  it  joins 
the  Ogowe,  the  natives  called  the  latter  by  a  new  name,  the 
Okanda  (because  it  comes  from  an  interior  tribe,  the  Akanda). 
But  in  this  narrative  I  shall  disregard  that.  It  is  a  mistake;  just 
as  if  the  Mississippi,  above  the  junction  with  the  Missouri, 
should  be  called  by  some  other  name.  That  custom,  of  calling 
different  parts  of  a  river  by  different  names,  exists  all  across  the 
continent,  and  has  given  travelers  trouble.  It  was  one  of  the 
confusing  causes  that  were  constantly  starting  up  in  Dr.  Living- 
stone's way,  in  his  search  for  the  sources  of  the  Nile. 

How  glad  I  was  to  reach  an  end,  though  it  was  not  really  my 
objective  point,  and  though  I  at  once  met  several  trying  prob- 
lems. Mr.  Walker  had  prejudiced  me  against  the  Galwa  people. 
I  think  he  had  some  reason  (though  I  now  believe,  not  sufficient) 
for  his  dislike  of  them.  But  there  was,  to  me,  good  reason  why 
I  avoided  making  acquaintance  with  them  just  at  that  time. 
Galwa  is  a  very  near  dialect  of  Mpongwe.  which  language  I  did 
not  know.  I  spoke  Benga  fluently.  Air.  Walker  had  told  me 
that,  at  a  place.  Mbomi,  some  thirty  miles  farther  up  river 
from  Mr.  Sinclair's,  was  the  Okota  tribe,  whose  dialect  was  cog- 
nate with  Benga.  I  would  make  my  location  there.  And  lest 
in  the  monopolistic  spirit,  the  Galwa,  who  had  so  recently  been 
relieved  of  its  exercise  against  themselves  by  Orungu  and 
Nkami,  should  attempt  to  exercise  it  on  me  against  the  Okota 
and  Bakele.  I  sought  no  acquaintance  with  them,  secluding  my- 
self in  Air.  Sinclair's  house. 


36  MY  OGOVVE 

He  entered  into  my  plans,  and  promised  to  further  my  journey 
to  Mbomi.  But,  he  was  just  then  overwhelmed  with  business. 
A  dozen  of  his  Mpongwe  and  Nkami  native  traders  had  been 
lying"  there  for  two  weeks,  awaiting  the  Pioneer's  coming,  with 
three  hundred  of  their  crews,  idle,  quarrelsome,  and  the  entire 
crowd  fed  by  him  daily,  but  rendering  no  service  to  him.  He 
was  anxious  to  get  rid  of  them,  by  dividing  to  these  traders  their 
promised  share  of  the  Pioneer's  goods.  He  was  having  an 
hourly  battle  with  the  native  cupidity  that  grasped  for  more  than 
had  been  promised.  And  I  was  having  a  contest,  almost  every 
hour  of  the  day  and  night,  with  the  chigoes !  They  were  a  new 
pest.  Africa  had  possessed  a  variety  of  insect  pests,  especially  of 
the  ant  kind.  But,  in  1872,  a  vessel  sailed  from  Central  America, 
to  St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  having  sand  as  ballast.  Portuguese 
law  forbidding  this  to  be  cast  into  the  harbor,  it  was  dumped 
ashore.  The  American  chigoes  (miscalled  "jiggers")  in  that 
sand  have  since  then  spread  over  the  entire  African  continent ! 
I  had  never  seen  or  known  of  chigoes.  On  my  return  to  Africa 
in  1874,  I  heard  much  of  them;  but  during  the  three  months 
at  Libreville  and  Benita.  under  good  sanitation,  I  was  not  an- 
noyed much  by  them.  They  may  attack  any  part  of  the  body, 
but  preferably  one's  feet,  particularly  the  toes,  especially  around 
the  quick.  The  little  female,  a  small  red  flea,  half  as  large  as 
a  pin-head,  burrowing  under  the  skin,  produces  a  hundred  eggs 
in  a  sac  as  large  as  a  pea.  If  allowed  to  remain,  these  will 
hatch  and  make  an  ulcer,  resulting  sometimes  in  the  loss  of  the 
toe.  Experience  taught  us  that  the  insect,  or  its  sac,  must  be 
extracted  at  once  and  crushed  or  burned.  Rains  destroy  the 
chigoe:  but,  the  long  dry  season  (June  to  September)  had 
favored  their  production.  The  Galwas,  to  whom  they  were 
new,  in  extracting  the  sac,  threw  it  on  the  ground,  and  its  eggs 
hatched  there.  The  crowd  around  Mr.  Sinclair's  house  were 
more  reckless  in  their  habits  than  they  were  in  their  own  villages ; 
and,  the  place  had  become  very  unsanitary.  Mr.  Sinclair,  hos- 
pitable as  he  was,  had,  as  the  only  space  he  could  offer  me  for  a 
bedstead,  the  top  of  the  counter  in  his  shop.  T  sat  there  in  ter- 
ror of  those  hateful  insects.  Every  hour  of  the  day  T  removed 
my  shoes  and  socks,  to  pick  off  the  frightful  invaders,  whom  no 
amount  of  cleanliness,  nor  solidity  of  shoe  could  exclude.  And, 
at  night,  I  awoke  almost  every  hour  to  rub  on  kerosene  as  a 
slight  deterrent.  In  previous  years,  on  my  Benita  journeys,  in 
affiliating  with  the  natives  in  their  huts,  and  sleeping  on  their 
bedsteads   (but  carrying  my  own  little  pillow),  I  had  endured. 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  37 

but  could  not  control,  the  bedbugs;  with  great  care  I  had  en- 
tirely escaped  the  prevalent  head  lice;  only  occasionally  had  I 
contracted  the  as  prevalent  body  lice  (but,  they  were  readily  re- 
moved). But  here  no  amount  of  care,  of  sanitation,  or  cleanli- 
ness, could  save  me  from  this  little  monster.  I  shuddered  with 
horror,  not  at  its  itching  bite,  but  at  the  very  thought  of  a  per- 
sistent parasite  on  my  body! 

I  had  met  with  fever,  with  danger  from  poison,  drowning, 
wild  beasts,  affliction,  sorrow,  trial,  native  daggers,  and  human 
treachery.  None  of  these  things  had  moved  me  from  my  devo- 
tion to  Africa  and  missionary  duty.  But,  after  all  these  years,  I 
confess,  that,  for  the  first  and  only  time  in  my  entire  African  life, 
the  thought  did  then  come  to  me :  "  I  can  not  endure  this ! 
I  will  give  up  the  work,  and  go  back  to  the  United  States !  " 
But,  relief  came.  The  blessed  rains  came !  The  pests  were  de- 
stroyed, only  enough  surviving  for  reproduction  the  next  year. 
Before  that  came  I  found  myself  in  less  unsanitary  surround- 
ings, and  had  learned  better  how  either  to  check  somewhat  the 
chigoe's  advance,  or,  more  skilfully  and  promptly  to  extract  it. 
I  never  succeeded  in  doing  so  without  drawing  blood;  and  that 
left  a  small  wound.  In  the  first  year's  invasion,  I  had  daily  seen 
men,  women,  and  children,  the  latter  with  tears  rolling  down  their 
cheeks,  digging  from  their  feet  the  pests  that  had  burrowed  there. 
But  the  children,  having  more  frequent  practice,  than  I,  on  their 
own  bare  feet,  especially  the  girls,  became  very  skilful  in  blood- 
less extraction.  In  later  years  I  came  to  depend  on  them  and 
their  services  as  the  last  act  of  the  day  before  retiring  to  bed. 

For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  felt  what  it  was  to  be  on  the  last 
verge  of  civilization.  At  dinner,  for  a  welcome  to  the  Pioneer, 
Mr.  Sinclair  invited  his  few  white  neighbors  to  meet  Captain 
Johns.  With  whom,  besides  himself,  his  clerk  Woodward,  the 
young  man  Percy,  and  myself,  there  were  Captain  Stone,  an 
Englishman,  head  of  a  rival  firm,  and  his  guest,  the  German 
Baron  von  Koppenfels.  The  Baron  was  a  powerfully  built  man, 
an  adventurer  seeking  excitement  in  hunting.  He  had  found  it 
one  day,  on  a  Nkami  prairie,  when  a  wild  ox  charged  him  at 
close  quarters.  Without  his  gun.  he  stood  still,  and,  as  the  fierce 
beast  plunged  its  lowered  horns  at  him,  he  seized  them,  and,  under 
the  tremendous  force  of  necessity,  slowly  and  steadily  twisted  the 
beast's  neck  until  it  broke  (as  is  related  to  have  been  done  by  a 
gladiator  in  a  Roman  amphitheater). 

We  were  thus,  at  the  table,  seven  white  men.  On  the  Pioneer 
also  were  its  mate  and  engineer  and  a  Mr.  Dixon  temporarily  left 


38  MY  OGOWE 

in  charge.  Somewhere  on  the  river  were  Schmieder  and  another 
man.  In  all,  only  twelve  white  men  in  the  entire  course  of  the 
river.  But,  when  the  Pioneer  should  leave,  there  would  be  only 
nine,  of  whom  no  more  than  three  would  be  in  the  same  house- 
hold. And,  for  me,  going-  to  the  Beyond,  to  the  east,  there 
would  be  only  myself,  and  Superstition,  and  Bakele  and  cannibal 
Fan  we.* 

As  I  deliberately  avoided  the  Galwa,  and  Mr.  Sinclair  was 
very  busy  trying  to  get  his  traders  off  to  their  places,  there  was 
much  of  the  time  that  I  was  alone.  Thinking  of  the  future  made 
me  anxious.  Thinking  of  the  past  made  me  sad.  I  thought  I 
had  conquered  homesickness.  But.  familiar  home  tunes  played 
on  a  hand-organ,  one  evening,  made  me  feel  that  there  was  still 
much  in  me  that  I  had  not  entirely  controlled. 

The  Pioneer  left  on  Monday,  October  5,  for  its  return  to  the 
seaside,  taking  with  it  a  large  mail  I  had  written.  She  would 
have  no  trouble  with  shallows.  The  rains  had  come,  and  the 
river  was  rising  very  rapidly.  Mr.  Sinclair  kindly  gave  me  the 
benefit  of  his  experience  with  the  river  tribes,  as  to  customs, 
prices,  etc.  But,  living  in  narrow  quarters  was  painfully  accentu- 
ating a  local  eczema  which  was  irritating  me.  I  had  suffered 
with  it  chronically  years  before,  at  Benita.  It  and  boils  were 
two  of  the  alternatives  I  had  accepted  as  exemption  from  African 
fever.  Both  disappeared  during  my  furlough  of  i872-'73  in 
the  United  States.  There,  a  doctor,  who  had  ostracized  him- 
self from  the  "  regular  "  profession,  because  of  his  making  pro- 
prietary a  cure  he  had  discovered  for  certain  diseases,  gave  me 
an  eczema  ointment  to  use  in  the  future.  I  had  no  faith  in  it. 
but,  having  no  other  relief,  I  tried  it  at  Mr.  Sinclair's.  Its  first 
application,  one  night,  was  torture  endurable  for  only  fifteen  min- 
utes; next  night,  I  was  able  to  endure  it  for  thirty  minutes;  and, 
the  third  night,  for  one  hour.  The  fourth  day.  the  eruption  was 
gone,  and  my  skin  smooth  and  healthful. 

The  sunsets  were  incomparably  beautiful,  under  the  clear  air 
of  the  rainy  season ;  far  surpassing  any  I  had  seen  on  the  sea- 
coast.  In  the  distance  south-eastward  were  the  blue  hills  of  the 
river  Xgunye ;  in  the  middle  distance  the  green  of  the  forest; 
and,   in  the  foreground,  an  orange  sheen  on  the  sands  on  the 

*  This  word  has  several  forms  of  spelling.  At  the  sea-coast,  the  Bengas 
called  it,  Pa-ngwe ;  the  Mpongwe,  Mpanwe;  Du  Chailhi  had  written  it, 
Fan  (with  the  French  nasal  ending);  l)e  Brazza  wrote  it.  Pahonin ;  the 
tribe  itself  certainly,  with  an  explosive  sound,  said  Fang,  though  there 
seemed  to  my  ear  also  an  elusive  final  W,  like  Pfangw.  I  compromise 
on   the   form,   Fanwe. 


ENTERING  THE  OGOWE  39 

beach  and  islands.  The  views  of  the  entire  river  had  been  very- 
line  up  to  that  Aguma  Point;  but,  Mr.  Sinclair  promised  me 
something  magnificent  in  the  lakes.  He  had,  as  far  as  he  was 
able,  put  me  so  at  home  in  his  "  factory,"  that  I  did  not  feel  as 
lonely  as  I  had  expected.  He  took  such  a  hearty  interest  in  my 
project  that  he  actually  offered  to  go  with  me  in  my  selection  of 
a  site,  instead  of  my  hiring  a  boat  and  going  alone.  He  in- 
formed me  that  the  Okota  people  had  left  Mbomi;  and  he  ad- 
vised me  to  settle  among  the  Bakele  who  were  now  occupying 
that  place.  Everything  seemed  favorable;  only,  I  still  feared 
that  some  jealousy  might  be  aroused  among  the  Galwa,  against 
my  going  to  the  Bakele.  I  felt  there  was  need  of  prudence  and 
caution.  Though  130  miles  from  the  sea,  in  the  course  of  the 
river  (ninety  in  direct  line)  the  afternoon  sea  breeze  reached 
there,  and  the  nights  were  cool.  But  mosquitoes  were  plentiful, 
and  chigoes  fearful.  Mr.  Sinclair  insisted  on  my  being  his 
guest,  and  would  make  no  charge  for  entertainment, — but,  1  had 
my  own  employee,  Ingumu,  as  washman. 

Mr.  Sinclair  assisted  me  in  the  purchase  of  a  canoe,  and  in  the 
hiring  of  three  Galwas.  I  mention  their  names,  as  they  re- 
mained in  my  service  several  years:  they  were,  Alendeginye, 
Oraniga,  and  Aveya.  Galwa  canoes  were  flat-bottomed,  their 
sides  straightly  perpendicular  as  of  a  box,  the  pointed  bow  and 
stern  not  elevated  much  above  the  level  of  the  sides.  They  were 
very  "cranky."  In  smooth  water  they  were  safe;  but,  before 
waves  raised  by  a  strong  wind,  they  had  no  buoyancy. 

The  Okota  tribe,  in  disappearing  from  Mbomi,  instead  of  ad- 
vancing seaward,  as  is  the  ambition  of  almost  all  inland  tribes, 
had  retired  interior  ward.  Of  the  Akele  tribe  who  were  occupy- 
ing the  deserted  site,  I  knew  nothing,  except  that  I  remembered 
a  description  given  of  their  dialect  by  the  accomplished  philolo- 
gist, Rev.  Ira  M.  Preston.  He  said,  "  Take  the  Benga,  chop  off 
its  final  syllable,  and  you  have  a  Fafiwe  vocabulary.  Then  take 
that  same  Benga,  add  to  it  a  syllable,  and  you  have  the  Dikele 
vocabulary."  This,  I  have  since  proved,  in  my  own  acquisition 
of  those  dialects,  to  be  sufficiently  descriptive,  as  an  epigram. 
So,  still  anxious  to  utilize  my  knowledge  of  Benga,  I  decided  to 
locate  among  the  Bakele  people.  Mr.  Sinclair  kindly  directed 
one  of  his  Mpongwe  traders,  Agaia,  who  could  speak  English, 
and  who  was  located  near  the  village  of  an  Akele  chief,  Kasa, 
adjoining  Mbomi,  to  escort  me  on  my  journey  thither. 


CHAPTER  III 

PROSPECTING 

1  WAITED  at  Aguma  for  the  company  of  the  promised  es- 
cort, while  Mr.  Sinclair  was  dismissing  his  Nkami  sub- 
traders  to  their  "  factories  "  up  the  rivers  and  down  to 
the  lakes.  The  one  who  was  going  up  river  with  me,  Agaia,  I 
had  known  at  Benita,  he  having  been  an  employee  of  the  Sierra 
Leone  negro  trader  Hamilton,  in  1870.  So,  my  two  Kombe 
young  men  affiliated  with  him,  at  once,  and  he  was  very  helpful 
to  me. 

Finally,  in  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  October  12,  the  first  day 
of  the  fortieth  year  of  my  life,  with  my  own  canoe,  my  five 
crew,  and  a  portion  of  my  supply  of  provisions  and  goods,  es- 
corted by  Agaia  and  his  five  canoes  laden  with  goods,  and  with 
his  sixty  men,  with  their  guns  firing,  flags  flying,  and  shouts  of 
songs,  I  started  on  the  second  stretch  of  my  Ogowe  journey. 
I  had  no  direction  of  the  route,  though  I  made  careful  notes,  for 
my  own  future  travels.  Nor  had  I  any  authority.  I  allowed 
my  own  crew  lazily  to  follow  Agaia's  people,  in  the  vigor  of 
their  hilarity  that  left  little  strength  to  be  applied  to  their 
paddles.  We  had  gone  only  a  few  miles  when  the  sun  set  in  an 
unusually  magnificent  array  of  color,  and,  we  stopped  for  the 
night  on  a  sand-bar.  Some  of  Agaia's  people  went  off  to  an 
adjacent  Inenga  village,  where  they  could  share  in  the  usual 
evening  dance  in  the  village  street.  After  a  supper  of  sardines 
and  crackers,  rain  fell  heavily.  I  kept  most  of  it  off  by  crouch- 
ing under  my  enormous  umbrella,  where  also  I  gathered  my  per- 
ishable treasures  and  bedding.  I  slept  tolerably  well,  with  no 
chigoes  and  but  few  mosquitoes,  but  with  rain,  thunder  and 
lightning,  and  with  the  snorting  and  bellowing  hippos  in  the  ad- 
jacent shallows,  angry  at  our  invasion  of  their  sleeping  ground. 
The  next  morning  an  early  start  was  made,  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Ngiinye,    only   ten    miles    from    the   Aguma    "  factory "  *    was 

*  This  word,  "  factory,"  was  the  common  one  used  in  trade,  all  along 
the  entire  coast.  Tt  meant  the  house  of  the  trader  or  "  factor."  But,  lest 
it  be  misunderstood  for  a  manufactory,  I  shall,  in  this  history  use  "trad- 
ing-house." 

40 


PROSPECTING  41 

passed.  Much  of  the  day  was  wasted  by  Agaia's  men  in  their 
slow  paddling,  smoking,  animated  discussions,  and  long  narra- 
tions. 

In  my  subsequent  government  of  my  own  crews,  while  I  en- 
couraged them  to  sing,  and  did  not  forbid  conversation,  I  re- 
quired that  the  tongue's  motion  should  not  be  a  substitute  for 
that  of  the  paddle.  The  journey  would  have  been  very  tiresome, 
had  I  not  been  busy  with  pencil  and  paper,  making  charts  of  the 
routes,  the  villages,  etc.,  etc. 

My  Kombe,  Mediko,  did  well  in  cooking.  In  the  mornings, 
I  ate  cracked  wheat  (a  gift  of  my  dear  mother!)  and  tea  (from 
Miss  Jones  of  the  Mission).  Then,  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  a 
hearty  meal  of  plantains  and  rice.  At  night,  a  slight  repast  of 
crackers  and  molasses.  Often,  I  omitted  the  evening  meal;  the 
one  hearty  meal  a  day  satisfied  an  appetite  that  had  no  compan- 
ionship to  excite  it.  By  sunset  we  had  made  only  about  twelve 
miles.  Heavy  rain  was  coming.  To  escape  the  rough  waves  of 
a  storm,  the  canoes  ran  into  a  little  creek,  where  was  neither  time 
nor  place  to  build  a  fire.  There  was  passed  a  most  uncomfort- 
able night.  The  big  umbrella  kept  away  rain  pretty  well  from 
my  body;  but  the  mosquito  net  over  it  did  not  keep  out  the  in- 
sects.    I  tried  to  get  some  comfort  out  of  a  mouth-organ. 

By  the  third  day  the  crews  awoke  to  the  necessity  of  work. 
But,  the  current  of  the  stream  was  strong,  making  a  journey  up 
stream,  long;  down  it,  very  quick.  And  many  stops  were 
made  on  the  way.  At  a  certain  "  head-man's,"  Avyake,  he  made 
me  a  present  of  a  chicken,  and  promised  me  a  goat,  which,  I  told 
him  I  would  claim  and  eat  when  I  should  make  him  a  future 
visit.  At  "  King  "  Ondene's,  I  was  accorded  quite  a  reception 
to  the  Akele  tribe.  He  seemed  proud  of  the  distinction  of  my 
visit.  He  gave  me  a  chicken,  which  I  cooked  at  once.  He  was 
very  curious  and  inquisitive.  He  wanted  to  see  my  toes,  won- 
dering that  chigoes  could  invade  shoes ;  and  wanted  to  taste  my 
syrup  of  limes  and  other  foreign  articles.  A  great  dance  was 
going  on,  for  the  prevention  of  witch  influence.  I  liked  the 
man's  mixture  of  dignity  and  friendly  interest.  Resuming  the 
journey,  I  observed  attractive  mission-sites.  The  banks  of  the 
Ogowe  had  become  continuously  elevated,  higher  above  the  river- 
level  than  were  the  Mbade  and  Bolondo  houses,  at  Benita,  above 
the  sea-level.  With  all  these  delays,  our  flotilla  did  not  make 
more  than  eight  miles  that  day.  Agaia  reached  the  village  ad- 
joining Kasa's.  about  twenty-five  miles  from  Adali-na-'nanga, 
only  at  sunset,  in  a  drenching  rain. 


42  MY  OGOWE 

The  next  day,  October  15,  was  a  rainy  day,  but  I  was  busy 
having  clothing  dried  in  the  hut,  and  boxes  inspected  lest  their 
contents  had  been  wet  in  the  canoe.  Kasa  came  to  see  me; 
and  I  specifically  acknowledged  his  jurisdiction,  and  put  myself 
and  people  under  his  care.  I  told  him  I  would  look  to  him  to 
assist  me  in  selecting  a  site,  as  I  intended  to  build  in  his  vicinity, 
if  I  found  conditions  satisfactory.  He  made  me  a  present  of  a 
goat,  a  bunch  of  plantains,  and  a  half  bushel  of  ground-nuts.  I 
was  pleased  with  him.  Though  he  was  not  as  dignified  as  King 
Ondene,  I  thought  him  more  available.  I  at  once  took  with  him 
the  position  of  telling  hjm  what  I  wanted,  and  of  objecting  to 
what  I  disliked,  as  I  would  to  a  friend.  He  was  very  intelligent, 
and  with  some  civilized  ideas  that  agreeably  surprised  me.  Our 
friendship  continued  during  his  life.  But,  his  heathenism  was 
deep,  and  his  superstitions,  as  I  became  better  acquainted  with 
him,  were  amazingly  strong. 

He  took  me  from  Agaia's  village,  and  established  me  and  my 
belongings  in  a  large  room  of  his  own  bamboo  house,  my  room 
door  opening  into  the  public  reception  room,  where  were  people 
coming  and  going  or  lounging  all  day  long.  In  the  evening,  as 
we  all  sat  conversing  in  that  room,  there  occurred  one  of  the 
usual  demonstrations  of  hospitality  given  to  all  visitors  of  dis- 
tinction, and  especially  to  white  men.  A  man  approached  me 
smiling,  and  leading  a  woman,  who  looked  at  me  with  a  graceful 
expectancy.  I  inquired,  what  was  the  matter?  He  asked  me 
for  a  glass  of  rum  ( !)  and  said,  "  I  have  brought  this  woman 
to  be  your  wife."  This  experience  was  not  a  new  one.  But, 
it  never  was  repeated  in  the  same  region.  On  the  first  occasion, 
years  before,  I  had  answered  indignantly.  But,  without  lower- 
ing any  of  my  own  standards  or  ideals,  I  had  learned  to  look  at 
all  questions  of  ethics,  and  even  of  morals,  from  the  native's 
point  of  view.  Advancing  on  that  line,  I  had  met  receptivity. 
Standing  thus  on  common  ground,  as  a  friend,  I  found  that  I  had 
more  influence  in  explaining  my  standard,  than  if  I  had  attacked 
his,  as  an  enemy.  As  to  the  women;  I  had  learned  that  their 
approach,  as  on  this  occasion,  was  not  as  the  brazen  wantons  of 
civilization.  There  was  no  immodesty  in  manner.  And,  in  her 
thought,  there  was  for  me,  the  duty  of  hospitality  (so  highly 
held  in  all  eastern  countries)  and,  for  herself,  the  distinction 
of  alliance  with  a  great  white  man.  The  sin,  in  these  cases,  was 
( 1 ) ,  on  the  part  of  the  white  man,  who,  in  accepting,  lowered 
his  own  standards;  (2),  and,  on  the  part  of  the  native  man,  who 
expected  to  obtain  pay  for  the  woman's  dishonor.     I  could  hold 


PROSPECTING  43 

my  Christian  position,  without  being  discourteous  to  the  woman. 
I  told  Kasa,  in  a  few  words;  and  he  publicly  warned  that  mis- 
sionaries were  not  to  be  thus  approached. 

He  then  paraded  before  me  his  own  twenty-six  women,  and 
placed  me  under  the  special  care  of  his  chief  one,  or  "  queen," 
ftwanaja,  who  was  to  see  that  provisions  were  to  be  regularly 
supplied  to  me  (of  course,  I  would  buy  them ).  She  was  a  lady- 
like woman,  of  unusual  strength  and  amiability  of  character. 
Our  friendship  continued  for  years. 

I  was  awakened,  on  the  16th,  by  the  ringing  of  a  witch-doc- 
tor's bell.  There  was  a  parade  of  a  grotesquely  clad  company  of 
men  and  women  searching  for  the  witch  or  wizard  who  had  been 
causing  some  troubles  in  the  villages. 

Kasa  wanted  to  see  all  my  curiosities.  Among  other  treas- 
ures. I  put  on  my  dressing-gown  (as  a  kingly  robe!)  and  played 
on  my  flute  and  accordeon,  and  explained  the  workings  of  my 
sixteen-repeater  Winchester  rifle.  That  was  a  wonder!  That 
a  gun  could  "  talk  ten  times,"  without  stopping  to  reload,  fasci- 
nated the  crowd.  But,  Kasa,  spurred  in  pride  for  his  own  pos- 
sessions, told  me  he  had  that  which  could  make  my  rifle  harm- 
less. He  stepped  into  an  inner  room,  and  emerged  with  a  heavy 
string  of  fetish-charms  contained  in  a  gazelle-horn,  shells,  genet 
skins,  etc.  Adjusting  them  around  his  neck  and  shoulders,  he 
said  that  he  was  invulnerable  to  any  spear  or  gun  or  other  weapon 
of  man  or  beast.  He  offered  to  stand  as  a  mark  for  my  Win- 
chester !  Thinking  that  he  was  only  boasting,  I  accepted  the 
challenge.  He  stood  erect.  I  paced  off  about  thirty  feet,  and 
threw  a  cartridge  from  the  magazine  into  the  barrel.  The  click 
was  distinctly  heard.  I  cocked  the  trigger.  Its  click  too  was 
heard ;  but  he  did  not  flinch.  I  deliberately  aimed  at  him. 
Still  he  did  not  flinch.  His  people  were  frightened,  but 
he  was  not.  He  was  perfectly  sure  of  his  invulnerability!  I 
desisted,  feeling  I  had  been  worsted.  But.  two  years  later  when 
he  died,  gored  by  the  tusks  of  a  wounded  elephant,  I  reminded 
his  people  of  the  useless  fetishes. 

I  was  not  in  want.  I  scarcely  began  on  my  own  provisions. 
At  first,  Kasa  fed  me :  I  bought  only  for  my  people.  We  all 
had  as  much  as  we  could  eat.  A  goat  was  killed  every  day. 
There  was  a  good-sized  population.  In  his  town  were  three  hun- 
dred people ;  and.  in  adjacent  villages,  one  thousand.  I  talked 
in  Benga  to  Mediko,  who  then  spoke  in  Mpongwe  to  one  of  the 
Galwas,  who  repeated  in  Dikele.  But,  I  felt  that  I  would  soon 
be  able  to  speak  Dikele  myself,  if  I  remained  there;  for,  it  re- 


44  MY  OGOWE 

sembled  Benga  somewhat.  I  was  very  well.  I  did  not  even 
think  of  fever,  and  had  no  occasion  to  use  quinine.  My  plan 
was  to  spend  a  week  each  with  three  others  of  the  principal  men 
in  that  district,  while  surveying1  sites. 

Kasa  was  to  take  me  to  examine  desirable  building  sites. 
But,  first,  I  thought  I  would  go  alone,  and  see  what  there  was  at 
Mbomi,  about  a  mile  distant.  On  the  way,  passed  the  mouths  of 
two  small  creeks,  Little  Isango  and  Big  Isango,  whose  sources, 
I  was  told,  joined,  in  the  rainy  season,  with  the  Mbomi.  These 
former  Okota  sites  were  now  occupied  by  Bakele.  I  was  disap- 
pointed in  the  situation ;  the  land  lay  too  low ;  and  the  interior 
"  lake,"  of  which  Mr.  Walker  had  told  me,  amounted  to  nothing. 
I  was  pleased,  at  another  village,  Iseme's,  that  the  children 
seemed  less  afraid  of  the  white  man  than  did  some  of  the  coast 
tribes.  There  was  there  a  very  attentive  little  boy,  and  a  very 
pretty  little  girl,  Awethe.  I  returned  to  Kasa's,  and  was  to  go 
to  another  village,  Ntambi's,  to  eat  with  him  and  Kasa.  There 
was  plenty  of  goat-meat  and  plantains.  Even  after  the  long  in- 
terval to  the  present  time,  and  tasting  every  variety  of  vegetable, 
I  know  none  that  I  enjoy  more  than  boiled  ripe  plantains. 

On  the  long  way  from  the  river's  mouth,  and  during  the  de- 
lays, whatever  time  or  labor  were  spent  on  physical  necessities 
or  plans,  uppermost  was  my  interest  in  my  distinctive  missionary 
work  of  teaching  or  telling  of  the  Gospel.  There  had  been  few 
opportunities  for  formal  preaching.  But,  daily,  when  ashore, 
if  there  were  no  gatherings  of  curious  villagers,  I  had  at  least 
the  five  members  of  my  own  household,  with  whom  to  read  or 
sing  in  Benga,  or  Mpongwe.  or  Dikele.  I  had  the  printed  Gos- 
pels in  all  three  dialects ;  the  latter  two,  though  I  could  not  speak 
them,  were  easy  to  read.  And,  I  was  making  a  daily  effort  to 
talk,  however,  brokenly,  in  Dikele.  Little  Awethe  came  often  to 
see  me.  The  child's  prattle  was  a  far  better  school  in  which  to 
learn  than  would  have  been  any  adult's  formal  teaching.  That 
also  had  been  my  experience  in  my  acquisition  of  Benga.  I 
am  convinced  that  it  is  the  only  best  mode  of  language  acquisi- 
tion. The  grammar  and  the  critical  teacher  have  their  place 
later. 

On  Sunday,  October  18,  after  breakfast,  I  told  Kasa  to  call 
together  his  people;  and  I  held  a  little  meeting.  I  spoke  in 
Benga  to  my  Benita  man  Mediko;  he,  knowing  also  Mpongwe 
interpreted  in  it  to  Agaia,  who,  knowing  Dikele  spoke  in  that 
dialect.  Certainly,  a  confusion  of  tongues!  From  an  English 
brain  in  Benga,  through  a  Kombe  brain  in  Mpongwe,  and  then 


PROSPECTING  45 

through  a  Mpongwe  brain  into  Dikele!  I  do  not  know  how 
true  or  faithful  the  interpreters  were.  But,  God's  use  of  means 
is  wonderful!  Even  by  the  mouth  of  babes!  Perhaps  I  started 
on  too  high  a  plane.  For,  after  I  had  ceased  speaking,  I  found 
that  my  Bakele  audience  had  no  proper  idea  even  of  my  char- 
acter or  object  of  my  coming.  They  knew  of  white  men  only  as 
traders.  They  asked  me  for  drinks  of  rum;  and  wished  to  be 
amused  with  an  exhibition  of  my  rifle.  I  promised  to  amuse 
them  if  they  would  come  on  another  day;  and  spent  some  time 
in  trying  to  explain  to  them  the  Sabbath.  To  people  who  had 
neither  measure  of  or  division  of  time  (except  the  new  moon), 
and  who  were  "  resting  "  every  day,  the  call  for  physical  rest 
did  not  appeal.  And,  it  was  a  long  day  off,  with  "  precept  upon 
precept,"  until  they  began  to  appreciate  the  spiritual  side. 
Little  Awethe  came  again  in  the  afternoon.  People  were  sur- 
prised that  not  only  could  I  recognize  her  from  other  children, 
but  remember  and  correctly  speak  her  name. 

The  day  had  many  confusions.  I  was  told  that  Kasa  had  cut 
one  of  his  women,  in  anger  at  her  accidentally  having  broken  a 
jug.  In  the  common  use  of  other  people's  property  in  a  village 
community,  one  of  Kasa's  men  "  borrowed  "  my  canoe  without 
asking  for  it.  I  made  my  protest  to  Kasa.  willing  to  be  helpful, 
but  declining  to  be  appropriated  as  a  convenience.  I  felt  lonely 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  thinking  of  loved  ones  far  away,  as 
I  looked  on  family  gifts:  my  mother's  tin  of  cracked  wheat  and 
bottle  of  horseradish :  slippers  from  cousin  Anna  How  and  from 
Mr.  Patten ;  Miss  Jones'  covered  tins :  and  jars  of  good  things 
from  Rev.  Dr.  Allen's  Old  Pine  Street  Church,  Philadelphia. 

I  began  to  be  restive  at  Kasa's  vacillations.  At  times,  ex- 
tremely demonstrative ;  at  others,  apparently  indifferent,  almost 
to  discourtesy.  At  times,  liberal  in  gifts  of  food;  and  then 
avaricious  in  asking  returns.  I  knew  very  well  that  very  few 
natives  gave  anything  without  expectation  of  a  return.  That  I 
had  accepted,  along  with  my  other  adaptations  of  native  cus- 
toms. But,  I  expected  that  there  should  be  a  minimum  interval 
of  one  day  between  the  two  transactions.  And,  my  "  return  " 
was  always  much  more  in  pecuniary  value  than  if  I  had  been 
buying  the  "  gift  "  outright.  Sometimes  their  avarice  so  over- 
came them  that,  a  native  having  made  me  a  pleasant  visit  and 
chat,  and  laying  at  my  feet  a  "  gift."  on  leaving,  would  beg  for 
some  small  favor.  In  such  cases.  I  instantly  returned  the  gift, 
refusing  either  to  accept  or  buy  it. 

Kasa  had  planned  a  gorilla-hunt.     I  offered  to  join  him  with 


46  MY  OGOVVE 

my  Winchester.  Perhaps  I  showed  too  much  interest,  as  if  the 
excursion  was  for  my  sake.  Shortly  before  we  were  to  start, 
he  suddenly  asked  what  pay  he  and  one  of  his  men  were  to  re- 
ceive! I  declined  to  pay.  or  to  have  anything  farther  to  do  with 
the  hunt.  And  it  was  abandoned.  He  went  off,  without  noti- 
fying" me.  to  visit  King  Ondene.  On  his  return.  I  took  no 
notice  of  him.  For.  during  his  absence,  there  had  arrived,  by 
Schmieder's  little  steam-launch,  my  first  Ogowe  mail !  I  shared 
the  joy  of  my  letters  with  my  two  civilized  Benita  men.  And. 
Giief  Mabe.  from  Mbomi,  had  come  to  see  me  with  some  of  his 
people,  apparently  interested  in  my  missionary  talk.  And.  little 
Awethe  asked  me  to  go  and  see  her  father,  in  Ntambi's  village. 
Kasa  had  been  fluent  in  promises  to  show  me  sites,  from  which 
I  could  select  one  for  building.  He  had,  indeed,  taken  me  to 
quite  a  number  of  places:  but.  all  of  them  were  unsatisfactory. 
My  experience  at  Benita  had  impressed  on  me  that  the  presence 
of  people  was  not  the  first  requisite  in  a  site.  Rather.  I  wished 
at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile  between  my  house  and  the  noisy 
native  village.  They  would  be  sure  to  come  to  me.  and  I  could 
visit  them.  So.  T  required  (i).  a  tract  of  at  the  very  least, 
twenty  acres:  (2)  not  in  proximity  to  a  village:  (3)  a  landing- 
place  on  the  river,  under  my  sole  control:  (4)  a  spring,  or  fresh- 
water brook,  on  mission  property,  and  not  to  be  used  in  common 
with  others.  None  of  Kasa's  sites  had  anv  one  of  the  requi- 
sites. He  promised  to  show  me  others.  Tired  of  his  delays 
(he  evidently  wished  me  to  remain  in  his  village).  I  decided 
1o  visit  Mbomi  again.  He  objected  strongly.  But.  T  would  not 
listen:  being  indignant  at  him.  T  went  to  Mbomi  for  several 
days,  where  Mabe  was  quite  attentive.  He  sent  a  young  man 
to  escort  me  up  the  creek.  T  saw  nothing  to  suit  me  as  a  build- 
ing-site, though  the  day's  canoe-travel  was  very  interesting. 
After  the  night's  rain,  the  day  was  clear  and  bright  and  cool. 
It  was  a  luxury  to  lie  back  in  the  canoe,  as  it  sped  among  t lie 
cool  shadows,  under  the  tree  branches  and  overhanging  vines  and 
flowers.  T  saw.  for  the  first  time,  a  real  native  suspension- 
bridge  over  the  creek,  made  of  strong  vines  strung  from  trees  on 
each  side,  guyed  with  other  vines,  with  a  footpath  of  sticks  tied 
like  the  rungs  of  a  ladder,  and  with  stretched  vines  for  a  hand- 
railing.  Mabe  also  inquired  whether  positively  T  would  come 
back  to  Akele  after  my  expected  return  to  Gaboon  tor  annual 
meetings,  and  promised  to  find  me  just  such  a  site  as  T  had  de- 
scribed with  requisites.  Then,  he  went  away  in  a  large  canoe 
with  eighteen  men  and  women,  to  talk  a  "  palaver  "  at  the  village 


PROSPECTING  47 

of  Anyambe-jena  (God  sees),  several  miles  down  river,  leaving 
me  to  the  care  of  his  son,  who  neglected  me.  So,  I  left  Mabe's, 
and  went  to  another's,  Iseme,  who  professed  to  be  very  anxious 
have  me  settle  near  him.  I  was  not  deceived  by  these  profes- 
sions; but,  I  was  willing  to  see  what  he  had  to  show  me.  At 
another  village,  Mboko's,  I  had  an  admirable  opportunity  of  il- 
lustrating to  the  people  the  love  of  Christ  in  dying  for  sinners. 
I  had  not,  in  the  Ogowe,  found,  among  my  few  words,  enough 
to  express  this.  In  his  village  were  three  chained  prisoners,  who 
were  to  be  killed.  I  inquired  of  Mboko  whether,  if  some  friend 
of  theirs  would  come  and  ask  to  be  chained  in  the  prisoner's 
place,  and  the  prisoners  freed,  would  he  be  willing?  He  curtly 
interrupted  me,  and  said  there  was  "  no  use  talking  about  such 
a  thing."  Again,  I  asked  him  to  consider:  Did  no  one  have  a 
friend  with  love  so  great  as  to  be  willing  to  die  for  another? 
"  No!  people  don't  do  so!  "  I  passionately  told  him  that  I  knew 
that  scarcely  would  "  people  "  do  so,  but  that  the  Son  of  God  did 
just  that  very  way  for  him  and  me! 

The  body  of  a  kind  of  antelope  I  had  not  before  seen,  caught 
in  a  pitfall,  was  brought  into  the  village.  It  was  a  large  red- 
colored  one.  Its  name,  "  njivo,"  attracted  me;  for  it  was  the 
name  of  a  young  Mpongwe  woman,  a  Baraka  schoolgirl,  one  of 
two  sisters,  who,  in  their  natural  endowments,  their  education, 
their  civilization,  and  their  Christianity,  for  many  years  contrib- 
uted much  to  my  enjoyment  of  native  society,  at  first  in  Libre- 
ville and,  later  in  the  Ogowe.  Their  names  will  reappear  in  this 
history.     They  are  both  dead  now. 

One  of  those  days,  at  Mabe's,  some  of  his  women  came  to  me 
indignantly  complaining  against  one  of  my  Galwa  men,  who,  they 
said,  had  spied  on  them  while  they  were  washing  themselves  in 
the  creek.  If  they  had  demanded  a  fine,  I  might  have  suspected 
it  was  a  case  of  blackmail.  But.  I  preferred  to  believe  in  the  wo- 
men's virtue.  I  knew  that  most  white  men  said  that  the  native 
women  had  no  virtue  that  was  not  purchaseable.  And  I  was 
aware  of  the.  to  civilized  standards,  strange  willingness  of  the 
women  to  be  the  temporary  wife  of  the  village  guest.  But.  I 
knew  also  that  there  was  an  explanation  of  that  which  still  left 
room  for  a  degree  of  virtue.  Nations  differ  in  their  definition  of 
virtue. 

At  Iseme's,  my  cook  prepared  a  chicken  in  a,  to  me,  unusual 
manner.  After  the  feathers  had  been  plucked,  he  slit  the  skin 
over  the  breast,  and  readily  skinned  the  entire  fowl  by  simply 
turning  it  out  of  its  skin,  as  one  would  slip  out  of  one's  coat. 


48  MY  OGOWE 

Then,  cutting  all  the  meat  from  the  bones,  and  chopping  it  small. 
with  condiments,  he  stuffed  the  meat  back  into  the  skin  of  the 
body,  wings,  and  legs;  and,  then  roasted  it,  as  any  other  chicken 
is  usually  roasted.  It  was  attractive  eating,  free  from  bones. 
It  was  called,  "  a  la  Ashantee."  having  been  invented  by  a  Fanti 
cook  of  Accra,  on  the  Gold  Coast. 

My  living,  not  only  in  a  native  hut,  but  also  in  a  village  itself, 
revealed  to  me  many  things  in  customs,  beliefs,  and  superstitions, 
that  I  could  not  have  otherwise  learned.  I  had  known  that 
sometimes  natives  refused  to  eat  certain  foods,  for  other  reason 
than  personal  dislike.  But,  I  did  not  know  what  was  that  rea- 
son. On  October  27.  I  discovered  it.  My  crew  had  been  work- 
ing faithfully;  I  liked  to  feed  them  well.  But  that  day  I  had 
only  a  small  chicken.  Taking  my  own  share.  I  divided  the  re- 
mainder among  the  five.  This  made  only  a  small  ration ;  but.  it 
was  better  than  nothing.  They  all  took  the  ration,  except  Ora- 
niga.  Thinking  that  his  quiet  neglect  arose  from  dissatisfaction, 
I  was  about  to  rebuke  him ;  but,  the  others  told  me  that  chicken 
was  his  "  orunda."  On  every  child  is  laid,  by  the  fetish-doctor, 
a  prohibition  of  some  article  of  food,  which,  thenceforward,  is 
sacred  to  the  guardian-spirit  of  the  child's  life.  The  orunda  or 
"  taboo"  is  sacredly  kept  by  the  African,  even  if  hungry. 

I  continued  my  investigation  of  sites,  several  of  which  were 
shown  me  by  Iseme :  and  to  others  I  went,  on  independent  trips 
with  my  crew.  But  none  of  them  were  satisfactorv.  On  Octo- 
ber 29.  I  returned  to  Kasa's.  He  was  away ;  but.  Shvanaja  took 
good  care  of  me.  Dissatisfied  with  the  proximity  to  villages,  of 
the  many  sites  that  had  been  shown  me.  I  took  one  of  Kasa's 
young  men,  and  followed  a  footpath,  back  from,  but  parallel 
with  the  river,  through  a  deserted  village  site  of  a  man  Ibanyi. 
and  on  down  river  a  mile  almost  to  Kakamba's,  being  barred  from 
proceeding  farther  by  the  Mbilye  Creek.  I  was  pleased.  The 
trader  ReXjage  interpreted  for  me  at  evening  prayers.  Then.  I 
recreated  myself  and  amused  the  people  with  my  flute.  Rats 
were  numerous  in  the  huts;  destructive  and  annoying.  They  of- 
ten gnawed  at  the  people's  feet :  but  for  great  personal  cleanliness. 
they  would  have  attacked  mine.  They  did  not;  but,  they  often 
awoke  me,  by  their  running  over  my  body. 

Because  I  had  been  so  pleased  with  the  abandoned  site  of 
Ibanyi's  village.  T  went  to  him  to  sound  him  as  to  whether  he 
would  be  willing  to  remove,  in  order  to  give  me  the  desired  larger 
area.  He  promptly  assented.  But.  T  had  come  to  suspect  all 
those  chiefs,  from  Ondene  down,  of  duplicity,  and  was  on  the 


PROSPECTING  •     49 

lookout  for  a  subsequent  revelation  of  some  selfish  proposition. 
All  this  was  unpleasant:  but,  it  was  natural,  and  not  unknown 
in  dealings  among  civilized  circles.  So,  I  kept  up  at  least  the 
form  of  friendship;  for,  undeniably,  I  was  safe,  and  was  treated 
with  kindness  and  respect  by  their  people.  I  played  with  them ; 
the  men  and  women  had  the  curiosity  of  children  to  see  my  four- 
bladed  knife,  a  combination  tool-knife,  syringe,  flute,  and  a  few 
fire-crackers.  And  I  was  interested  to  see,  among  their  boys' 
plays,  the  existence  of  a  pop-gun;  they  using  a  hollow  reed  and 
slices  of  plantain,  just  as  I,  when  a  child,  had  used  a  quill  and 
slices  of  potato. 

A  month  had  passed;  and  though  it  had  been  usefully  spent  in 
learning  Dikele,  and  in  obtaining  an  intimate  knowledge  of  na- 
tive customs,  I  was  no  nearer  settling  the  question  where  my 
house  should  be,  except  that  I  had  been  at  many  places  where  it 
would  not  be.  I  was  under  no  obligation  to  Kasa.  I  had  not 
promised  to  live  with  him.  I  had  not  said  even  that  I  would 
live  in  the  limits  of  the  Akele  tribe.  So,  on  November  2,  I  left 
Kasa's,  being  given  many  good-by  gifts,  especially  by  the  young 
traders  (of  other  tribes).  And  I  went  down  river  to  King 
Ondefie's.  He  seemed  pleased  to  see  me ;  but,  he  gave  me  very 
uncomfortable  quarters:  sheep,  on  the  other  side  of  the  thin  bam- 
boo wall,  all  night  butting  against  it.  in  their  fight  with  mos- 
quitoes ;  and  restless  chickens  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall  at  my 
head.  I  told  him  that  I  had  come  for  him  to  show  me  the  sites 
he  had  promised  a  month  before.  He  sarcastically  denied  hav- 
ing made  any  such  promise !  And.  added.  "  I  could  not  have 
done  so,  being  a  man  of  no  power.  Carry  no  report  of  me  to  the 
sea.  Kasa  and  the  others  are  great.  Do  not  even  name  me, 
etc."  I  replied.  "I  had  heard  otherwise:  that  you  were  great. 
If  it  were  not  that  you  were  king.  I  would  not  have  come  here 
vesterday."  My  diplomacy  delighted  him  :  and.  lie  at  once  became 
cordial,  but  not  familiar  as  Kasa.  He  was  afraid  of  the  rifle. 
He  took  me  to  adjacent  villages,  where  my  coming  was  welcomed 
with  gifts  of  eggs  and  chickens.  And.  at  evening-prayer,  an 
English-speaking  Mpongwe  trader,  whose  wife  had  been  taught 
in  our  Baraka  school,  interpreted  for  me.  The  next  day  we  vis- 
ited sites  near  Mbilye  Creek.  Of  the  thirteen  eggs  given  me. 
only  two  were  good !  With  those  two,  my  cook  made  some 
pancakes.  Another  broken  sleep  in  my  poor  hut :  dogs  were 
coming  in,  hunting  scraps  of  food. 

I  left  Ondefie's,  and  came  on  down  river  a  few  miles  to  Chief 
Avyake.     He  was  good-natured;  but,  his  people  were  overrun 


50  MY  OGOWE 

with  cupidity.  In  order  to  make  a  basis  of  acquaintance  and 
possible  friendship,  I  had  a  conversation  with  him  and  one  of 
his  women,  Bya-utata,  who,  to  my  surprise,  could  speak  Benga. 
Among  other  of  my  questions  to  him  were.  "  Is  this  woman  vour 
wife?  "  "  Is  she  an  Akele?  "  "  Where  did  she  learn  Benga?  " 
"  You  say  you  have  ten  wives?  "  "  But  no  children?  "  "  I  had 
only  one  wife,  and  yet  I  had  three  children!  "  etc.,  etc.  All  this 
he  was  so  pleased  with,  that,  to  every  visitor  who  came  in  from 
adjacent  villages,  he  repeated  the  whole  conversation  over  and 
over.  At  the  evening  meeting,  when  I  was  trying  to  impress 
on  them  the  difference  between  my  object  and  that  of  the  traders, 
I  remembered  the  unpleasant  incident  at  Kasa's.  So,  I  said  that 
missionaries  did  not  take  other  men's  wives ;  and  added  that  my 
bed  was  for  myself  alone.  One  of  the  women  promptly  ejac- 
ulated, "  And  for  me  too!  "  When  I  expressed  my  displeasure 
at  her  boldness,  all  the  company  laughed,  as  if  it  was  a  good 
joke. 

That  first  day's  unpleasant  impression  of  the  village  and  its 
people  was  removed  later.  I  was  given  information  of  the  in- 
terior of  the  Ogowe.  which,  in  later  years.  I  proved  to  be  correct. 
The  people,  especially  women  and  children,  became  interested 
and  helpful  in  teaching  me  Dikele.  I  was  told  much  of  the 
Dwarfs,  whom  they  called  "  Abange  "  and  "  Akowa."  (I  was 
somewhat  amused  some  twenty  years  later,  to  find  these  Dwarfs 
spoken  of,  in  another  part  of  the  mission,  as  new  and  unknown !) 
Avyake  showed  me  building  sites.  The  people  seemed  ashamed 
of  their  first  demonstrations  of  covetousness ;  so.  that,  when  a 
canoe  came  with  plantains  to  sell,  and  the  strangers  set  out  the 
proper  number  of  bunches,  but  some  of  them  small.  Avyake's 
women  quietly  substituted  larger  ones.  And.  when  I  was  tak- 
ing a  small  stool  on  which  to  sit,  they  brought  a  better  one. 
Not  all  those  women  were  stolid.  Bya-utata  looked  so  sadly, 
and  her  face  varied  with  different  expressions  of  her  thoughts, 
as  she  told  me  she  longed  to  know  books,  and  doubted  whether 
women,  or  other  than  children,  could  acquire  the  benefits  of  the 
mission  I  intended  to  bring. 

On  Sunday.  Avyake,  though.  I  think,  he  understood  but  little 
of  the  Truth,  was  all  day  repeating  to  visitors,  tbc  words  my  in- 
terpreter had  spoken  in  the  morning.  And.  at  night,  out  in  the 
street  under  the  stars,  we  tried  to  chat,  with  Bya-utata's  aid. 
about  my  Dikele  words;  about  what  I  had  said  in  the  morning: 
about  elephants;  and  about  hymns:  and  they  wanted  me  to  go 


PROSPECTING  51 

on  singing  "  until  the  Morning-star  failed/'  i.  e.,  until  sun- 
rise! 

The  next  day  I  was  busy  writing  several  letters  to  relatives 
in  the.  United  States.  Bya-utata  sat  by  me  all  the  while,  fas- 
cinated with  the  mystery  of  the  little  black  marks  that  could 
talk  to  my  people  far  away!  Tired  with  the  stooping  over  the 
writing-table  on  my  knees,  I  stretched  myself  by  the  side  of  the 
house  on  the  bare  ground ;  and  she  thoughtfully  brought  me  a 
native  pillow. 

The  river  tribes,  rated  in  the  importance  estimated  by  them- 
selves (a  rate  assented  to  pretty  generally  by  the  traders)  stood 
in  this  order:  Orungu,  Nkami,  Inenga,  Ajumba,  Galwa,  Akele. 
The  prominence  that  the  Galwa  had  obtained  in  foreign  esti- 
mate was  not  at  all  due  to  any  nobility  of  character,  but  solely 
to  their  strategic  position  at  the  head  of  the  delta.  In  my  search 
for  a  mission  site,  I  disregarded  the  Inenga ;  they  were  so  very 
few.  Somewhat  dissatisfied  with  the  Bakele,  I  thought  it  well 
in  order  to  make  an  exhaustive  topographical  report  to  the  mis- 
sion, to  visit  the  Ajumba  region.  It  lay  on  the  seaward  course 
of  the  smaller  division  of  the  Ogowe,  and,  in  its  course  down  the 
delta,  it  was  joined  by  a  stream  from  a  lake,  Azingo ;  beyond 
which  lay  an  overland  path  across  an  elevated  watershed,  to  the 
banks  of  the  Rembwe,  an  affluent  of  the  Gaboon  river.  So,  I  de- 
termined to  go  from  Avyake's  down  to  the  Aguma  H.  &  C. 
House,  and  thence  to  Lake  Azingo. 

Leaving  Avyake's  on  November  10,  I  stopped,  on  the  way,  at 
a  village  of  Anyambe-jena.  Evidently,  the  Akele  chiefs  were  be- 
coming jealous  of  each  other,  each  desirous  that  the  (pecuniary) 
benefit  of  the  presence  of  the  missionary  should  be  given  to  their 
own  limited  district.  I  had  heard  that  he  had  threatened  harm 
to  me,  if  I  finally  should  locate  beyond  him.  (The  sea-coast  mo- 
nopoly idea!)  When  such  threats  were  made  by  any  native 
against  another,  the  latter  would  carefully  avoid  the  village  of 
the  former.  But  my  practice  had  been  from  Benita  days  to  at 
once  seek  occasion  for  making  a  journey  to  the  village  whence 
came  the  threat.  Conscious  of  having  done  no  wrong,  either 
my  audacity,  or  a  clear  explanation,  always  strengthened  im- 
position, and  disarmed  my  (supposed)  enemy. 

I  gave  Anyambe-jena  a  chance  to  talk ;  but,  he  said  nothing ; 
and  actually  seemed  afraid  of  me.  He  was  rather  young  to 
claim  chieftainship.  He  gave  me  the  customary  chicken:  and, 
I  lunched   on   it,   while  the   rain   fell.     And  then   resumed  mv 


52  MY  OGOWE 

journey.  There  was  a  singular  cry  of  a  bird ;  a  series  of  sounds 
like  attempts  at  vomiting",  that  increased  with  hysteric  rapidity 
until,  as  my  crew  told  me,  the  bird  would  cease,  almost  suf- 
focated. 

From  Mr.  Sinclair's  I  made  a  call  at  the  house  of  one  of  the 
two  adjacent  traders.  There  occurred  an  incident  that  interested 
me  much  about  a  class  of  native  women,  with  regard  to  whom 
I  learned  to  differ  from  most  of  my  fellow-missionaries.  And 
these  first  impressions  on  this  subject  were  deepened  and  con- 
victions strengthened  during  the  subsequent  years  of  my  life  in 
Africa.  I  was  living  in  the  villages ;  and  in  my  itinerations 
necessarily  obtained  wider  views  than  would  be  gathered  bv 
missionaries  living  in  the  narrower  seclusion  of  a  mission 
house. 

Among  the  native  women,  in  the  neighborhood  of  white  set- 
tlements, and  especially  at  the  sea-ports,  there  were  those  who 
unblushingly  and  deliberately  led  the  life  of  a  harlot.  In  a 
stratum  above  these,  were  other  women  who  respected  them- 
selves sufficiently  not  to  go  onto  the  street  to  seek  men,  but  who 
would  yield  if  sought.  Above  these,  and  resenting  the  vile  name, 
were  lady-like  women,  some  of  them  our  former  schoolgirls,  who 
resisted  general  solicitation,  and  who  held  themselves  faithfully 
to  the  one  man  of  their  choice,  some  of  them  for  years,  in  ex- 
actly the  same  relation,  as  the  "  common-law  "  wife  of  civiliza- 
tion. As  these  latter  held  a  legal  status  in  some  of  the  United 
States,  and  were  never  associated  with  "  prostitutes."  I  could 
not  see  why  that  name  should  be  applied  to  women  who  held  the 
same  status  even  in  a  country  where  the  standards  of  civilization 
were  lower.  Those  African  "  common-law  "  wives  were  modest, 
faithful,  lady-like.  And.  T  thought  that  they  were  rather  to  be 
pitied  than  condemned.  (A  distinguished  missionary  Bishop  of 
the  Methodist  church  expressed  himself  to  me.  as  sympathizing 
in  my  view.)  Such  a  "  wife."  Sisingaye.  a  civilized  Benga  wo- 
man, felt  herself  lonely  among  the  ignorant  Galwa  women,  and 
asked  me  for  a  book,  and  came  to  attend  mv  evening  service. 
She  said,  "  T  know  I  am  not  a  Christian  :  but,  I  wish  T  was  living 
where  T  could  have  at  least  a  chance  of  hearing  the  Gospel." 

On  Friday.  November  T3.  T  started  down  the  "  smaller  branch" 
of  the  Ogowe:  which,  as  it  led  through  the  Ajumba  country,  was 
sometimes  called  the  "  Ajumba."  At  once  T  was  attracted  bv  a 
hill,  Kangwe  (which  two  years  later  became  my  home).  On. 
down  through  the  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  streams.  And. 
in  the  late  afternoon.  T  stopped  to  eat  at  the  village  Fanga-'nanga 


PROSPECTING  53 

(Afraid-of-Tribes).  There,  for  the  first  time,  I  ate  hippopot- 
amus meat.  It  was  very  good  beef;  it  was  tender;  for  the  ani- 
mal eats  only  the  tender  grasses  of  the  river  banks,  except  when 
he  destructively  invades  the  native  plantations.  There  also,  I 
met  with  the  first  large  hills  of  the  termite  ant. 

On  Sunday,  November  15,  at  Lake  Azingo,  in  Anege's  town,  I 
was  among  a  people,  most  of  whom  had  never  heard  of  Sunday, 
and  none  of  whom  ever  observed  it.  In  my  company,  but  not 
under  my  control,  was  a  native  messenger  sent  by  Mr.  Sinclair 
with  dispatches  to  Libreville  via  the  Rembwe  River.  This  young 
man,  when  he  was  not  playing  cards  (the  first  amusement  adopted 
by  the  natives  from  the  example  of  the  traders),  was  bargaining 
with  men  of  the  town  for  porters  to  accompany  him  on  the  over- 
land journey.  I  kept  the  day  in  my  own  quiet.  Sitting  on  the 
shore  of  the  lake,  I  thought  of  One  who  long  ago  had  sat  by  the 
shore  of  Gennesareth,  speaking  the  Word  of  Life  to  a  mixed 
multitude  on  the  beach.  My  audience,  in  the  morning  had  been 
one  drawn  together  only  by  curiosity  to  hear  what  "  this  white 
man  "  would  say.  Besides  my  own  crew  of  Kombes  and  Galwas, 
there  were  before  me  members  of  the  Nkami,  Ajumba,  Akele,  and 
Fafiwe  tribes.  The  only  native  tongue  which  I  spoke  fluently 
was  Benga,  though  I  had  been  working  on  the  Dikele.  The  Gal- 
wa  (Mpongwe  —  Nkami  —  Ajumba)  and  the  Fanwe  were  to  be 
my  future  additions.  In  the  afternoon,  I  went  through  the  vil- 
lages, talking  from  hut  to  hut.  And  held  another  meeting  at 
night,  under  the  beautiful  moonlight  streaming  over  the  wave- 
lets of  the  lake.  Chief  Anege  was  more  civilized  than  any  I  had 
met.  He  entertained  me  comfortably  and  politely.  He  gave 
me  a  goat  for  food. 

Monday,  November  16.  How  tribal  jealousy  runs  into  all 
relations  of  life!  My  Kombes  and  Galwas  were  quarreling  over 
the  division  of  the  goat.  There  was  abundance  for  all ;  but,  their 
discussion  was  as  to  which  should  have  most.  Leaving  them  to 
their  quarrel,  I  followed  Anege,  who  wished  to  show  me  other 
villages.  At  one,  I  met  a  larger  number  of  children  than  I  had 
seen  in  one  African  village.  Such  a  crowd  of  people !  Such 
numbers  of  children  !  The  mother  of  the  head-man  came  rushing 
through  the  crowd,  and,  in  excited  whispers,  addressed  me,  say- 
ing that  other  white  men  had  passed  them  by,  that  I  was  their 
first  white  visitor,  and  that,  as  I  had  come,  she  hoped  I  would 
stay,  and  that  my  coming  would  bring  them  "  good."  The  only 
"  good  "  of  which  she  was  thinking  was  probably  pecuniary  gain. 
The  entire  native  population  of  that  portion  of  Africa  placed  its 


54  MY  OGOWE 

earthly  hopes  on  the  white  man.  Many  were  afraid  of  him,  es- 
pecially of  his  eye  (particularly,  if  it  was  blue  or  gray)  and 
therefore  were  obsequious.  But,  they  all  looked  to  him  as  the 
source  of  gain ;  the  men  all  wanted  an  advance  loan  of  his  trade 
goods,  promising  to  repay  with  ivory  or  india  rubber ;  and  many 
of  the  women  would  be  pleased  to  marry  him.  They  then  could 
have  all  the  bright  clothes  and  ornaments  for  which  their  bar- 
baric tastes  longed !  And,  they  could  sit  in  idleness,  no  longer 
carrying  heavy  burdens  from  the  forest  plantations !  They  had 
heard  also,  that  white  men  treated  women  kindly,  not  beating 
them,  as  did  African  husbands ! 

The  native  hair,  is,  of  course,  negro  hair.  But,  as  in  the  case 
of  other  races,  it  varies  in  length  and  in  fineness.  Coarse  na- 
tures have  the  short,  coarse,  wooly  tufts  not  more  than  three 
inches  long.  Finer  and  more  aristocratic  ones  have  fine  hair, 
eight  or  ten  inches  long.  Much  care  is  taken  in  the  braiding  of 
those  into  chignons  and  ringlets.  And,  like  the  Chinese  queue 
and  the  American  "  rat,"  these  are  elongated  by  strings  of  fiber 
from  plants,  and  ornamented  with  pieces  of  brass  wire  twisted 
into  them. 

Most  delicious  meat  is  that  of  the  manatee.  A  man  had  killed 
one,  gave  me  a  piece,  and  allowed  me  to  witness  one  of  their 
superstitious  ceremonies  for  future  success,  in  their  manatee- 
hunting.  A  piece  of  the  flesh  was  cooked  (not  in  a  foreign  iron- 
pot,  but,  in  native  earthenware).  It  was  then  carefully  covered 
by  a  plantain-leaf;  no  women  or  children  were  allowed  to  be 
present.  Then,  the  men  gathered  around  the  pot,  with  a  variety 
of  incantations,  and  ate  the  meat.  When  it  was  consumed,  they 
simultaneously  jumped  and  shouted.  "My  belly  is  not  full!" 
This  was  said,  even  if  their  appetite  had  been  satisfied,  as  a  sort 
of  prayer  to  the  spirit  of  the  feast,  that  they  wanted  more  at  a 
future  day.  When,  then,  the  fisherman  shall  go  again  manatee- 
hunting,  he  puts  a  small  pot  of  boiled  leaves  and  barks,  as  a  sac- 
rifice to  the  spirit,  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe;  and,  it  is  then  ex- 
pected it  will  attract  the  animal  to  its  death.  The  man  gave  me 
a  piece  of  the  uncooked  meat,  conditioning,  however,  that  T 
should  boil  it,  and  not  have  it  cooked  in  my  preferred  mode  of 
jomba.     I  yielded  to  his  condition. 

My  visit  to  Azingo  Lake  was.  in  at  least  one  respect,  satis- 
factory. According  to  my  habitual  custom,  T  was  looking  ahead 
for  possible  means  of  return  to  the  coast,  for  the  annual  meeting 
of  mission  in  December.  In  civilized  countries,  it  is  easy  to  pack 
up,  at  an  hour's  notice,  and  leave  by  boat  or  rail  for  any  destina- 


PROSPECTING  55 

tion.  But,  in  our  Africa,  we  never  knew,  for  a  month  at  a  time, 
when  any  of  the  little  river  trading-steamers  would  be  arriving  or 
going.  Moreover,  they  were  not  public  carriers ;  the  obtaining 
of  passage  on  them  was  a  matter  of  personal  favor  and  cour- 
tesy on  the  part  of  the  trader.  I  had  gone  to  Azingo,  to  find  out 
in  advance,  whether  the  route  would  be  practicable,  financially 
and  otherwise,  if,  when,  December  came,  there  was  no  other 
way  of  my  reaching  Gaboon. 

I  returned  to  Mr.  Sinclair's,  sleeping  one  night  on  the  way,  at 
Fanga-'nanga's  in  Ajumba :  and  reached  the  Aguma  house  late 
at  night,  just  in  time  to  escape  a  heavy  rain.  On  Thursday,  No- 
vember 19,  I  found  that  the  Pioneer  had  arrived  on  the  preceding 
Sunday,  and  had  gone  up  river  on  the  Tuesday,  with  Mr.  Sin- 
clair. I  went  to  the  room  which  he  had  kindly  designated  as 
mine,  and  found  his  clerk,  Mr.  Percy,  sleeping  in  it.  I  did  not 
object  to  that;  but,  I  had  to  arouse  him,  in  order  to  ask  for  the 
key  to  the  store-house,  where  I  would  sleep  on  my  original 
counter.  Percy  handed  me  three  letters  from  parties  in  Libreville. 
I  was  disappointed.  Where  was  my  mail  from  America? 
Percy  was  drunk,  and  said  there  was  none.  But,  Mr.  Sinclair's 
bright  little  native  valet  told  me  he  had  seen  another  parcel.  He 
brought  it.  It  was  the  blessed  mail,  with  a  dozen  letters  and 
other  documents !  I  sat  up  very  late,  reading  them.  Some  of 
the  news  was  glad,  and  some  sad.  I  was  troubled  to  find 
from  sister  Isabella's  Benita  letters,  that  the  mission  carpenter 
had  not  kept  his  distinct  promise  to  me,  that  he  would  promptly 
build  her  house.  On  that  promise,  I  had  left  her  house  unfin- 
ished, and  had  gone  to  my  Ogowe  work.  He  had  been  pro- 
vokingly  slow,  and  even  discourteous.  I  wished  to  haste  to  her 
and  do  the  building  myself,  and  determined  to  go  to  the  coast 
sooner  than  I  had  intended.  But  no  plans  could  be  made  until 
Mr.  Sinclair  and  the  Pioneer  should  return,  which  I  was  told 
would  be  for  a  week  or  ten  days  later ! 

I  waited  a  week  restlessly.  I  tried  to  amuse  myself  by  playing 
on  my  guitar.  But,  the  memories  of  the  old  songs  made  me  feel 
my  loneliness  more  acutely.  I  occupied  myself  by  writing  a  letter 
to  the  American  Geographical  Society.  But,  anxieties  for  my 
sister  weighed  on  me.  And,  as  I  proved  again  and  again,  the 
worst  factor,  in  developing  a  fever,  is  brooding  over  troubles. 
Sometimes,  an  indigestible  article  of  food  will  be  the  last  feather 
on  the  back  of  patient  Nature.  I  had  often  suspected  that  ba- 
nanas, eaten  comfortably  by  almost  everybody  else,  were  not 
good  for  me.     But,  I  liked  the  taste  and  odor.     I  ate  a  large 


56  MY  OGOWE 

red  one.  (I  have  never  eaten  a  banana  since  then,  attractive  as 
they  are.)  I  went  to  bed  on  Sunday,  the  22d,  my  teeth  chat- 
tering with  a  chill  of  intermittent  fever.  (Probably,  the  mos- 
quitoes of  Ajumba  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  it.) 

The  Pioneer  returned  on  Tuesday,  and  hurried  away  on 
Wednesday,  the  25th.  A  strange  incident  occurred  that  day,  il- 
lustrating the  lawlessness  of  the  African  wilds,  and  how,  when 
civilized  men  are  left  to  their  own  autocratic  devices,  they  lower 
their  social  and  moral  standards. 

Mr.  Sinclair  was  always  to  me  a  gentleman,  most  kind  and 
generous.  In  the  abstract,  he  favored  missions;  for,  in  Scotland, 
he  had  been  a  church-member,  and  his  sentiments  to  me,  in  con- 
versation, were  always  elevated.  But,  I  knew  that  he  followed 
the  custom  of  the  country,  and  had  a  common-law  native  wife. 
She  was  not  brought  to  the  table ;  but,  I  frequently  saw  her  in  his 
room  and  about  the  house,  where  she  gave  orders  as  she  wished. 
As  I  was  his  guest,  it  was  understood  that  I  should  be  blind  and 
dumb  as  to  her  presence.  She  had  her  servants;  and  her  rela- 
tives were  favored  about  the  house.  One  of  these,  a  young 
brother,  hap])ened  to  come  into  collision  with  clerk  Percy,  who 
was  continuing  his  daily  semi-intoxication.  Percy  struck  him,  for 
some  impertinence.  That  was  nothing  new  at  a  white  man's  trad- 
ing-house. Natives  were  accustomed  to  be  struck.  But,  this 
lad  was  a  son  of  the  Galwa  "  King,"  and  brother  to  the  white 
man's  "wife"!  He  had  been  allowed  a  great  deal  of  liberty 
and  assumption.  Air.  Sinclair,  suffering  with  a  boil,  came  limp- 
ing on  the  scene.  Instead  of  rebuking  the  lad,  he  violently  be- 
rated Percy  for  daring  to  strike  his  favorite's  brother!  The  lad 
seemed  to  take  a  cue  from  this,  and.  in  a  rage,  he  ran  to  his 
village,  and  returning  with  a  trade  flint-lock  gun.  without  warn- 
ing, discharged  it  point  blank  at  Percy.  Those  Africans  do  not 
aim  their  guns;  they  only  point  them.  But  the  discharge  would 
probably  have  been  fatal  had  not  another  native  struck  the  barrel 
upward,  and  the  shots  went  through  the  thatch  roof,  almost 
setting  it  on  fire.  The  gun  was  taken  from  him,  but  the  angry 
lad  snatched  up  one  of  mine  that  was  lying  near.  That  was 
time  for  me  to  interfere.  No  punishment  was  laid  on  the  lad. 
Percy  was  thus  placed  in  a  very  humiliating  and  even  unsafe 
position,  before  the  natives.  It  was  common  for  some  of  the 
trade  agents  to  treat  their  white  clerks  as  inferiors.  We  mis- 
sionaries were  constantly  received  in  the  agent's  office  as  his 
equals.  But,  if  his  clerks  happened  to  enter  the  room,  we  were 
not  expected  to  salute  them  or  take  any  notice  of  them.     And, 


PROSPECTING  57 

yet,  out  of  that  office,  or  not  in  the  agent's  presence,  those  young 
men  and  we  were  affable! 

In  that  new  country,  away  from  the  aids  of  physician  and 
surgeon,  foreigners  sometimes  suffered  exceedingly.  The  chi- 
goes, which  had  been  such  a  terror  to  me  in  September,  had 
evaded  Mr.  Sinclair's  vigilance,  and  had  burrowed  not  simply 
on  a  toe  or  near  a  nail,  but  actually  under  it.  The  pain  and  ul- 
ceration were  so  great,  that  as  an  alternative  to  allowing  the  in- 
sects to  remain  and  breed  and  extend  their  destructive  work,  he 
had  himself  deliberately  torn  the  nail  away!  An  operation, 
which  in  civilization,  is  performed  only  under  an  anaesthetic! 
But,  such  were  the  necessities  of  a  pioneer  life.  I  knew,  also,  of 
a  physician,  who,  after  days  of  suffering  from  a  tooth,  himself 
applied  the  forceps,  and  extracted  the  tooth.  And,  on  one  occa- 
sion, a  young  white  man  landed  at  my  door,  from  an  all-night 
stormy  boat- journey  on  the  ocean,  after  having  suffered  for  a 
week,  and  demanded  relief.  I  admitted  that  I  knew  how  to  ex- 
tract teeth,  but  that  I  had  not  my  instruments  with  me.  He  in- 
sisted that  I  must  relieve  him.  I  succeeded,  with  an  ordinary 
carpenter's  pincers. 

On  Sunday,  November  29,  I  saw  a  pitiful  incident  in  slavery. 
The  day  had  been  a  beautiful  one.  I  had  recovered  my  usual 
health,  after  the  bit  of  intermittent  fever.  I  had  finished  all 
packing  and  plans  for  my  oyerland  journey,  ready  for  Monday. 
I  had  enjoyed  a  quiet  reading,  on  Mr.  Sinclair's  veranda,  look- 
ing off  across  the  wide  Ogowe,  studded  there  with  islands,  and 
beyond  to  the  blue  hills  of  its  affluent,  the  Ngunye.  He  looked 
up  from  his  pipe,  and  saw  a  collection  of  canoes  on  a  beach  sev- 
eral hundred  yards  distant.  Thinking  they  might  be  some  of  his 
sub-traders,  he  rose  to  go  and  inspect  them.  I  followed.  The 
canoes  were  of  Orungu  slave  traders.  Their  slaves  looked  thin 
and  sad.  I  protested  that  they  should  be  fed.  Their  masters 
said  that,  in  their  grief  and  fear  of  to  what  they  were  going,  they 
had  refused  to  eat.  (I  did  not  believe  that;  though  I  had  been 
told  that  interior  slaves  thought  that  they  were  being  exported 
as  food  for  the  occupants  of  white  man's  land.  Considering 
the  cannibalism  of  the  interior,  that  was  possible.)  Among 
them  was  a  comely  looking  woman,  who,  attracted  by  his  kind 
looks,  pleaded  with  Mr.  Sinclair  to  buy  her,  and  save  her  from 
a  possibly  cruel  native  master.  One  of  Mr.  Sinclair's  Nkami- 
tribe  traders  was  standing  by  with  his  own  little  slave  boy.  The 
child  said  that,  in  the  tribe  from  which  he  had  been  stolen  when 
very  young,  he  had  left  his  mother,  whom  that  woman  so  resem- 


58  MY  OGOWE 

bled  that  he  believed  she  was  his  mother!  (This  incident  I  de- 
veloped, in  my  novelette  "  Mawedo."  published  by  the  American 
Tract  Society,  1880.)  That  Nkami  man  had  told  me  that 
another  of  his  slaves  had  seen,  many  tribes  distant  beyond  the 
interior  Bakote,  a  white  man  traveling  and  paying  his  way  with 
cloth,  and  not  with  rum.  Who  was  it?  Was  it  Livingstone? 
or  some  one  from  the  East?  Or.  Dr.  Nachtigal  from  the  North 
East  ? 


CHAPTER  IV 

OVERLAND    TO    THE    COAST DECEMBER,     1874 

STARTING  on  Monday,  November  30,  by  my  own  canoe 
and  crew,  but  with  four  of  Mr.  Sinclair's  Galwas,  who 
were  to  bring  the  canoe  back  to  Aguma,  I  made  the  run 
down  the  Ajumba  branch  to  Lake  Azingo  in  one  day.  The 
chief,  Anege,  was  expecting  me,  and  was  helpful.  The  same 
hunter,  who  had  killed  a  manatee  on  my  previous  visit,  had  just 
killed  a  half-grown  female  hippopotamus.  The  cutting  up  was 
to  be  with  certain  superstitious  ceremonies,  which  I  was  per- 
mitted to  witness  the  next  day.  The  hunter,  a  young  man, 
thrust  a  stalk  of  canna  ("Indian  shot")  wet  with  water  from 
a  pot  of  "  medicine,"  in  front  of  the  animal's  nose,  as  it  lay  on 
its  back.  Then,  he  rubbed  red  chalk  in  a  line  from  the  tail 
down  the  raphe  to  the  lips.  Then,  sitting  on  the  jaws,  with  a 
series  of  slaps  (as  if  in  a  patting  way)  he  talked  to  the  spirits  of 
the  animal's  life,  asking  them  not  to  be  angry  with  him,  nor  to 
upset  his  canoe,  or  in  any  other  way  make  it  difficult  to  obtain 
another  animal  when  next  he  should  go  hunting,  etc.,  etc.  His 
mother,  standing  by,  also  addressed  the  animal,  begging  it  not 
to  avenge  itself  by  permitting  other  beasts  to  hurt  her  son;  and, 
like  the  Hebrew  damsels  for  Jephtha's  daughter,  bemoaning  that 
this  animal  could  never  become  a  mother,  etc.,  etc.  Then,  the 
young  man,  with  paddle  in  one  hand  and  harpoon  in  the  other, 
mounted  the  body  at  the  tail,  and  walked  over  the  belly  to  the 
nose,  singing  as  he  walked.  Then,  he  cut  off  small  slices  of 
the  skin  from  the  nose,  each  knee  and  the  navel,  and  put  them 
in  his  fetish-bag.  Then  he  stabbed  the  swollen  body,  and  ap- 
plying his  mouth  to  the  wound,  inhaled  the  fetid  gas.  Then, 
others  assisted  him  in  disemboweling.  After  the  viscera  had 
all  been  removed,  he  threw  the  contents  of  the  pot  of  "  medi- 
cine "  into  the  cavity,  and  stooping  there  himself,  he  threw  the 
dirty  bloody  water  over  his  shoulders,  singing  all  the  while. 
Then  he  bailed  out  the  mixture  with  his  hands,  all  the  time  pray- 
ing the  spirits  of  the  animal  to  help  him  if  his  canoe  should  up- 
set, etc.,  etc.  When  the  body  had  been  almost  all  cut  up,  he 
took  the  canna-stalk  from  the  mouth,  and,  with  some  leaves  and 

59 


60  MY  OGOWE 

the  pieces  of  the  skin,  went  aside  by  himself,  and  cut  the  stalk 
in  small  pieces,  blowing  a  blessing  on  them,  and  talking  to  them, 
in  an  undertone,  words  I  did  not  understand. 

In  traveling  the  world  over,  the  necessities  of  the  traveler  are 
pitted  against  the  greed  of  his  employee,  whether  that  employee 
be  a  United  States  cab-man,  a  European  porter,  or  an  African 
boatman.  I  began  the  diplomatic  task  of  hiring  carriers,  for  my 
overland  journey.  Three  Fanwe  were  willing  to  go,  for  a  lump 
sum  of  $9  (trade  goods),  simply  as  guides,  and  refusing  to 
carry  any  burdens.  I  dropped  the  negotiation  with  them. 
Later,  at  a  village,  I  found  four,  who,  for  $10  (trade),  said 
they  would  go  both  as  guides  and  porters.  Anege  was  helpful 
in  lessening  their  demands.  Then,  I  had  trouble  with  Mr.  Sin- 
clair's employees.  He  had  stipulated  that  I  should  send  them 
back  to  him  immediately  on  my  arrival  at  the  lake.  I  had 
reached  the  lake  on  the  night  of  Monday,  November  30;  but, 
they  refused  to  start  back  until  the  morning  of  Wednesday, 
December  2.  On  going  with  friend  Anege  to  the  village  of  my 
newly  engaged  four  Fanwe,  to  see  whether  they  were  getting 
ready,  they  demurred  saying  that,  for  the  promised  $10,  only 
three  of  them  would  go.  I  did  not  yield  to  them;  for,  Anege 
hinted  to  me  that  this  was  only  a  threat  to  test  me.  I  bought 
of  the  hippo  hunter,  for  $2  (trade)  all  the  bones  of  the  animal's 
head.     I  wanted  them  for  a  gift  to  American  friends. 

On  Thursday,  December  3,  I  was  ready  to  start,  having  seven 
packages,  each  of  thirty-five  pounds  weight.  (East  African  por- 
ters carry  burdens  of  double  that  weight.)  Friend  Anege 
started  with  me  and  my  five  crew,  in  a  borrowed  canoe,  to  the 
village  where  I  was  to  pick  up  the  four  Fanwe.  They  stood  at 
the  beach,  smiling  in  their  sense  of  power,  and  declined  to  go 
at  all  unless  I  would  add  $2  more.  Helpless,  I  consented. 
And,  they  promptly  entered  the  canoe.  Anege  remained  with 
me,  while  we  crossed  the  lake,  and  landed  on  its  northern  side. 
There,  he  made  the  Fanwe  a  formal  address,  committing  me  to 
their  care,  and  demanding  a  faithful  fulfillment  of  their  contract. 
They  replied  in  as  formal  and  earnest  manner.  This  scene,  of 
conflict  with  cupidity,  was  one  that  was  repeated  many  a  time  in 
my  African  pioneer  life.  Diplomacy!  diplomacy!  I  felt  a 
duty  to  go  to  trouble  rather  than  yield  to  expense,  expense  that 
would,  at  the  time,  have  made  things  easier  and  more  comfort- 
able for  myself;  but,  I  knew  I  was  making  precedents  for  my 
successors.  Traders  did  not  have  to  be  so  diplomatic.  Their 
rum  bottle  was  a  power,  before  which  all  difficulties  vanished! 


OVERLAND  TO  THE  COAST  61 

Contests  sometimes  arose  with  my  regular  monthly  employees, 
in  the  way  of  a  "strike."  To  them,  I  never  yielded;  as  an 
alternative,  I  dismissed  them.  The  necessity  that  sometimes 
compelled  me  to  yield  arose  only  on  journeys,  and  among 
strangers,  for  unexpected  needs. 

The  journey  overland  was  not  difficult.  It  was  interesting  in 
new  sights.  There  were  swamps,  crossed  by  single-log  bridges, 
on  which  I  had  to  practice  very  careful  balancing: — and  a  river, 
where  the  log  was  actually  afloat,  and  there  was  only  a  vine,  as 
a  guy-rope,  by  which  to  steady  one's  self : —  and  many  streams, 
which  I  waded,  first  removing  my  shoes  and  socks,  and  even  dis- 
robing. (In  that  matter,  I  wisely  saved  health,  at  the  expense 
of  time.  Other  white  men,  including  a  few  missionaries,  pre- 
ferred to  rush  in,  and  then  walk  with  their  wet  garments.  I 
know  of  some  who  lost  their  lives  from  a  resulting  fever.) 
There  were  dark  ravines  through  the  foothills  and  steep 
ascents,  until  the  top  of  the  watershed  between  the  Ogowe  and 
the  Gaboon  was  reached,  and  then  there  was  a  level  plateau. 
The  path  was  narrow,  but  well-trodden,  under  the  forest  of 
ebony,  mahogany,  and  many  other  trees,  among  which  were  some 
edible-nut  bearing.  On  the  path,  we  met  companies  of  Fanwe 
and  Bakele.  It  is  a  rule  for  white  travelers,  in  malaria  districts, 
to  drink  no  water  until  it  is  boiled.  That  was  the  only  rule  of 
health  I  ever  deliberately  disregarded.  Hunger  I  could  readily 
bear,  for  a  whole  day;  but,  thirst  I  could  not.  I  drank  any- 
where, of  any  water.  On  that  journey,  the  water  was  from 
clear  mountain  brooks.  If,  in  my  life  in  Africa,  I  exposed  my- 
self by  drinking  from  waters  less  clear,  the  evil  of  my  indiscre- 
tion was  overcome  by  my  faithful  caution  in  all  other  hygienic 
and  sanitary  respects.  I  never  felt  any  ill-effects  from  my  indis- 
criminate satisfaction  of  thirst.  The  resulting  profuse  perspira- 
tion was  itself  a  healthful  thing.  And,  I  always,  at  such  states, 
guarded  from  foolishly  plunging  into  cold  water  for  a  bath,  or 
sitting  in  chilly  shades.  Two  nights  were  spent  on  the  way. 
The  natives,  for  their  own  convenience,  along  such  routes,  had 
built  exceedingly  light  and  rude  rest  sheds,  having  one  side  of  a 
roof  (the  side  toward  prevailing  rain-storms)  otherwise  entirely 
open ;  but  having  roughly  made  bed  frames.  My  guide  passed 
one  of  these,  at  sunset,  and  declined  to  stop,  saying  that  there 
was  a  better  one  beyond.  When  we  reached  its  site,  it  was  in 
ruins.  It  was  night ;  and  we  slept  in  the  open  forest.  The  next 
night  was  in  an  Akele  hamlet,  where  the  bed  was,  like  Jeremiah's, 
too  short  for  legs  to  stretch  themselves. 


62  MY  OGOWE 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  one  of  my  Kombes  told  me 
that  he  had  overheard  people  in  the  hamlet  telling  news,  and  say- 
ing that,  at  the  village,  Agonjo,  on  the  Rembwe  banks,  to  which 
we  were  going,  there  was  a  little  cutter,  Lizzctte,  belonging  to 
the  English  firm  of  J.  Holt  &  Co.,  which  was  about  leaving  for 
Libreville. 

The  plan  of  my  journey  had  included  the  hiring  at  Agonjo 
of  some  canoe,  in  which  to  paddle  down  the  Rembwe  and  into 
the  Gaboon.  I  hurried  my  caravan  of  nine  men,  hoping  to  get 
passage  on  the  Lizzettc.  In  my  haste.  I  myself  led  the  way. 
though  I  was  lame  from  having  bruised  my  shin,  on  the  previous 
day,  against  a  stump  on  the  path,  and  the  wound  was  painful. 
I  saw  the  morning  mist  over  the  river  ahead,  and  it  incited  me. 
We  raced,  under  the  plaudits  of  the  inhabitants  of  Agonjo,  to 
the  boat-landing.  The  crew  of  the  Lizzctte  were  laboring  in 
an  effort  to  lift  their  anchor!  Without  asking  the  owner's  per- 
mission, I  pushed  Ingumu  into  a  canoe  with  some  of  our  pack- 
ages, to  request  passage  on  the  little  cutter.  He  returned  for 
our  second  load,  myself  and  the  other  four  men.  Just  as  I 
reached  the  little  deck,  up  came  the  anchor!  The  Mpongwe  cap- 
tain knew  me ;  he  was  Mr.  Holt's  employee ;  I  did  not  need  to 
haggle  for  a  price  of  passage.  He  only  said,  "  Dr.  Nassau,  God 
has  helped  me  and  you!  I  had  been  pulling  at  that  anchor  for 
an  hour.  It  would  not  loosen  its  hold  below,  until  you  hove  in 
sight!" 

Farther  down  the  river,  the  Lizzctte  transferred  us  to  another 
of  Mr.  Holt's  boats,  a  larger  one.  the  Brunette,  commanded  by 
a  white  man.  Two  days  and  nights  were  spent  on  the  Brunette. 
Its  captain,  a  Dane,  treated  me  well  enough,  especially  as  he 
made  use  of  my  men,  to  work  for  their  passage.  But,  he  was 
so  surly  and  profane  with  his  own  men.  that  it  was  unpleasant 
to  hear  him.  Finally,  we  reached  Libreville  trading-houses,  by 
9  a.  ]tf.  of  Monday.  December  7.  I  went  onwards  to  our  mis- 
sion station  on  Baraka  Hill,  for  a  welcome  bv  Rev.  Dr.  Bushnell. 


CHAPTER  V 

AT  THE  SEASIDE  STATIONS DECEMBER,   1874 MARCH,   1875 

AT  Baraka,  the  warmth  of  the  welcome  was  mingled  with 
disappointment  about  my  mail.  Dr.  Bushnell,  not 
knowing  I  was  coming  so  soon,  had  properly  forwarded 
it  to  the  Ogowe,  by  first  chance,  on  the  little  French  trading- 
boat,  on  November  17.  It  had  not  reached  Galwa  when  I  left 
there  on  November  30.  It  would  probably  not  be  returned 
within  two  weeks.  Such  were  the  irregularities  of  chance  mail 
communication  in  those  days !  That  I  might  reach  my  sister  at 
Benita,  I  made  anxious  inquiries  for  possible  sailing  boats  or 
little  trading  steamers  going  northward.  There  were  accounts 
to  be  settled  with  the  mission  treasurer.  And,  an  official  call 
on  the  French  Government  house  at  Plateau,  where  the  Com- 
mandant was  very  much  pleased  at  my  report  on  the  overland 
Azingo  route,  as  a  feasible  road  to  the  Ogowe,  and  promised  me 
encouragement  in  the  development  of  that  river.  Only  two  white 
men  had  preceded  me  on  that  route ;  and  both  of  them  made 
their  start  from  Libreville.  The  traders  were  agreeably  sur- 
prised that  I  had  so  successfully  accomplished  it.  On  Sunday. 
December  13,  I  relieved  Dr.  Bushnell  in  the  pulpit,  both  morning 
and  evening. 

On  the  morning  of  Thursday,  December  17,  I  got  passage,  ac- 
companied by  my  two  Kombes  and  three  Galwas,  on  a  small 
trading  cutter  going  the  thirty-five  miles  to  Elobi  Island  in  Co- 
risco  Bay.  whence  I  hoped  a  boat  might  be  found  for  Benita. 
Reached  a  trading  house  of  two  Germans,  by  nine  o'clock  that 
night.  In  uncivilized  lands,  a  man's  civilization  reveals  itself, 
as  against  the  greed,  treachery,  or  cruelty  of  other  races  toward 
a  stranger.  However  little  common  ground  of  religion  or 
morality  there  might  be  between  missionaries  and  many  traders, 
the  common  humanity  of  our  civilization  always  gave  a  welcome 
and  shared  their  best.  Those  two  men  were  short  of  civilized 
food;  but  they  gave  me  a  comfortable  bed,  which  I  valued,  after 
my  day's  seasickness. 

Next  day,  I  found  a  sailing  boat  of  a  Kombe  man,  Jali,  that 
was  intending  to  go  the  fifty  miles  to  Benita.     Thev  knew  me  of 

63 


64  MY  OGOWE 

old ;  and,  for  a  reasonable  consideration,  they  hastened  their 
departure  on  Saturday.  There  were  twelve  of  us  crowded  in 
that  boat.  Jali  himself  landed  at  Sipolu,  and  sent  two  of  his 
men  to  take  me  across  the  river  to  Bolondo,  where  I  was  finally 
landed,  under  a  heavy  rain,  at  my  sister's  door,  about  four 
o'clock  of  Sunday  morning,  December  20.  My  sister  needed 
me ;  and  had  been  hoping-  for  my  coming. 

I  walked  the  two  miles  to  church  that  morning,  to  the  services 
conducted  by  the  missionary  in  charge,  Rev.  Win.  Schorsch. 
There  were  glad  welcomes  from  my  former  Benita  parishioners. 
In  the  afternoon,  on  request,  I  conducted  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  The  next  day,  I  set  to  work,  and  got  native 
carpenters  to  hasten  the  work  of  building  my  sister's  house, 
which  Mr.  Menkel  had  neglected.  He  was  away,  just  at  that 
time,  at  Libreville,  in  his  capacity  as  captain  of  the  mission 
schooner,  Hudson.  That  vessel  returned  to  Benita  on  Thurs- 
day, December  24,  bringing  in  the  mail,  my  share  which  had 
been  returned  from  the  Ogowe. 

Friday,  December  25,  was  "  Christmas."  But,  I  did  not  care 
for  Christmas  in  uncivilized  Africa.  I  could  not  keep  it  with 
natives,  most  of  whom  knew  of  it  as  a  day  on  which  to  beg  for 
gifts.  I  would  not  even  have  thought  of  the  day,  if  Miss  Jones, 
my  sister's  associate,  had  not  reminded  me  of  it.  We  read  our 
letters  all  together,  and  compared  notes.  At  my  landing  on  the 
Sunday  morning,  Tali's  two  men  had  failed  properly  to  beach 
the  boat;  it  floated  away;  was  found  by  two  Benita  men.  and 
held  for  ransom.  I  was  unjustly  involved.  After  much  ill- 
feeling,  Mwanytye  "  Tom  "  came  to  say  that  the  demand  for 
$50  for  the  boat  had  been  receded  from,  and  that  the  boat  was 
to  be  released.  He  wanted  me  to  go  to  Upwanjo  village,  and 
it  be  given  up  in  my  presence.  T  went,  in  my  sister's  boat  Evan- 
geline; stopped  at  Mbade,  and  saluted  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Menkel ; 
went  to  the  village;  and  the  boat  was  yielded.  Returned  to 
Mbade;  and,  with  Mr.  Menkel.  went  off  to  the  Hudson,  and  got 
my  boxes  and  other  things,  brought  from  the  Ogowe,  which  I 
had  left  at  Baraka. 

My  stay  at  Benita  was  a  series  of  confusions  in  efforts  to 
hasten  the  Bolondo  house  building:  defense  of  my  sister  against 
Mr.  Schorsch's  oppressions;  quarrels  of  Mr.  Schorsch  and  Mr. 
Menkel ;  outbreak  of  the  people  against  me  because  of  my  move- 
ments against  Mr.  Schorsch ;  and  goings  back  and  forth  on  the 
sea.  The  next  week,  with  a  native  carpenter  "  Wilson,"  from 
Corisco.  and  Ebuma,  one  of  the  Benita  elders,  the  work  on  the 


m 
C 


< 


AT  THE  SEASIDE  STATIONS  65 

building  was  pushed.  It  stood  on  the  edge  of  the  dense  forest, 
from  which  one  night  came  a  leopard  and  killed  sister's  milk- 
goat  Brownie.  The  operations  I  interrupted  one  day,  to  go  with 
sister,  in  the  Evangeline,  to  Mbade,  to  put  in  order  the  graves 
of  Mrs.  Nassau  and  my  little  Paulk  I  stayed  to  lunch  with 
the  Menkels ;  and  had  a  long  talk  with  Mr.  Schorsch  about  his 
allowing  desecrations  of  the  cemetery.  And,  another  talk,  with 
Mr.  Menkel,  in  an  effort  to  establish  some  peace  between  him  and 
Mr.  Schorsch.  I  thought  both  worthy  of  blame;  Mr.  Menkel 
for  his  irascibility,  and  Mr.  Schorsch  for  his  autocracy. 

On  the  morning  of  Wednesday.  January  6,  1875,  I  left  Benita, 
on  the  Hudson,  with  Mr.  Schorsch,  my  sister  and  Miss  Jones, 
for  the  annual  mission  meetings  at  Libreville,  arriving  there  in 
the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  9th.  I  was  elected  clerk,  and,  as 
a  sop  to  Cerberus,  we  chose  Mr.  Schorsch  as  moderator;  but, 
some  of  his  doings  were  almost  maniacal.  The  meetings  hav- 
ing ended,  I  should  have  returned  to  my  Ogowe  work.  But, 
affairs  at  Benita  were  in  such  confusion,  I  did  not  think  it  safe 
to  leave  my  sister  until  some  settlement  was  made.  On  Satur- 
day, January  16,  our  company  started  back  northward,  stopping 
over  the  Sunday  at  Elongo  Station,  Corisco  Island,  of  Rev.  C. 
De  Heer.  And,  on  Tuesday,  the  19th,  I  was  again  at  work  on 
the  Bolondo  house.  Mr.  Schorsch  came  from  Mbade  in  his 
canoe,  to  call  on  me :  and  made  a  strange  confession  of  his  sus- 
picions against  me,  and  his  hope  of  improvement  in  good  feel- 
ing. I  accepted  his  words ;  but,  really,  I  believed  his  professions 
a  part  of  his  insane  duplicity. 

The  work  at  Bolondo  continued.  Before  he  came  to  Africa, 
Mr.  Schorsch  had  been  known  as  "  eccentric."  Africa  inten- 
sifies any  prominent  part  of  a  foreigner's  character.  His  eccen- 
tricity became  a  monomania.  On  all  other  points  he  was  sane. 
His  mania  was  that  he  was  in  supreme  authority.  He  became 
so  outrageous  that  I  asked  him  to  go  with  me  for  a  called  meet- 
ing of  mission  to  decide  on  his  claims.  He  refused  to  go. 
Warning  him  that  I  would  go  without  him,  and  that  action  might 
possibly  be  taken  against  him.  I  went,  on  the  Hudson,  February 
25,  stopping  on  the  way,  at  Corisco,  for  Mr.  De  Heer;  and 
reached  Libreville.  Wednesday.  March  3.  The  mission  decided 
to  remove  Mr.  Schorsch  from  all  his  offices.  On  Friday,  March 
5,  I  started  back  to  Benita.  arriving  there,  Saturday,  March  6. 
On  the  8th,  I  sent  Mr.  Schorsch  the  mission's  official  notification. 
He  declined  to  recognize  the  mission,  or  to  yield  the  offices. 
He  played  into  the  cupidity  of  the  people ;  who,  though  they  did 


66  MY  OGOWE 

not  respect  him,  valued  him  as  a  means  of  obtaining  money  and 
employment.  He  seized,  and  refused  to  deliver  some  goods  for 
my  sister,  that  had  been  landed  from  the  Hudson,  by  Mr.  Men- 
kel,  at  the  Mbade  house.  He  incited  a  mob,  led  by  three  heathen 
chiefs,  Metyeba,  Ivina.  and  Monyamo  (which  most  of  the  church 
members  also  joined),  then  threatened  me  with  violence,  if  I 
attempted  to  enforce  the  mission's  order.  Even  Mwanyatye 
Tom  and  Isanga  (former  intimate  friends)  while  they  protected 
me  from  assault,  ordered  me  to  leave  and  "  go  back  to  Ogowe 
with  your  badness."  Only  my  sister's  Bolondo  young  men  were 
faithful  to  me.  (That  outrage  of  the  Benita  mob  remained  in 
my  memory  during  all  the  subsequent  years.)  After  some  days 
of  exciting  conferences,  the  mob  feeling  subsided.  Mr.  Schorsch 
yielded.  And,  on  Wednesday,  March  17,  bidding  good-by  to 
my  sister,  I  started,  on  the  Hudson,  with  Mr.  Schorsch,  again 
for  Libreville,  stopping  at  Corisco  Island,  for  Mr.  De  Heer,  for 
the  quarterly  mission  and  presbytery  meetings :  and  arrived  in 
the  Gaboon  River  on  Saturday,  the  20th.  Mr.  Schorsch  made  a 
great  deal  of  excitement  and  trouble  in  the  meetings ;  and  it  was 
decided  to  report  him  to  the  Board  in  New  York.  He  would 
obey  no  orders,  nor  comply  with  any  requests.  There  was  no 
place  for  him  in  the  mission.  Mr.  De  Heer  would  not  receive 
him  at  Elongo  Station,  nor  Dr.  Bushnell  at  Baraka.  My  sister 
would  not  be  safe,  if  he  were  sent  again  to  Benita.  As  a  solu- 
tion, I  offered  to  accept  him  as  an  associate  in  the  Ogowe.  (I 
did  not  then  know  that  he  had  no  intention  of  being  an  "  asso- 
ciate.") Finally,  after  our  patient  endurance  of  his  threats  to 
have  us  all  punished  by  his  Emperor  of  Germany,  he  boarded 
the  Pioneer  with  me  and  my  three  Galwas  and  one  Kombe  to 
start  for  the  Ogowe,  on  Tuesday,  March  30. 


CHAPTER  VI 

RETURN    TO   THE   OGOWE APRIL,    1875 

LIVINGSTONE,  in  his  diaries  of  his  journeys  with  that 
same  Pioneer,  on  the  Zambesi  and  Shire  Rivers,  speaks 
of  the  wearying  stoppages  of  its  engines.  History  re- 
peated itself  on  that  journey  of  mine  into  the  Ogowe. 

Progress  was  so  slow,  and  I  was  so  anxious  to  get  back  to 
my  Ogowe  work,  that,  when  the  vessel  stopped  at  Chief  Isagi's 
town  Ngumbi,  I  sent  ahead,  by  a  passing  canoe,  one  of  my  men, 
Alendeginye,  for  him  to  report  at  Aguma  the  state  of  affairs  on 
the  Pioneer.  Hopeless  of  the  vessel's  getting  any  farther  (for, 
with  its  unskilled  engineer,  it  had  been  stopping  almost  every 
hour  of  the  journey),  I  hired  a  very  large  canoe  and  nine  Nkami 
young  men  and  two  boys,  making,  with  my  remaining  four,  a 
crew  of  fifteen  paddlers.  With  Mr.  Schorsch,  our  baggage,  food 
supplies,  and  lumber  and  other  building  materials,  the  canoe  was 
heavily  laden  and  closely  crowded.  I  left  the  Pioneer  on  Fri- 
day, April  9,  for  the  fifty  miles  pull  to  Mr.  Sinclair's  trading- 
house.  The  young  men  were  desirous  of  employment,  and  were 
willing  to  take  me  up  river,  though,  in  so  doing,  they  were  un- 
intentionally helping  to  destroy  the  universal  African  trade 
monopoly.  And  there  were  murmurs  by  Isagi's  people,  threat- 
ening to  prevent  their  going.  I  hastened  our  departure.  In 
journeys  by  boat.  I  usually  took  the  rudder,  thus  keeping  all  the 
crew  at  the  oars  or  paddles.  But.  in  a  canoe,  guided  by  a  pad- 
dle, more  skill  was  required,  and  I  always  left  that  post  to  a 
native  as  captain.  Mr.  Schorsch  soon  revealed  his  animus  by 
displacing  the  steersman,  and  himself  tried  to  steer,  as  a  sign 
of  his  supremacy.  He  was  so  unskilled,  and  the  canoe  swayed 
so  wildly  under  his  hand,  that  the  crew  protested.  I  had  to  push 
him  aside,  and  replaced  the  native.  We  stopped  to  lunch:  to 
buy  provisions ;  and  to  attend  to  a  man's  toe  ulcerated  by  chig- 
oes. 

Later  in  the  day,  about  5  p.  m.,  stopped  at  a  village,  for  the 
crew  to  eat.  Air.  Schorsch  went  ashore,  to  eat  by  himself,  and 
to   preach,    though   he   knew   nothing  of   the   language   of   the 

67 


68  MY  OGOWE 

Ogowe,  and  my  employee  whom  he  used  as  interpreter  knew 
only  a  smattering  of  English! 

After  dark,  we  continued  the  journey,  hoping  to  reach  the 
Igenja  village  of  a  certain  man,  Ombya-ngwana.  In  passing  a 
village  of  the  Ivili  tribe,  near  Ashuka,  most  of  the  crew  wished 
to  stop  there  for  the  night;  but,  the  captain,  Ananga-'mweni 
(Other-tribes)  was  afraid  of  a  family  quarrel  there;  and  we 
proceeded.  Later,  when  the  slow  movements  of  the  paddles 
showed  that  the  crew  were  tired,  we  stopped  for  the  night  at 
another  Ivili  village.  The  crew  went  to  the  huts  ashore;  but, 
I  slept  on  the  uneven  boxes  in  the  canoe,  under  a  slight  rain, 
weak  from  a  diarrhea,  and  protected  by  only  a  mosquito-net. 
The  crew  returned  next  morning  (Saturday)  by  six  o'clock 
sunrise,  after  I  had  been  buying  plantains,  farinya.  and  extra 
paddles  (to  replace  broken  ones).  We  passed  the  body  of  a 
woman  floating  in  an  eddy  near  the  river-side.  Monkeys  were 
in  the  oil-palm  trees,  plucking  the  nuts. 

Stopped  at  a  village.  Xandipo.  of  a  young  man.  Azaze,  for 
the  crew  to  eat.  Taking  me  as  his  guest,  he  presented  me  with 
a  bunch  of  plantains;  and.  professing  friendship,  wished  to  seal 
the  bond,  by  the  usual  act  of  native  hospitality  to  a  white  man, 
of  loaning  me  one  of  his  wives.  The  young  woman,  standing 
smiling  by,  was,  like  Barkis,  "  willin'."  My  respectful  explana- 
tion that  missionaries  did  not  approve  of  that  feature  in  their  hos- 
pitality, was  accepted.  Du  Chaillu.  in  one  of  his  books,  relates 
that  he  was  offered  three  hundred  "  princesses  "  as  his  wives. 
It  is  probable  that  that  number  of  women  were  offered  him. 
But,  to  be  an  African  "  princess."  her  father  may  l)e  the  "  king  " 
of  a  village  of  only  fifty  people.  Xo  such  offer  is  made  to  a  mis- 
sionary, by  the  same  man.  a  second  time.  Xor  is  it  repeated  in 
any  region  in  which  a  missionary  has  once  traveled.  The  report 
in  regard  to  mission-character  is  carried  in  advance. 

We  rested  on  the  Sunday.  In  all  my  missionary  lite.  I  never 
traveled,  in  my  own  conveyance  or  afoot,  on  Sunday.  Even  if 
I  did  not  know  the  native  dialect,  or  had  no  interpreter,  and 
none  of  my  crew  or  of  the  villagers  were  Christians.  T  kept  the 
day  free  from  labor.  My  journey.  I  was  sure,  even  if  1  was  in 
haste,  would  be  the  more  prospered  during  the  ensuing  week. 
In  almost  any  village,  there  would  be  at  least  one  person,  who. 
in  his  wanderings  among  white  men.  had  picked  up  a  tew  words 
of  English,  through  which  I  could  make  myself  understood  as  to 
my  Commission. 

The  next  day's  pull  was  a  successful  one.     Though  it  was  the 


RETURN  TO  THE  OGOWE  69 

season  of  the  heavy  "  latter  "  rains,  I  kept  dry;  at  villages  where 
we  stopped,  I  obtained  abundance  of  food ;  and,  at  one  place, 
where  I  sat  resting  ashore  in  the  shade,  a  snake  passed  between 
my  legs  without  attempting  to  strike  with  its  fangs. 

I  reached  Mr.  Sinclair's  by  1  a.  m.  of  Tuesday,  April  15. 
He  was  away.  I  awoke  his  new  assistant,  Mr.  Travis,  landed 
my  goods,  and  was  in  a  comfortable  bed  by  2  a.  m.  It  had 
been  a  hard  trip.  It  proved  to  me  that,  though  an  open  boat 
might  do  for  my  personal  travel,  I  should  not  transport  goods 
and  supplies  in  that  way.  (And,  yet,  in  the  later  years,  I  often 
had  to  do  so!)  Naturally,  after  such  a  journey,  with  all  its 
responsibilities,  one  would  need  to  rest,  have  clothing  changed 
and  washed,  and  examine  boxes,  to  see  if  their  contents  were 
wet,  and  re-pack.  But,  by  8  a.  m.,  Mr.  Schorsch  was  urging 
that  our  journey  should  be  resumed !  I  declined.  Then  he 
asked  me  for  four  of  my  men  that  he  might  go  on  ahead.  With 
his  maniacal  traits,  I  was  afraid  to  entrust  him  with  authority 
over  them,  and  I  refused.  Then  he  broke  into  hysterical  tears, 
making  an  unpleasant  demonstration  before  the  trading-house 
people.  After  a  while,  he  recognized  the  propriety  of  our  await- 
ing the  return  of  the  head  of  the  house,  Mr.  Sinclair,  from  his 
journey. 

In  November.  '74,  I  had  left  boxes  in  the  Aguma  house. 
They  sadly  needed  examination.  My  supply  of  rice  was  in- 
fested with  weevils.  An  enormous  quantity  of  great  black  ants 
in  my  box  of  clothing  had  ruined  my  best  black  suit.  By  Satur- 
day evening,  Mr.  Sinclair  returned.  At  the  supper  table  with 
him,  besides  Mr.  Schorsch  and  myself,  were  Mr.  Travis,  Captain 
Stone,  and  a  Goree  trader.  The  only  representatives  of  civiliza- 
tion in  all  that  river!  I  felt  the  sentiment  of  wishing  for  a 
larger  representation  and,  by  permission,  I  placed  on  the  table  a 
tin  of  fall  pippins  given  me  by  my  sister  from  her  box  of  Law- 
renceville.  N.  J.,  presents. 

On  Sunday.  April  18,  the  Pioneer  arrived.  The  noise  of  de- 
barcation  and  unloading  destroyed  any  likeness  to  Sabbath  rest. 
But,  in  the  evening,  while  I  was  quietly  singing  by  myself, 
"  Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus,"  Captain  Stone  recognized  the  tune. 
And,  afterwards,  Mr.  Travis  joined  us;  and  we  sang  other 
hymns,  among  them,  "  Glory  to  Thee,  my  God,  this  night,"  and 
"  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  Name."  The  lives  of  those  men 
were  in  defiance  of  religion  and  morality ;  but,  in  their  own 
England,  they  had  probably  been  churchgoers.  I  was  glad  to 
be  of  some  use  in  keeping  alive  their  thought  of  religion. 


CHAPTER  VII 

AT  KASA's  TOWN  APRIL JUNE,    I  875 

THE  engines  of  the  Pioneer  had  been  repaired,  and,  on 
Monday,  April  19,  Mr.  Sinclair  suddenly  decided  that 
the  vessel  should  go  some  twenty-five  miles  up  the 
Ogowe  to^inspect  his  Osam'-'kita  trading-house.  I  really  think 
he  did  this  out  of  kindness,  to  give  me  passage  to  Kasa's  town. 
It  certainly  was  more  comfortable  than  two  days'  paddling  in 
a  canoe,  open  to  rain,  etc.  I  had  bought  an  old  canoe  and  gave 
it  to  the  nine  Nkami  young  men,  who  had  so  successfully  brought 
me  to  Aguma,  for  them  to  return  to  their  down-river  homes. 
And,  Alendaginye  had  arrived  from  his  village  just  in  time, 
bringing  with  him  three  new  young  men  for  my  crew,  Ogandaga. 
'Pi vino  and  Kengenge.  It  was  pleasant  to  sit  on  the  deck  of 
Livingstone's  Pioneer,  and  note,  as  she  slowly  passed,  the  land- 
marks I  had  charted  for  myself,  on  my  canoe  journeys  six 
months  previously.  There  was  the  mouth  of  the  Ngunye  on  the 
left  bank,  and  the  familiar  islands,  and  sandbanks,  and  the 
villages  whose  inhabitants  were  to  be  my  friends,  whose  language 
I  was  to  learn,  and  whose  lives  I  hoped  to  influence.  We  were 
at  Kasa's  town  by  10  p.  m.,  being  able  to  travel  even  the  Ogowe's 
tortuous  channels  at  night,  with  the  season's  deep  water,  and 
under  the  bright  moonlight.  By  the  aid  of  the  Pioneer's  surf- 
boat  and  its  crew  of  stout  Kroo-men,  and  Captain  Johns'  energy, 
my  goods  were  soon  landed,  and  temporarily  stored  in  a  store- 
house which  Agaia  had  built  since  the  preceding  November.  I 
spread  my  rug  on  my  pile  of  boards,  and,  being  very  tired, 
hoped  to  sleep.  But,  my  mosquito-net  was  inaccessible  in  one 
of  my  boxes,  the  insects  were  very  bad;  and  there  was  little 
sleep.  The  next  days  I  was  welcomed  by  all  the  people,  espe- 
cially by  Kasa's  head-wife,  his  little  nephew  Mutyi,  and  the  little 
girl  Awethe.  Kasa  had  been  anxiously  expecting  me,  and  had 
begun  almost  to  believe  I  had  deceived  him ;  because,  on  leaving 
him  in  the  preceding  November,  '74,  I  had  told  him  I  would  be 
back  again  before  three  months.  And,  now.  it  was  six  months! 
(I  had  had  no  idea  of  what  lay  before  me,  in  the  Schorsch  and 
Menkel  troubles.) 


AT  KASA'S  TOWN  71 

I  took  Mr.  Schorsch  a  walk,  to  show  him  the  place,  near 
Ibanyi's  village,  where  I  had  decided  to  build,  and  where  I  as- 
sumed he  would  associate  with  me.  But,  the  next  day  he  was 
violently  excited  with  the  idea  that  the  room  in  Kasa's  house  in 
which  we  were  sleeping  was  not  good.  He  went  off  by  himself, 
and  established  himself  in  the  adjacent  village  of  Ntambi.  He 
wished  also  that  I  should  divide  the  Kombe  and  Galwa  employees 
with  him.  I  needed  them  all  for  the  building  of  the  house, 
which  I  assumed  would  be  for  us  both.  I  thought  that,  if  he 
wished  to  live  separate  from  me,  he  should  have  engaged  his 
own  servants  from  the  coast.  However,  for  the  sake  of  peace, 
I  would  have  consented.  However,  I  could  not  compel  the 
young  men  against  their  own  will.  Only  one  was  willing  to 
go  with  Mr.  Schorsch,  as  cook. 

Mr.  Schorsch  got  into  his  tantrums  two  or  three  times.  But, 
as  it  takes  two  to  make  a  quarrel,  and  as  I  sat  still  and  listened 
without  reply  to  his  complaints  and  charges,  he  stopped.  He 
quieted  a  good  deal  from  his  Benita  violence,  and  I  hoped  I 
would  not  have  trouble  from  him.  I  did  not  believe  that  he  had 
really  changed,  or  that,  had  he  the  power,  he  would  not  make 
confusion.  /  now  had  the  power  (in  the  estimate  of  the  peo- 
ple), but  I  in  no  way  avenged  myself,  now  that  the  tables  were 
turned.  The  separation  between  Mr.  Schorsch  and  myself  he 
made  more  positive  and  final.  I  had  made  with  him  a  fair  divi- 
sion of  my  goods  and  supplies,  hoping  for  at  least  an  outward 
appearance  of  unity  in  our  work.  I  had  no  idea  what  were  his 
plans.  Certainly,  he  had  been  given  no  authority  or  funds  to 
build  a  house.  Those  had  been  placed  in  my  hands  by  the  mis- 
sion ;  and  the  supposition  had  been  that,  when  it  should  be  fin- 
ished, the  two  missionaries  would  live  together,  as  was  elsewhere 
the  custom. 

On  Sunday,  April  25,  I  held  a  morning  service  in  Kasa's 
village.  Mr.  Schorsch  held  a  separate  one  in  Ntambi's.  I  sent 
to  him  for  my  share  of  the  Sabbath-school  alphabet-cards  which 
were  in  a  box  I  had  loaned  him.  He  refused  to  let  me  have 
any.  I  managed  along  with  one  old  copy.  (Later,  he  yielded 
to  my  reasonable  complaint  about  his  refusal,  and  gave  me 
some.) 

The  most  valuable  article,  for  purchasing  food-supplies,  was 
salt.  Originally,  the  natives  in  the  Ogowe  had  almost  no  salt. 
Feeling  the  need  of  some  condiment  besides  the  indigenous 
cayenne-pepper,  the  skins  of  ripe  plantains  and  bananas  were 
sun-dried,  and  then  carefullv  reduced  to  ashes.     This  grav  ash, 


/- 


MY  OGOWE 


having  a  potash  taste,  they  sprinkled  on  their  food.  Subse- 
quently, the  coast  tribes,  in  their  interior  journeys  for  slaves, 
carried  salt  which  they  had  evaporated  from  sea- water  (in  im- 
ported large  brass  pans  called  "  neptunes  ").  It  was  worth  al- 
most its  weight  in  gold.  The  interior  men  reserved  it  for  their 
own  use,  allowing  none  to  women  and  children.  At  the  time  of 
my  entrance  into  the  Ogowe,  white  traders  had  begun  to  intro- 
duce foreign  salt.  But,  it  was  still  so  valued  an  article,  that,  I. 
in  purchasing  provisions,  measured  it  out,  only  by  the  table- 
spoonful,  into  the  hand  of  the  native.  Little  children,  standing 
by,  eagerly  picked  up  any  few  grains  that  happened  to  fall  to 
the  ground,  enjoying  it,  as  our  civilized  children  enjoy  a  piece  of 
candy. 

The  rats  in  my  room  were  very  bad.  Somehow,  they  had 
gotten  into  my  food-chest,  and,  carrying  off  crackers,  were 
nibbling  them  in  the  hollows  of  the  bamboo-walls. 

It  was  pleasant  to  observe  the  taste  of  the  women,  in  adorn- 
ing their  hair  with  flowers.  This  was  not  common.  Usually, 
they  depended  for  ornament,  on  foreign  brass  jewelry  and 
bright-colored  cloths.  There  came  to  evening  prayers  quite  a 
company  of  these  women,  with  wreaths  of  ferns  and  flowers. 

The  evenings  were  the  occasions  for  social  enjoyment.  The 
people  needed  it ;  my  coast  tribe  employees  needed  it,  to  keep 
them  satisfied;  and  I  needed  it,  as  a  means  of  obtaining  that 
acquaintance  with  the  heart  of  the  native,  without  which  I  felt 
sure  I  would  have  no  influence  over  them.  The  antitribal  feel- 
ing of  my  Kombe  and  Galwa.  if  left  alone  by  themselves,  might 
have  eventuated  in  a  quarrel ;  in  my  presence  it  amounted  to 
only  amusing  banter,  in  which  our  Akele  townspeople  found 
much  amusement. 

Natural  cupidity  soon  showed  itself  among  the  people.  I 
had  come  to  them  under  privation  and  difficulty  and  even  dan- 
ger, in  overcoming  the  opposition  of  the  coast  tribes,  and  there- 
fore I  was  treated  with  more  than  ordinary  kindness  and  civility. 
Personally,  I  was  safe.  But  the  sacred  character  of  my  work- 
was  as  yet  not  at  all  felt  or  valued.  I  was  only  a  white  man 
with  goods,  which  they  would  obtain  in  exchange  for  their  na- 
tive provisions,  at  the  highest  possible  price  that  my  necessity 
would  compel.  It  was  simply  the  commercial  attitude  of  civi- 
lized communities;  with,  however,  this  fact  in  my  favor,  that 
there  was  no  organized  boycott,  or  the  threats  of  a  trade  union. 
When  Kasa's  people  failed  to  appreciate  my  presence,  by  becom- 


AT  KASA'S  TOWN  73 

ing  too  exacting,  I  could,  by  the  little  trouble  of  a  canoe  journey 
of  a  mile  to  an  adjoining  village,  get  better  prices.  But,  had  I 
gone  to  remain  permanently  at  that  other  village,  the  result 
would  have  been  the  same  as  at  Kasa's. 

The  days  of  delay  were  becoming  trying,  as  I  could  no  nothing 
about  building  during  Kasa's  absence.  Authority  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  site  depended  on  him.  His  head-wife,  Nwanaja, 
came  to  me  in  excitement,  on  April  29,  knowing  that  the  news 
would  interest  me,  saying  that,  in  a  dream,  she  had  seen  Kasa. 
I  jokingly  asked  her  whether,  in  her  dream,  she  had  seen  him 
coming  with  a  promised  goat.  For,  she  had  previously  told  me 
that  he  had  gone  on  his  journey  to  get  a  goat  with  which  to 
welcome  me.  Kasa  returned  suddenly  on  May  4,  bringing  the 
goat!  The  day  was  an  excited  one.  King  Ondeiie  had  come 
to  see  me,  with  his  retinue.  The  townspeople  came  back  from 
the  forest,  where  they  had  buried  a  woman,  who  died  the  day 
before.  And,  in  the  evening,  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
crowd,  Kasa  gave  a  detailed  account  (pa)  of  all  the  events  that 
had  occurred  since  my  departure  in  the  previous  November. 
And  then,  I  gave  mine.  Then,  the  company  wanted  to  be 
amused  by  being  shown  some  of  my  new  tools;  among  the  rest, 
an  india-rubber  syringe. 

I  became  more  anxious  to  get  into  my  own  house ;  for,  though 
I  believed  (and  still  believe)  it  desirable  for  one  to  mingle  much 
with  the  people  for  whom  one  is  working,  I  found  it  was  un- 
necessarily trying  to  live  constantly  in  the  midst  of  their  noise 
and  confusion.  On  the  night  of  May  5,  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  tumult  in  the  street,  which  prevented  my  sleep.  I  felt  grate- 
ful, when  I  overheard  my  Kombe  young  man  pleading  with  the 
people  to  keep  quiet,  for  my  sake.  Indeed  the  question  of  noise 
so  influenced  me  that  I  decided  not  to  build  at  the  location  I  had 
selected,  and  told  Kasa  I  would  choose  a  place  far  from  all 
villages.  This  he  did  not  like.  But,  I  told  him,  I  did  not  mean 
to  avoid  him  or  people;  for,  I  had  made  my  long  journey  to 
come  to  people.  And,  that  I  would  constantly  do  so,  on  visits; 
and  people  should  visit  me.  But,  that  I  wanted  a  place  where 
I  could  sleep  quietly  at  night.  There  were  other  reasons,  which 
I  did  not  mention  to  him,  e.  g.,  I  wanted  a  site,  whose  water- 
side landing,  and  whose  spring  of  water  should  not  be  held  in 
common  with  any  other  village  or  person.  (Difficulty  had 
arisen  for  me  at  Mbade,  Benita,  on  both  those  points.)  And, 
when,  on  May  7.  some  people,  for  whom  Kasa  had  been  wait- 


74  MY  OGOWE 

ing,  to  consult  with  them  about  a  certain  proposed  site,  I  short- 
ened the  discussion  by  informing  them  that  I  no  longer  desired 
that  place,  even  as  a  gift. 

My  evening  chats  with  Kasa  and  his  people  were  entertain- 
ing and  instructive.  I  learned  a  great  deal  about  the  interior 
tribes;  their  locations,  size,  dialects,  customs;  the  rivers,  moun- 
tains, etc.,  the  animals,  productions,  etc. 

In  the  afternoon,  Kasa  took  me,  with  quite  a  number  of  his 
people,  a  mile  down  river,  to  an  uninhabited  portion  of  the  for- 
est, near  Mbilye  Creek,  in  order  that  I  might  choose  a  spot 
where  he  and  I  should  build  together!  I  went.  But,  I  reserved 
for  another  day,  the  destruction  of  any  hope  that  I  would  allow 
him  or  any  other  native  to  build  near  me. 

Kasa's  was  a  strange  character.  That  he  had  strength,  I  saw 
by  the  obedience  that  was  rendered  him.  He  could  be  severe ; 
though  I  had  not  often  seen  it.  He  was  good-humored,  not  pre- 
tending any  "  kingly  "  dignity.  He  was  quick  to  learn  and  see ; 
but  was  most  persistent  in  his  own  wishes.  He  was  kind  to  me, 
and  often  helpful,  almost  to  generosity.  But,  I  always  knew, 
back  of  it  all,  there  was  greed  and  expectation  of  gain ;  for,  he 
was  selfish.  I  liked  his  camaraderie;  but,  in  making  my  occa- 
sional gifts,  felt  I  was  paying  a  hotel  bill.  We  each  were  using 
the  other  "  position."     And,  I  never  trusted  him  too  far. 

On  Saturday,  May  8,  events  were  culminating  for  my  plans. 
Aveya  and  four  others  of  my  Galwa  employees  returned  from 
Mr.  Sinclair's  with  a  small  canoe,  which  they  had  bought,  at  my 
direction,  for  $5  (trade).  I  killed  for  them  the  fatted  calf,  in 
the  shape  of  the  big  goat  Kasa  had  given  me,  sending  also  por- 
tions to  Mr.  Schorsch,  and  to  the  Xkami  trader  ReMombi,  on 
whom  I  was  dependent  for  favors  in  the  way  of  sending  and  re- 
ceiving mail,  by  his  occasional  canoe-messenger  to  Mr.  Sinclair's 
"  Aguma  "  (so  named  for  some  large  silk-cotton  trees  near  it). 
It  was  worth  while  to  watch  and  enjoy  the  intensely  hungry  ex- 
citement of  my  seven  employees,  when  I  handed  over  to  them 
an  entire  half  of  the  goat,  for  them,  not  in  any  usual  ration, 
but  at  their  own  riotous  pleasure. 

I  went  again  to  the  forest  near  Mbilye  Creek,  with  Kasa  and 
his  people,  to  decide  about  the  site  for  my  house.  There,  there 
was  a  long  "palaver"  (talk).  The  two  points  of  difficulty 
were:  On  my  side,  that  I  marked  out  an  area  of  very  many 
acres.  Not  that  I  really  could  make  use  of  them  all.  but  because 
1  felt  sure  that  1  would  be  followed  by  Kasa  or  some  other  chief, 
who  would  desire  to  live  near  me.      In  which  case,   [  wished  my 


AT  KASA'S  TOWN  75 

boundary  to  keep  their  expected  village  noises  far  enough  distant 
for  my  peace  and  quiet.  On  the  part  of  Kasa,  that  he  wished 
to  build  actually  alongside  of  me ! 

The  matter  of  an  interpreter  was  a  serious  one  in  my  preach- 
ing. At  best,  interpreters  are  a  very  lame  means.  Sometimes, 
they  actually  intentionally  misinterpreted.  Familiar  with  Benga. 
I  had  hoped  to  find  it  useful  in  the  cognate  Okota,  whose  tribe 
had  been  my  objective  point  in  entering  the  Ogowe.  But,  they 
had  disappeared.  The  Dikele  was  also  cognate  with  Benga,  so 
that  I  was  able  to  use  it  in  a  smattering  way  for  daily  wants.  But, 
not  for  preaching.  So,  until  I  should  acquire  Dikele,  I  had  to 
speak  through  one  of  my  Kombes,  who  passed  the  words  to 
Masomami,  one  of  Kasa's  young  men,  who  happened  to  know 
Mpongwe.  When  my  words  finally  reached  my  Akele  audience, 
they  had  passed  through  five  linguistic  ranges !  A  very  slow 
way !  Well  might  such  preaching,  in  its  weakness,  be  called 
"  foolishness."     But  God  could  make  use  of  it. 

On  Monday,  May  11,  I  went  again  with  Kasa  to  the  ground 
near  Mbilye,  to  mark  the  outlines  of  the  mission  premises.  He 
yielded  to  my  wish  as  to  the  northern  side ;  and  the  boundary  line 
was  at  once  actually  cut  from  that  point  westward  to  the  Ogowe 
River,  marked  by  a  large  bzuibc  tree  near  a  kuda  tree.  That  had 
evidently  been  one  of  Kasa's  hunting-grounds;  for,  there  were 
remains  of  a  fence  used  to  turn  small  animals  into  snares.  Then 
we  went  to  the  top  of  the  small  bluff  or  hill  above  the  landing- 
place,  and  began  to  clear  away  the  bushes,  for  the  actual  site  of 
the  house.  After  a  while,  he  and  I  left  the  men  at  work,  and  we 
went  to  the  rear,  eastward  of  the  clearing,  to  see  where  the  line 
should  be  cut  across  a  plateau  that  was  enclosed  in  a  large  bend 
of  the  Mbilye.  I  agreed  to  the  limit  which  he  indicated.  Then, 
he  led  me  back,  West  and  North  West  to  some  of  the  Mbilye  low- 
lands. As  it  was  marshy,  I  went  no  farther.  Then,  he  led  me 
North  East,  to  the  place  he  had  several  times  before  mentioned  as 
the  line  for  his  town  near  mine.  I  refused  even  to  speak  of  it; 
and  took  him  back  to  a  certain  inlet  of  the  creek,  and  claimed  it 
as  my  ultimatum.  Then,  we  two  had  a  scene  that  was  really  dra- 
matic. He  l>egged  and  pleaded.  I  kept  the  temper  of  a  friend, 
but,  with  eye  looking  coldly  and  steadily  into  his,  quietly  and 
firmly  refused.  (Africans  are  afraid  of  the  blue  or  gray  of  a 
white  man's  eye.  It  tells  so  much  more  than  does  their  own 
black  eye. )      He  seemed  to  yield ;  and  we  returned  to  the  clearing. 

Evidently,  at  some  time,  a  traveling  coast-tribe  man  had 
camped  there;  for,  there  were  growing  a  lime  tree  and  a  West 


76  MY  OGOWE 

India  bamboo.  Those  trees  are  not  indigenous  to  Africa;  had 
been  brought  from  Jamaica  to  the  Coast ;  and  thence  were  car- 
ried by  coast-tribe  traders  to  the  interior.  ( Trees  sprang  from 
the  seeds  of  fruits  dropped  at  such  camps.)  While  Kasa  and  I 
were  sitting  amicably  talking,  I  introduced  my  denunciation  of 
foreign  intoxicating  liquor  brought  by  all  the  traders,  white  and 
black.  Suddenly,  he  startled  me  by  asking.  ''Well!  if  God  is 
angry  with  drunkards,  what  will  become  of  me?"  It  gave  me 
excellent  basis  for  a  personal  appeal,  and  for  the  offer  of  God's 
universal  forgiveness  of  any  repented  sin.  We  returned  to 
Kasa's  town,  with  abundant  promises  on  his  part.  But.  I  de- 
clined to  do  any  more  work  at  clearing,  until  he  had  actually  out- 
lined and  marked  (on  trees)  the  entire  boundaries.  I  wanted  no 
future  claims  or  disputes.  In  the  meanwhile  I  made  visit  to  King 
Ondene.  He  tried  to  be  courteous,  but  failed.  An  initiation 
into  the  great  Ukuku  or  "  Vasi  "  society  was  in  progress.  No 
woman  was  permitted  to  see  even  the  procession,  much  less  any 
of  the  lodge  ceremonies.  As  a  man,  my  seeing  the  procession 
was  not  resented  (at  least  openly).  Yet,  I  soon  became  con- 
scious that  my  presence  was  not  desired;  and  I  left.  Ondene  giv- 
ing me  only  three  pitifully  small  chickens.  But.  I  treasured  the 
incident,  and  reserved  my  indignation  at  Yasi  for  a  future  day. 
(It  came,  four  years  later.) 

On  the  way  back,  the  crew,  though  thirsty  under  the  hot  sun, 
would  not  drink  of  the  water  of  the  river  (as  they  and  I  were 
constantly  accustomed  to  do)  because  of  the  too  recent  sight  of 
the  corpse  of  a  woman  thrown  into  the  river,  at  Xtambi's  town. 
At  that  period,  burial  was  accorded  to  only  persons  of  distinction. 
Slaves,  the  poor,  and  especially  poor  women,  were  cast  either  into 
the  river,  a  prey  to  fishes  (the  natives  said  that  the  gavial-croco- 
diles  ate  only  bodies  which  themselves  had  killed)  or,  into  the 
forest,  a  prey  to  wild  beasts  and  the  scavenger  "  Driver  *'  ants. 

One  of  the  crew  fell  into  the  river,  and.  in  unskill fully  scram- 
bling again  into  the  canoe,  filled  it  with  water,  and  almost  upset 
it.  (Ogowe  canoes  are  flat-bottomed,  and  are  readily  upset.) 
So,  my  legs  were  thoroughly  wet.  and  chilled  before  we  reached 
my  room,  where  I  could  change  for  dry  clothing. 

The  next  day.  I  bought  of  Kasa.  at  a  fair  price,  a  gnat.  And 
he  gave  me  two  good-sized  chickens,  for  Ondene's  three  little 
ones.  lie  seemed  ashamed  of  the  "King's"  meanness.  My 
chickens  and  goat  were  to  run  loose  with  the  town  flocks,  until  I 
should  wish  to  claim  them.  But.  the  subtile  Kasa  said  nothing 
about   setting  the  boundaries  of  my  ground.      I    feigned   indif- 


AT  -RASA'S  TOWN  77 

f  erence,  and  said  nothing :  but,  I  kept  my  men  at  work  in  cutting- 
timber,  and  shaping  window-frames.  I  was  not  well  enough  to 
work  myself;  the  wetting  of  the  previous  day  had  given  me  a 
chill,  and  I  was  dosing  with  quinin. 

On  May  13,  there  was  a  horrible  odor  of  some  imperfectly 
dried  elephant  skin  that  was  being  roasted  for  Kasa's  breakfast. 
The  natives,  in  butchering  the  wild  animals  they  killed  for  food, 
did  not  skin  them  (unless  they  had  a  special  need  for  the  skin  for 
some  other  purpose).     The  hair  was  only  singed  off. 

A  canoe  of  the  man  Schmieder,  trader  for  the  firm  of  Woer- 
mann,  had  come  to  Ivinene's  adjacent  village,  with  a  barrel  of 
rum.  All  day,  the  village  was  filled  with  a  noisy  drunken  crowd. 
The  liquor  was  of  a  particularly  bad  type,  and  some  of  the  na- 
tives were  drinking  in  wild  excess.  At  night,  one  of  them,  one 
of  Kasa's  men,  died  from  the  effects.  I  could  not  sleep  much 
that  night,  with  the  noises  of  yelling,  shouting,  singing,  wailing, 
and  gun-firing.  (Firing  of  guns,  as  part  of  an  entertainment,  in 
Africa,  takes  the  place  of  fireworks  in  other  countries.) 

The  next  day,  after  Kasa  had  returned  from  the  funeral  of 
his  man  at  Ivinene's,  he  said  he  was  ready  for  the  marking  of  my 
premises.  We  all  went,  my  people  and  some  of  his,  in  two 
canoes.  Arrived  at  the  site,  he  began  his  usual  trouble,  of  wish- 
ing to  build  by  Mbilye  Creek,  near  me.  Nwanaja  and  another  of 
his  women  were  with  us  while  we  talked.  Our  discussion  became 
angry ;  and  she  left,  to  go  to  her  relatives  at  Mbilye  village. 
Kasa  took  me  to  the  line  to  show  me  exactly  what  he  wanted.  T 
was  so  indignant  that  I  left  him,  saying  nothing,  and  going  away 
alone;  and.  he  went  alone,  for  Nwanaja.  But  meeting  her  on 
her  return,  they  both  overtook  me.  She  told  me.  in  his  pres- 
ence, that  her  people  had  assented  to  my  taking  the  whole  ground. 
This  seemed  to  settle  the  matter.  I  was  grateful  to  her  for  her 
efficient  help.  As  we  walked  toward  the  landing  where  our 
canoes  were  awaiting  us,  I  was  impressed  with  the  wildness  of 
the  land  I  was  acquiring.  On  our  path,  we  started  up  an  ante- 
lope in  the  bushes.  Down  in  the  river,  hippopotami  were  snort- 
ing and  bellowing.  And.  on  our  way  back,  we  passed  the  float- 
ing dead  body  of  a  man. 

On  Sunday,  May  16,  very  few  persons  came  to  my  services. 
Kasa  and  most  of  his  people  were  off  at  Ivinene's,  where  was  be- 
ing held  a  witch-craft  "  palaver,"  over  the  cause  of  the  death  of 
the  woman  who  had  died  there  recently.  A  woman  had  been 
seized  and  charged  as  the  witch.  I  felt  greatly  depressed  at  the 
joy  over  the  seizure  shown  by  even  little  boys  of  the  village. 


78  MY  OGOWE 

Like  the  satisfaction  which,  in  civilization,  we  feel  at  the  arrest 
of  a  murderer.  (In  later  years  I  learned  to  understand  the  na- 
tive point  of  view ;  they  really  believed  that  the  accused  were  mur- 
derers.) One  of  my  Kombe  men,  Mwanyatye,  had  been  at  the 
scene,  as  a  spectator.  He  told  me  that  the  woman  was  begging 
for  her  life.  On  Corisco  Island,  in  such  cases,  I  had  always 
gone  and  interfered,  with  some  hope  of  success.  For,  I  spoke 
the  language  freely,  and  the  Bengas  had  some  degree  of  civiliza- 
tion. But,  with  those  Bakele,  whose  language  I  could  only  smat- 
ter,  and  whose  civilization  was  in  its  rudiments,  my  interference 
would  have  been  in  vain.  But,  I  made  indignant  protests.  When 
Kasa  returned,  he  avoided  me.  My  people  said  he  was  afraid 
of  me.  At  sunset,  a  canoe  with  Mr.  Sinclair  and  his  valet,  Osha- 
lowe,  brought  me  a  mail.  My  letters!  My  son  William's  photo- 
graph !  What  an  interest  and  excitement  Kasa  and  his  people 
displayed  over  my  child's  picture!  Communication  by  letter  was 
a  comparatively  new  tiling  to  them.  Their  surprise  that  the  boy 
could  talk  to  me  on  paper!  They  handled  the  letter  as  if  it  was 
a  living  thing;  and,  to  each  newcomer,  they  told  over  and  over 
my  simple  story. 

On  Monday,  May  17,  I  had  a  decided  talk  with  Kasa  about  the 
"  witches,"  whom  he  had  threatened  to  kill.  And  he  had  an  ex- 
cited talk  with  Mr.  Sinclair  about  his  trade;  Mr.  Sinclair  not  hav- 
ing honored  him  by  locating  even  a  native  trader  in  his  village, 
a  village  which  he  now  claimed  was  greater  than  King  Ondene's, 
because  a  white  man  (myself)  was  living  in  it! 

On  Thursday  the  20th,  I  went  to  the  clearing  with  5hvanaja, 
who,  since  her  efficient  intervention,  was  deputed  by  Kasa  to 
mark  out  the  remaining  outlines  of  my  grounds.  T  sent  my 
people  along  the  forest  path,  for  the  canoe  was  too  small  for  us 
all.  Though  the  month  was  May  near  the  beginning  of  the  dry 
season  (marked  by  cooler  nights),  a  time  when  the  river  would 
be  expected  to  run  low,  it  actually  rose  two  feet  in  twenty- four 
hours;  thus  showing  that  its  sources  must  be  in  a  different  lat- 
itude.     (The  latest  maps  prove  this  to  be  true.) 

On  Friday,  the  21st,  I  went,  with  four  of  my  people,  in  my 
small  canoe,  up  river  to  Mhomi,  to  buy  plantains.  Kasa  had 
been  in  an  ugly  spirit,  and  was  venting  some  spite  by  demanding 
for  plantains,  an  exorbitant  price.  His  women  therefore  had 
hesitated  to  sell  to  me  sufficient  for  my  people,  though  5hvanaja 
saw  to  it  that  I  obtained  enough  for  myself.  At  Mbomi,  I 
bought  a  dozen  bunches.  While  at  dinner,  an  incident  hap- 
pened.    There   was   there  a  little   child  of  a    Mpongwe   trader. 


AT  KASA'S  TOWN  79 

Coming  from  the  sea-coast,  it  was  accustomed  to  some  civiliza- 
tion, to  white  faces,  to  good  dress,  to  table  and  plate  and  spoon, 
and  attractive  cooking.  Evidently  it  was  petted,  and  a  little 
spoiled;  for  its  parents  employed  a  native  nurse  for  it.  It  had 
seen  me  eating;  and  it  cried  persistently  until  its  nurse  had 
yielded  and  permitted  it  to  join  me  in  my  plate!  After  I  had 
eaten,  I  walked  through  the  villages.  While  there,  a  red  ante- 
lope, and  a  large  python  ten  feet  long,  were  brought  in  from  the 
forest.  I  would  have  waited  to  buy  some  of  the  antelope ;  but  I 
saw  a  storm  coming  and  I  left.  (I  had  better  waited.)  Giving 
presents  to  my  kind  entertainers,  I  pushed  off.  There  was  a 
strong  wind  blowing  up-stream,  against  the  river's  rapid  cur- 
rent, creating  a  succession  of  choppy  waves.  Ogowe  canoes 
have  no  buoyancy.  They  do  not  rise  to  a  wave ;  they  simply 
cut  through  it.  My  canoe  was  very  small.  Myself  and  crew  of 
four  were  too  many ;  and  the  dozen  bunches  of  plantains  sunk  the 
gunwales  to  the  level  of  smooth  water.  In  the  rough  water  of 
that  day,  the  canoe  began  to  fill,  and  I  thought  of  turning  back ; 
but,  as  there  was  another  canoe  accompanying,  I  decided  to  take 
the  risk.  Passing  rougher  water  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  creek. 
Big  Isango,  we  swamped ;  a  paddle  and  the  plantains  went  floating 
away;  my  cooking  utensils,  box  of  medicines,  and  umbrella 
sank.  We,  in  the  water,  clung  to  the  canoe.  The  other  canoe, 
that  had  passed  us,  returned  to  our  help,  bailed  our  canoe,  and 
started  us  again.  We  overtook  and  recovered  eight  of  our 
plantains.  But  the  storm  of  wind  and  rain  piled  higher  waves 
as  we  were  passing  another  point  of  land,  and  the  canoe  again 
upset.  One  of  the  young  men.  Xganga,  struck  out  for  the  shore. 
The  other  three  stayed  by  me,  clinging  to  the  canoe,  though  they 
all  could  swim.  I  too  can  swim  ;  but,  I  felt  it  would  be  impossible 
to  reach  shore  in  my  heavily  soaked  clothing.  Mwanyatye  saw 
that  I  was  becoming  numbed  with  the  cold,  and  that  I  with  diffi- 
culty retained  my  grasp  on  the  revolving  canoe.  He  wished  me 
to  let  go,  promising  that  he  would  swim  with  me  ashore.  I  be- 
lieved in  his  willingness  and  faithfulness,  but  felt  sure  I  would 
be  too  heavy  a  weight.  I  bade  good-by  to  the  young  men,  and 
told  them  to  save  themselves  by  swimming  ashore.  For  myself, 
I  felt  that  my  hands  could  no  longer  cling,  and  that  in  a  little 
while  I  would  be  at  the  bottom  of  the  Ogowe.  I  was  not  in 
pain  nor  was  I  afraid.  A  strange  coolness  came  over  me.  The 
young  men  saw  that  that  other  canoe  had  seen  our 
plight  and  was  hasting  back  to  us.  It  rescued  us,  and  landed  us 
at  the  mouth  of  another  creek,  Little  Isango.     One  of  my  crew, 


8o  MY  OGOWE 

Oraniga.  while  clinging  to  the  canoe,  had  held  on  also  to  onr 
food-chest,  saving  it.  The  plantains  were  all  lost.  I  sent  him 
and  Mwanyatye  in  the  canoe  (the  force  of  the  tornado  wind  hav- 
ing somewhat  abated),  while  I  walked  the  forest  path  with 
Nganga  and  Kengenge  to  Kasa's.  There,  the  people's  anxiety 
was  very  great  at  the  story  of  my  danger.  Rwanaja  brought  me 
a  pile  of  plantains,  bidding  me  never  again  to  go  elsewhere  for 
them. 

I  had  been  in  danger  before,  during  my  previous  fourteen 
years  of  life  in  Africa,  but  never  in  as  great  danger  as  that  day. 
T  learned  thereafter,  when  traveling  by  canoe,  in  sight  of  a  com- 
ing storm,  to  run  ashore,  and  wait  until  the  wind  was  past.  Tn 
a  boat,  there  was  less  danger  in  heading  that  wind. 

Every  few  days  wild  animals  were  brought  in  from  the  forest 
by  the  village  hunters.  The  smaller  animals  were  caught  in  nets. 
Among  them  were  porcupines..  T  found  their  meat  as  tender 
as  "pork,"  without  anv  pork  taste;  indeed,  resembling  chicken- 
flesh. 

Sunday.  May  23.  Another  day  of  confusion.  There  was 
mourning  in  Xtambi's  village  for  another  death.  And  in  the 
afternoon,  came  a  little  boy  from  Xtambi's.  in  excitement,  to  tell 
me  that  Mr.  Sinclair's  Mpongwe  trader.  Dose,  was  fighting  with 
my  Galwas.  T  did  not  go ;  but.  I  sent  my  two  Kombes.  I  to  be 
summoned  only  if  they  were  unable  to  separate  the  combatants. 
For  a  time  there  was  quite  an  uproar.  In  the  evening 
Xwanaja  went  with  the  other  women  to  Ivinene's.  to  dance 
"  paga  "  for  the  sorcerer-doctor  who  was  to  find  another  witch- 
victim  in  place  of  the  young  woman  T  had  induced  Kasa  to  re- 
lease. He  did  not  seem  to  understand  that  I  had  pleaded  for  a 
principle,  and  not  simply  for  a  personality.  Of  course,  T  was 
pleased  that  that  young  woman  had  been  saved. 

May  24.  My  Galwas  were  excitable  and  unreliable:  especially 
about  their  monthly  accounts.  Xot  so  much  in  regard  to  the 
amount  promised  for  their  wages:  but.  in  pleas  to  be  permitted 
to  overdraw,  or,  in  objections  to  the  articles  with  which  they 
were  to  be  paid.  (For  all  our  purchases  and  payments,  at  that 
time  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  were  made,  not  in  cash, 
but  in  barter.)  I  sent  two  of  them  away,  on  a  vacation,  to  visit 
their  homes  for  a  while.  A  third.  Kengenge.  I  had  to  compel  to 
leave.  Dissatisfied  as  he  had  seemed  to  be.  lie  did  not  wish  to 
leave  my  service.  The  pleasantest  of  the  Galwa  company  was 
Aveya. 

May  2^.     Though   living  in  adjacent  villages.   Mr.   Schorsch 


AT  KASA'S  TOWN  81 

and  I  had  almost  nothing  to  do  with  each  other.  As  he  had 
announced  his  entire  independence  of  me,  I  made  no  offers  or 
advances,  lest,  in  his  excessively  suspicions  nature,  I  should  be 
charged  with  interfering.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  in  a  few  in- 
stances where  he  had  asked  for  assistance,  I  was  pleased  to  give 
it.  He  suddenly  decided  to  go  away,  and  went  through  the  vil- 
lages seeking  in  vain  for  the  loan  of  a  canoe ;  for,  mine  was 
too  small  to  contain  all  his  luggage. 

My  life  in  the  huts,  in  the  canoe,  and  in  the  forest,  was  hard  on 
my  clothes.  And  the  unskilful  laundering  was  still  harder.  Re- 
pairs were  frequent.  Many  hours  with  my  needle  ( I  never  suc- 
ceeded in  using  a  thimble)  were  spent  on  rents,  patches,  darns, 
and  buttons. 

May  26.  The  long  delay  in  beginning  the  building  of  my  hut 
was  becoming  trying.  In  a  land  where  time  was  of  no  value,  na- 
tives allowed  decisions  in  matters  of  utility  to  drag  along  for 
months.  With  foreigners,  they  deliberately  played  on  this  as 
a  diplomacy.  For,  with  white  men.  time  was  money;  in  some 
cases,  almost  life.  Restive  under  delays,  the  traders  obtained 
their  objects  by  payments  of  money.  Natives  learned  to  ex- 
pect this.  I  believed  that  Kasa  was  playing  this  same  game  with 
me.  I  did  not  yield  to  it,  partly  because  I  had  everywhere  to 
study  economy  of  the  mission's  money;  and.  also,  because,  if  T 
submitted  to  domination,  I  would  feel  myself  in  a  kind  of  slavery. 
The  traders  had,  in  their  rum  bottle,  a  lever  which  served  them 
in  almost  all  emergencies. 

I  went  again  to  complete  the  actual  marking  of  the  boundaries 
of  my  premises,  going  by  forest-path,  rather  than  by  canoe.  In 
crossing  a  frail  bridge  of  poles  over  a  creek,  it  broke.  There 
happened  to  l)e  a  line  of  "  driver  "  ants  on  it.  I  was  covered 
with  them.  That  I  fell  into  the  creek  was  no  salvation  from 
them.  I  know  of  nothing  but  fire  that  will  turn  them.  Of 
course,  I  had  to  go  back  to  Kasa's.  The  young  man.  Upanga. 
whom  I  had  left  as  guard  over  my  goods.  I  found  asleep.  I 
sharply  rebuked  him :  and.  the  remainder  of  the  day.  he  seemed  to 
try  to  compensate  by  being  extra-industrious. 

In  my  dealings  with  all  natives,  I  never  adopted  the  attitude 
of  most  of  the  traders,  i.  e.,  of  domination,  with  actual  violence, 
in  the  way  of  blows,  kicks,  and  lashes.  My  attitude  was  that  of 
affiliation.  In  it  I  generally  won  their  respect  and  love.  Mr. 
Schorsch,  both  at  Benita  and  in  Ogowe,  took  the  attitude  of  fa- 
miliarity. Natives  hailed  it  as  good-fellowship,  gathered  around 
him,   for  what  they  could  make  out  of  him,  and  disrespected 


82  MY  OGOWE 

him.  As  he  was  unable  to  get  any  natives  to  remain  in  his 
service,  at  his  request,  I  detailed  one  of  my  young  men,  Alende- 
ginye,  to  serve  him.  •  I  sometimes,  on  occasions,  ate  with  my  peo- 
ple, as  my  children.  Mr.  Schorsch  took  him  regularly  at  his  ta- 
ble as  an  equal.  But,  there  came  a  day  when  Mr.  Schorsch's  sus- 
picious nature  irritably  broke  into  a  quarrel.  Then  the  young 
man  gave  way  to  insulting  language,  such  as  he  would  never  have 
attempted  with  me:  and,  for  which  a  trader  would  have  maimed 
him.     Mr.  Schorsch  left  on  May  28. 

On  May  29,  having  collected,  during  all  the  delays,  a  quantity 
of  poles,  thatch,  and  other  building  materials,  I  went  in  Kasa's 
big  canoe  to  the  cleared  spot  on  my  premises,  (called  "  Belam- 
bla")  and  actually  cut  the  mbingo  (saplings)  of  the  frame  of 
the  clay-floored  hut,  which  was  to  be  my  step  to  a  more  permanent 
dwelling.  The  young  trader,  who  was  at  Kasa's  when  I  landed 
there  in  1874,  returned.  He  and  his  canoe-men  were  desirous  of 
learning  to  read.  I  found  in  them  a  satisfaction  for  direct  mis- 
sionary work,  in  the  evenings  and  on  Sundays. 

On  May  31,  my  patience  broke,  under  some  disappointments. 
T  had  been  paying  my  Galwas  regular  wages,  in  order  to  keep 
them  on  hand  ready  for  work  on  the  hut,  whenever  Kasa  and 
Providence  would  allow  me  to  begin.  Now,  that  I  had  begun, 
those  Galwas.  who  had  been  paid  for  simply  "  being  on  hand," 
left,  dissatisfied  with  their  pay.  I  felt  that  I  had  been  feeding 
them  all  these  weeks,  they  doing  little  or  nothing,  while  waiting 
for  building  materials;  and  then,  when  I  was  ready  to  begin,  they 
went  away.  I  also  felt  depressed  by  the  apparent  loss  of  interest 
in  me  by  the  villagers,  since  the  native  traders  had  increased  in 
number.  In  the  evening.  T  shook  off  the  depression  with  some- 
what of  the  sentiment  of  Grenfel's.  "  'Tis  Dogged  as  Does  it."' 
and  walking  down  the  street.  I  chatted  with  the  men,  women, 
and  children,  and  felt  inspirited.  At  night,  there  was  a  large 
gathering  at  the  usual  prayer-service.  And,  late  into  the  night,  I 
was  teaching  to  read. 

On  Tune  3,  the  Galwas  were  back  again  for  work ;  and  the 
day  was  spent  as  a  successful  day  at  my  hut  building.  With  a 
memory  of  my  almost  fatal  ride  in  the  small  canoe.  I  preferred  to 
walk  the  distance  to  the  work,  though  there  were  several  inlets, 
through  which  I  had  to  be  carried,  where  the  river  water  was 
backing  in.  The  river  continued  to  rise,  though  the  season  was 
the  dry,  and  there  were  no  signs  of  rain.  The  flood  was  coming 
from  interior  affluents. 

Sunday,  June  6,  was  a  day  of  excitement.     A  native    trader 


tt\«»l 


pampoo  palm  p.uildixg  material 


Facing  j.age  S2 


AT  KASA'S  TOWN  ,  83 

came  to  see  me.  He  came  to  look  after  his  rubber-trade  inter- 
ests, not  having  confidence  in  a  young  subordinate,  who  was 
a  drunkard,  and  who  was  drunk  on  Sakwele's  liquor,  which 
he  furnished  that  young  man,  with  which  to  make  drunkards  of 
the  Bakele! 

In  the  afternoon,  there  was  a  fight.  Kasa's  sister,  the  mother 
of  the  lad  Mutyi,  had  left  her  husband  because  he  became  a 
polygamist.  Polygamy  was  the  universal  custom  of  the  country. 
Every  heathen  man  planned  to  become  a  polygamist  as  soon 
as  he  could  acquire  the  funds  to  buy  another  wife.  Some  few 
women  welcomed  the  added  wife;  because,  being  servants  and 
practically  slaves,  the  new  servant  helped  to  divide  their  work. 
Most  women,  while  in  their  hearts  they  resented  the  division  of 
the  husband's  love,  silently  submitted  to  a  custom  they  were  help- 
less to  resist.  A  few,  like  Mutyi's  mother,  dared  to  make  a  pro- 
test. She  had  left  her  husband's  village,  and  fled  to  her  brother 
Kasa  for  protection.  The  husband  came  to  Kasa's  to  claim  her, 
accompanied  by  the  new  woman.  The  two  women  quarreled; 
the  husband  became  very  angry;  a  third  woman  interfered;  he 
cut  her  across  the  nose  with  a  knife.  Then  there  was  greater 
excitement ;  Kasa  threatened  to  kill  the  man ;  Sakwele  interfered 
for  peace,  declaring  that  he  would  remove  his  trade-house  if 
Kasa  did  not  quiet  down. 

Notwithstanding  these  confusions,  many  young  men  came  all 
day  to  learn  the  alphabet.  And,  in  the  evening,  they  were  in- 
terested in  looking  at  my  pictures  of  civilization  and  Christianity. 
The  trust-system  of  trade  had  the  bad  effect  of  making  the  na- 
tives unwilling  to  work  without  pay  in  advance.  For  rubber 
and  ivory  that  were  not  yet  gathered,  they  were  "  trusted  "  by 
the  traders.  The  trusted  goods  were  immediately  wasted.  Then 
came  the  long  indebtedness ;  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  any 
further  advances;  and,  the  hard  task  of  working  for  a  joy  that 
was  past,  and  nothing  in  expectation.  One  Akele,  Masomami, 
had  been  willing  to  work  for  me.  When,  at  the  month's  end,  his 
companions  saw  how  many  (but  really  not  much)  goods  he  was 
getting,  that  were  all  his  own,  and  no  work  yet  to  be  done  for 
them,  they  envied  him.  Fights  were  frequent.  The  different 
coast-tribe  traders  were  jealous  of  competition.  The  Orungu 
clashed  with  Mpongwe.  In  the  evening  of  that  same  day, 
Sakwele's  own  Galwas  had  a  fight  among  themselves.  And, 
then,  the  villagers  went  to  a  dance  under  the  moonlight! 

The  building  of  the  hut  was  proceeding  well.  The  boundaries 
of  the  property,  though  not  formally  marked  had  actually  been 


84  MY  OGOWE 

agreed  upon.  '  Kasa  had  nothing  morose  in  him.  He  had 
dropped  his  displeasure  about  our  boundary  differences,  and  was 
treating  me  in  a  most  cordial  manner.  He  gave  me  the  entire 
premises  as  a  gift,  not  even  hinting  at  any  return!  But.  the 
affair  would  not  be  oriental  if  there  should  be  no  return.  I  re- 
membered Abraham  and  the  Cave  of  Machpelah.  So,  Kasa 
being  in  fine  humor,  I  called  him.  and  asked  him  to  name  any- 
thing he  would  like  to  have :  for,  that  I  desired  to  give  him  what- 
ever he  should  wish.  He  replied  that  he  would  take  only  what  I 
might  offer.  So,  with  much  formality,  I  spread  before  him,  i 
gun,  i  keg  of  powder,  2  machetes,  4  brass-rods,  some  pieces  of 
crockery,  and  a  number  of  yards  of  calico  prints.  (Actual  cash 
value  to  the  Mission,  only  $10  for  the  20  acres  of  ground.)  He 
was  highly  pleased,  and  told  me  that  the  land  was  all  mine.  That 
evening,  he  arranged  a  great  dance,  as  a  reception  for  another 
wife  whom  he  had  recently  bought.  He  asked  me  for  some  spe- 
cial adornment  for  the  occasion.     I  loaned  him  my  bath-robe. 

And,  next  day,  in  the  presence  of  King  Ondeiie  and  other  wit- 
nesses, he  made  his  "  mark."  signing  the  deed  for  the  Belambla 
Station  Mission-premises.  Then.  I  walked,  as  usual  (because 
the  dry  season  wind  made  the  river  too  rough  for  my  little 
canoe)  to  my  building.  He  and  the  king  followed  to  inspect  it. 
While  at  work,  one  of  my  men  pointed  out  Mr.  Schmieder's  little 
steamer  coming  up  the  river.  I  went  to  the  water-side  to  watch 
the  unusual  sight.  Seeing  the  white  man.  I  lifted  my  hat  to  him, 
not  as  a  signal,  but  in  ordinary  courtesy.  He  recognized  me. 
and  shouted  to  me  to  send  a  canoe  for  some  freight  he  had  for 
me!  Hastily  sending  off  my  canoe,  I  soon  received  treasures  of 
1  box  of  oranges.  1  box  of  young  plants  (bread-fruit.  Avocado 
pears,  mango  plums,  etc..  etc.)  from  Baraka.  and  a  dozen  letters 
from  loved  ones  in  Benita  and  the  United  States !  It  was  a 
precious  consignment!  From  those  plants,  trees  are  living  to- 
day at  Belambla  and  other  places  in  the  Ogowe. 

On  June  12.  Kasa  decided  to  remove  his  village,  so  that  he 
might  be  near  me.  Of  course.  I  could  not  prevent  him  or  any 
one  else  from  building  near  me.  as  long  as  they  kept  outside  of 
my  lines,  fie  made  a  vain  effort  that  I  should  allow  him  to  in- 
clude the  coveted  spot  which  he  had  formally  signed  over  to  me. 
This  convinced  me  that,  whatever  pleasant  relations  1  should 
maintain  with  him,  I  would  never  implicitly  trust  him.  He 
would  l>e  true  to  me  only  while  it  was  his  interest,  as  my  "  pa- 
tron," to  be  so. 

I une  14.     The  days  were  busy.      I,  at  my  building:  Kasa.  away 


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AT  KASA'S  TOWN  85 

on  a  journey  for  rubber ;  the  native  traders,  Sakwele  and  Re- 
Mombi,  unable  to  loan  me  the  use  of  their  crews  to  push  my 
work;  my  only  Akele,  Masomami.  sick.  The  water  of  the  river 
was  rapidly  sinking  to  its  normal  dry-season  shallows.  When 
I  left  the  town  in  the  morning,  a  very  sick  man,  Mambolamina, 
was  sitting  alone  at  the  water-side.  When  I  returned  in  the 
evening,  he  was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  I  suspected  that  he  had 
been  thrown  into  the  river,  as  sometimes  was  done,  in  tiresomely 
long  cases  of  sickness,  if  the  invalid  was  of  poor  family  and 
without  friends.  The  next  day  I  was  told  that  he  was  dead;  but, 
they  would  not  tell  me  what  had  become  of  him. 

I  succeeded  in  getting  some  Bakele  to  work  for  me  at  the 
hut.  By  June  17,  most  of  the  thatch  for  the  roof  was  in  posi- 
tion. I  had  grown  to  feel  that  the  place  was  to  be  my  home.  I 
felt  sadly  at  leaving  it,  even  temporarily,  to  go  on  the  long,  but 
supposedly  necessary  journey  to  the  Coast,  for  the  semi-annual 
meetings  of  mission  and  presbytery.  The  river  was  low,  the 
sand-bars  appearing,  and  hippopotami  numerous. 

I  started  down  river  on  Friday,  June  18,  making  many  visits  on 
the  way,  and  stopping  for  the  night  at  a  native  trader's.  On 
Saturday,  reached  Mr.  Sinclair's.  He  was  away.  And  there 
were  no  prospects  of  any  steamers  in  the  dry  season.  I  made  ar- 
rangements, after  I  had  dismissed  to  their  homes  all  but  one  of  my 
Galwas,  Tivino,  with  Mr.  Sinclair's  clerk.  Mr.  Woodward,  to 
send  me  and  my  three  men,  down  the  Ajumba  Creek,  on  the 
route  I  had  gone  in  December,  1874. 

I  started,  on  Tuesday,  June  22,  sleeping  for  the  night  at  Fa- 
ngananga's.  And,  on  the  23d,  reached  Anege's,  on  Lake  Azingo. 
He  could  not  obtain  for  me  Fanwe;  for,  they  were  just  then  at 
war  with  clans  on  the  route.  I  therefore  hired  three  Bakele,  at 
$3  (trade)  apiece  for  the  two  days  overland.  Very  early,  the 
next  day,  friend  Anege  took  us  in  his  canoe  across  the  lake  to  the 
village  where  I  was  to  pick  up  the  Bakele,  and  from  which  the 
actual  start  of  the  journey  would  be  made.  There  was  the  usual 
delay,  experienced  by  all  white  men  on  African  journeys.  Ex- 
cuses, by  which  to  weary  the  hasty  white  man,  and  thus  induce 
him  to  offer  more  pay,  if  the  porters  will  hurry  and  start  at 
once.  I  hired  a  fourth  Akele,  paying  him  $1,  in  advance, 
the  other  $2,  to  be  paid  at  Agonjo  on  the  Rembwe,  at  the  end 
of  our  two  days'  walk.  Finally  we  started,  an  escort  of  female 
friends,  with  much  shouting  and  laughing,  accompanying  my 
four  Bakele  a  part  of  the  way.  The  men  took  me  a  different 
path  from  the  one  of  the  previous  December.     When  the  women 


86  MY  OGOWE 

departed,  we  breakfasted.  The  path  was  good.  I  did  not  feel 
tired.  I  carried  my  Winchester  myself;  the  six  men  had  suffi- 
cient of  burdens  in  my  luggage.  At  night,  we  camped  in  the 
open  forest.  Xo  danger  of  rain  in  the  long,  cool,  dry  season. 
The  scene  was  romantic  and  adventurous.  It  appealed  to  my 
childhood  desire  (that  had  never  died  in  me)  to  be  a  soldier. 
The  forest  was  weird,  with  my  flickering  camp-fires.  I  taught 
my  Bakele  the  Name  of  Jesus.  Late  at  night,  after  I  had  lain 
down  on  my  rubber-lined  traveling-rug.  f  heard  them  repeating  it 
among  themselves.  The  next  day.  the  25th,  we  were  all  up  be- 
fore sunrise,  and  again  on  our  way.  Recognized  that  we  were  on 
the  last  year's  path.  Met  many  Bakele,  who  were  migrating,  in 
fear  of  the  Fanwe  war.  These  so  alarmed  my  Bakele,  that,  when 
we  stopped  for  the  noon  lunch,  two  of  them  deserted.  The 
bundles  they  honestly  left  had  to  be  readjusted  on  my  other  five. 
And,  later,  on  nearing  a  Fanwe  village,  a  third  deserted.  The 
remaining  four  men  were  now  very  heavily  laden ;  but,  we 
reached  Agonjo  town  before  sunset,  and  were  welcomed  by  three 
civilized  Mpongwe  traders,  Njombi,  Owondo,  and  "  Morris," 
who  treated  me  with  great  hospitality.  A  white  man  of  Libre- 
ville, a  Mr.  McFarland,  with  his  cutter,  had  just  come  down  the 
river,  on  his  way  to  Libreville.  I  went  to  his  little  vessel,  to  ask 
for  passage;  and  slept  at  Owondo's.  The  next  day,  Saturday. 
Mr.  McFarland  kindly  offered  me  passage,  saying  that  he  would 
start  on  Sunday,  the  27th.  Remembering  my  very  unpleasant 
Sunday  travel  of  the  year  before,  I  thanked  him.  and  said  I 
would  try  to  hire  a  canoe  on  Monday.  Very  considerately,  he 
waited  a  day  for  me.  Having  no  Sabbath  scruples  of  his  own. 
he  made  another  trade-journey  up-river,  returning  in  the  even- 
ing of  Sunday.  I  went  aboard,  and  slept  there  that  night.  We 
successfully  reached  his  Libreville  trading-house  by  2  a.  m.  of 
Tuesday,  the  29th.  And,  I  was  at  our  Baraka  mission-house 
before  morning  prayers  were  over,  and  welcomed  by  my  friends, 
the  new  missionaries,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Reading,  who,  with 
their  infant  baby  boy,  had  recently  arrived  from  the  United 
States.  They  had  brought  for  me.  from  my  dear  ones  of  the 
United  States,  abundance  of  letters,  photographs,  and  gifts,  beau- 
tiful and  useful,  of  pictures,  books,  clothing;  and  a  microscope. 
stereoscope,  case  of  dental-forceps,  a  small  patent  portable  stove, 
and  others. 

The  next  day,  I  went  to  the  French  Government  office  at  the 
Plateau,  to  have  the  deed  of  the  Belambla  mission-property  duly 
recorded.     Several  days  were  spent  at  Baraka.     Mr.   Schorsch 


AT  KASA'S  TOWN  87 

was  there,  having  left  the  Ogowe  by  river  steamer,  in  advance 
of  me.     The  meetings  were  to  be  held  at  Benita. 

On  July  2,  the  Hudson  came,  bringing  word  from  my  sister 
that  she  was  anxiously  expecting  me ;  for,  that  affairs  at  Benita 
were  in  a  distressing  state.  After  a  communion  service  on  Sun- 
day, July  4,  the  members  of  mission  at  Baraka  started,  on  the 
Hudson,  early  of  Monday,  for  Benita,  stopping  on  the  way  at 
Elongo  Station,  Corisco  Island,  for  Rev.  C.  De  Heer.  We 
reached  the  Bolondo  house  before  5  a.  m.  of  the  next  day.  There 
were  busy  days,  of  welcome,  and  opening  boxes  recently  arrived 
from  the  United  States ;  reading  of  mail ;  meetings  of  presbytery 
and  of  mission;  and  examination  of  three  candidates  for  the 
ministry.  Mr.  Schorsch  resigned  (?)  the  offices,  of  which  he 
had  been  deprived  at  the  previous  quarterly  meeting. 

On  Wednesday,  July  7,  the  meetings  adjourned,  and  the  other 
members  left  on  the  Hudson,  I  remaining  to  visit  with  my  sis- 
ter and  her  associate,  Miss  Lydia  Jones. 

The  Hudson  returned  on  the  14th.  The  next  day  I  went  early, 
with  a  large  Kombe  canoe  I  had  bought  (more  buoyant  than  the 
Ogowe  kind)  and  three  new  recruits.  Manga,  Ekomba,  and 
Ikunduku,  to  the  Mbade  house  of  Mr.  Menkel.  There  I  bap- 
tized his  little  Katy.  And  then,  boarding  the  vessel,  with  my 
sister  and  Miss  Jones,  we  started  for  Corisco.  Stopped  there 
on  the  17th,  to  land  my  sister  for  a  visit  there.  And,  on  the 
22d,  the  journey  on  the  Hudson,  with  Miss  Jones,  was  resumed 
to  Libreville,  arriving  there  just  before  sunset  of  the  23d.  There 
I  found  seriously  ill  Mrs.  Bushnell,  and  little  Arthur,  the  infant 
son  of  my  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading.  I  remembered  my 
own  little  George  Paull,  of  almost  ten  years  previously,  at  Benita, 
and  devoted  my  most  intense  medical  attention  to  the  little  child. 
But,  he  died  on  Tuesday,  July  2.J.  That  night,  I  was  assisted,  in 
the  arrangement  of  the  coffin  by  the  three  ladies,  the  Misses  Jones, 
Lush  and  Dewsnap,  Mrs.  Bushnell  being  still  confined  to  her 
bed. 

A  letter  recalling  Mr.  Schorsch  had  arrived  from  the  Board  in 
New  York.  There  was  confusion  also  in  regard  to  his  case,  as 
he  had  disappeared :  supposed  to  have  returned  to  the  Ogowe. 
On  August  2,  the  Hudson  was  sent  to  Corisco,  to  bring  Mr.  De 
Heer  for  a  specially  called  mission  meeting.  The  vessel  returned 
on  Wednesday,  the  4th,  with  Mr.  De  Heer,  and  bringing  me  the 
distressing  news  of  my  sister's  sickness  at  Elongo  Station.  A 
meeting  was  held  in  regard  to  Mr.  Schorsch.  At  the  same  time 
a  troublesome  letter  was  received  from  native  Licentiate,  Ntaka 


88  MY  OGOWE 

Truman,  located  at  Nengenenge  out-station,  sixty  miles  up  the 
Gaboon  River. 

T  was  anxious  to  get  back  to  my  Ogowe  work,  and,  believing 
that  the  coast  monopoly  had  been  broken  and  that  I  would  have 
no  difficulty  from  it,  I  decided  to  ascend  the  river  in  my  canoe. 
On  August  6,  on  the  Hudson,  with  the  canoe  in  tow,  I  started  for 
Nazareth  Bay.  The  vessel  was  detained  two  hours  at  the 
French  guardship  by  some  government  red-tape.  So  that,  we 
lost  the  favorable  morning  wind,  and  met  the  opposing  afternoon 
sea-breeze.  That  little  vessel  was  poorly  built,  and  could  not 
sail  into  an  opposing  wind ;  progress  could  only  be  made  by  con- 
stant long  slow  tacks.  How  much  I  suffered,  for  years,  from  per- 
sistent seasickness,  in  my  necessary  voyages  on  the  vessel !  In 
sight  of  the  Nazareth  mouth  of  the  Ogowe,  we  ran  aground. 
While  waiting  for  the  tide  to  clear  us,  an  Orungu  boat  with  a 
man  whom  I  had  met  up  the  Ogowe,  came  alongside  and  stated 
that  Mr.  Schorsch  had  already  gone  up  the  river.  As  I  had  the 
Board's  official  letter  for  him,  it  was  desirable  to  be  positive  as 
to  his  whereabouts.  So,  I  went  ashore  a  long  way  in  my 
Benita  canoe  (which  had  been  a  great  hindrance  to  the  Hudson's 
progress)  to  make  inquiries  at  villages.  On  the  way,  I  met  an- 
other native  boat,  whose  crew  confirmed  the  statement  as  to  Mr. 
Schorsch's  movements.  Not  only  had  the  ebb  tide  stranded  the 
Hudson,  but.  while  returning  to  the  vessel,  I  discovered  a  shark 
stranded  also.  My  crew  attempted  to  capture  it,  but.  it  suc- 
ceeded in  wriggling  into  the  deeper  water. 

When  finally  the  tide  rose,  and  the  cutter  floated  at  night, 
there  was  an  exciting  run  under  the  moonlight  and  before  a  fair 
strong  wind  towards  the  river's  mouth.  We  edged  along  the 
sand-bar,  constantly  throwing  the  lead.  For  a  long  way,  there 
was  the  anxious,  "  i  fathom!"  "  i  fathom!"  fearing  every  sec- 
ond that  we  might  again  ground  on  less  than  that.  Then,  the 
nervous  tension  was  relieved  by,  "2  fathom!"  ''2  fathom!" 
And,  presently,  we  were  safe  in  "  3  fathom  !  "  "  4  fathom !  "  :  and 
as  the  wind  changed,  and  was  opposing,  we  anchored  for  the 
nijdit  some  ten  miles  from  the  river's  mouth. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

UP  THE  OGOWE  BY  CANOE AUGUST,    I  875 

1HAD  twice  ascended  the  Ogowe  by  steamer;  for  the  first 
time  I  was  to  attempt  it,  from  the  mouth  by  canoe. 
The  Hudson  had  finally  reached  the  mouth,  on  the  night 
of  the  9th.  Leaving  the  vessel,  about  7  a.  m.  of  Tuesday,  Au- 
gust 10,  in  my  canoe,  with  a  crew  of  three  Kombes,  one  Galwa, 
Tivino,  and  a  passenger,  Okalanga  (passengers  paid  their  way 
by  paddling  equally  with  the  crew).  "Good-by!v  was  waved 
from  the  Hudson's  United  States  flag.  Breakfasted,  about  10  a. 
m.,  in  the  mouth  of  a  small  inlet,  in  the  Mangrove  Swamp.  My 
breakfast  consisted  of  roasted  native  mcvdndd  (cassava  roll), 
oily  udika  (kernels  of  the  wild  mango),  bread  and  butter,  and 
potted  ham.  As  I  met  canoes  during  the  day,  I  inquired  about 
Mr.  Schorsch ;  they  had  not  met  him.  When  twilight  fell,  I 
looked  for  a  resting-place  among  the  bamboo  palms.  Afraid  of 
possible  hippopotami  ashore,  I  slept  in  the  canoe. 

The  next  day,  Wednesday,  August  n,  I  reached  Angala,  the 
village  of  King  Esongi.  He  was  exceedingly  pleased  that  I  knew 
his  name.  That  gratification  is  universal,  in  civilization  and  in 
savage  countries.  In  Africa.  I  cultivated  the  ability  to  remem- 
ber native  names ;  and,  I  attribute  to  that  fact,  a  large  measure 
of  my  acceptance  by  the  natives,  and  my  success  with  them.  In- 
stead of  a  blunt  "Mbolo!"  they  recognized  friendship  and  fel- 
lowship in  my  "Mbolo,  Such-an-one !  "  At  Angala.  I  was  in- 
formed that  Mr.  Schorsch  had  passed  there.  In  the  afternoon, 
another  village  told  me  that  Mr.  Schorsch  in  his  little  canoe  had 
stopped  there  a  few  days  before,  had  been  sick  unto  fever,  and,  in 
his  delirium  had  attempted  to  throw  himself  into  the  river. 
Farther  on,  I  passed  a  village,  at  which  the  people  said  that  Mr. 
Schorsch  had  stopped,  on  his  w-ay  down  the  river  in  June.  Look<fc 
ing  for  a  sleeping-place.  I  entered  an  exceedingly  muddy  rivulet, 
whose  banks  however  were  sufficiently  high,  but,  the  ground  was 
not  dry.  I  had  a  few  boards  in  the  canoe,  with  which  I  made  a 
hasty  flooring  on  which  to  spread  my  traveling  rugs.  It  was  not 
an  ideal  place :  for.  I  had  seen  one  snake  wriggling  into  its  hollow 
tree  and  another  (a  pc),  the  deadlv  cerastes,  at  the  edge  of  the 

89 


9o  MY  OGOWE 

water.  And,  there  were  many  sounds  at  night,  of  birds,  and  ani- 
mals, and  of  fish  flopping  in  the  water,  and  an  adjacent  hippo- 
potamus. 

The  next  day,  Thursday  the  12th,  I  passed  old  King  Njagu's 
place,  in  the  Nkami  tribe;  and  also  the  site  of  "  Johns'  Rest,"  of 
the  previous  September  on  the  Pioneer. 

The  dry-season  wind  was  very  strong,  and  raised  waves  that 
tried  my  nerves.  My  umbrella,  acting  as  a  sail,  became  a  hin- 
drance, and  I  closed  it;  though,  in  so  doing,  my  eyes  suffered. 
The  night  camp  in  the  forest  was  a  poor  one;  noises  of  mos- 
quitoes, monkeys,  parrots  and  bats.  And,  the  water  I  drank 
had  brought  on  a  severe  diarrhea.  (At  that  time  I  had  not 
learned  the  importance  of  using  boiled  water  on  a  journey.) 

As  I  was  somewhat  exhausted,  I  stopped  at  Chief  Isagi's  town 
though  it  was  only  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  of  the  13th. 
Isagi  gave  me  but  little  courtesy.  I  think  he  was  afraid  of  me, 
I  being  "  a  God-man."  But,  his  women  were  attentive;  and  his 
little  son,  Okavi,  attached  himself  to  me.  The  child,  in  his  sim- 
plicity, told  me  some  of  the  village  scandal,  as  current  news! 
When  I  responded  with  my  news  of  God,  he  said  he  thought 
the  God  was  "  a  white  man."  Isagi  was  beating  one  of  his 
slaves  for  having  spoiled  one  of  the  fetish-charms.  I  saw  there 
the  bones  of  three  gorillas,  a  male,  a  female,  and  a  child.  I  had 
not  then  the  scientific  interest  in  the  gorilla,  which  I  developed 
ten  years  later,  or  I  would  have  tried  to  buy  the  specimens.  On 
Saturday,  August  14,  I  proceeded  up  a  back  creek,  on  the  right 
bank,  to  avoid  the  rough  water  of  the  main  stream.  This  was 
the  middle  of  the  Ogowe  delta.  I  passed  the  mouth  of  a  stream 
leading  to  Lake  Azingo.  In  the  creek,  were  many  large  birds 
of  the  heron  kind;  never  before  had  I  seen  so  many  pelicans 
and  monkeys. 

I  was  reaching  the  limits  of  the  Galwa  tribe,  and  met  with 
canoes,  in  one  of  which  was  one  of  my  former  employees, 
Kengenge.  I  had  often  to  cross  that  creek,  out  of  direct  route, 
to  avoid  herds  of  hippopotami. 

I  emerged  again  into  the  main  stream ;  and  shortly  after  sun- 
set, was  glad  to  stop  at  Igenja,  the  town  of  Ombya-ngwana.  the 
last  year's  pilot  of  the  Pioneer.  It  also  was  the  home  of  my 
passenger,  Okalanga,  who  was  vociferously  welcomed.  I  was 
too  sick  to  hold  any  evening-prayers :  and  the  people  in  their  curi- 
osity were  noisy  and  obtrusive.  I  slept  the  sleep  of  exhaustion  : 
and  was  glad  to  disrobe.  In  the  helplessness  of  seasickness  on 
the  Hudson,  and  the  houselessness  of  my  camps  in  the  low  for- 


UP  THE  OGOWE  BY  CANOE  91 

ests,  I  had  not  undressed  for  nine  days.  Rest,  on  Sunday,  Au- 
gust 15,  with  a  comfortable  bath,  a  reasonable  bed,  and  the  pro- 
tection of  a  roof,  were  real  medicines.  I  tried  to  hold  a  religious 
service  with  the  people ;  but,  it  was  very  lamely  done,  aside  from 
my  weak  physical  condition.  Not  knowing  the  Galwa  dialect,  I 
spoke  in  Benga  through  an  interpreter  who  understood  little  of 
either  Benga  or  of  the  Story  of  the  Cross  I  was  telling.  But, 
I  spent  much  time  in  teaching  those  who  wished  to  learn  to  read. 

The  day  was  marred  by  a  continuous  quarrel  between  a  man 
and  a  woman  who  did  not  wish  to  be  his  wife.  As  usual,  in 
such  cases,  might  carried  the  day.  I  went  to  bed  indignant  at 
the  man's  treatment  of  the  woman. 

With  returning  health,  on  Monday,  the  16th,  I  resumed  the 
journey,  by  early  5  a.  m.,  daylight.  One  sign  of  health  I 
noticed  at  that  time  (and  I  have  marked  it  until  the  present  day), 
i.  e.,  enjoyment  in  drinking  water.  If  I  was  thirsty,  and  water 
"  tasted  good,"  I  was  sure  that  my  system  was  in  good  condi- 
tion. But,  if  I  had  no  longing  to  drink,  and  water  gave  me  no 
satisfaction,  then,  I  knew  that  something  was  wrong,  and  that 
I  needed  either  medicine  or  change  in  diet.  As  the  canoe  passed 
close  to  the  heavily  wooded  banks  of  the  river,  in  the  early 
morning,  I  heard  the  loud  outcries  of  chimpanzees.  As  I  passed 
villages,  frequent  call  (from  those  who  had  not  yet  learned  who 
I  was  )  was,  "  Stop !  we  wish  to  buy  rum !  "  The  missionary  was, 
as  yet,  new  in  that  part  of  the  river ;  all  the  few  other  white  men 
were  dealers  in  liquors.  Whatever  else  of  the  "  good  things  "  of 
foreign  trade  he  did  not  happen  to  have,  the  trader  was  sure  to 
have  with  him,  at  least,  rum.  With  it,  he  could  always,  at  any 
time,  everywhere,  buy  anything,  in  all  the  range,  from  food  for 
himself  and  crew,  to  a  female  companion  at  night. 

In  passing  Ngomu,  at  the  mouth  of  the  exit  of  Lake  Onanga, 
I  met  two  Orungu  canoes  of  John  Apoma  and  another 
Mpongwe  trader,  whose  little  child  I  had  seen  at  Mbomi.  They 
were  on  their  way  to  Gaboon.  They  told  me  that  Mr.  Schorsch 
was  sick  at  Mr.  Sinclair's.  I  sent  word  by  them  of  my  progress, 
to  the  friends  at  Baraka.  Progress  was  slow  against  the 
Ogowe's  strong  current,  in  a  heavily  laden  canoe,  with  only  four 
paddles.  We  failed  to  reach  the  village  of  one  of  my  men, 
Tivino,  before  night,  and,  in  an  unusual  dry-season  rain,  stopped 
at  Aramba's  village,  Aromba,  where  I  had  spent  a  Sunday  in  the 
previous  April  journey.  Though  the  people  gave  me  no  gifts, 
and  asked  large  prices  for  their  peanuts  and  fish,  I  was  pleased 
that  I  was  welcomed  by  the  young  men,  and  especially  by  the  chil- 


92  MY  OGOWE 

dren,  one  of  whom,  a  little  boy,  came  and  seated  himself  on  my 
knee. 

On  the  next  day,  August  17,  with  an  early  start,  we  soon 
came  to  Ti vino's  village,  where  he  was  accorded  a  loud  wel- 
come. A  messenger  was  sent  to  call  his  wife  and  child,  who 
were  temporarily  absent.  She  and  his  father  made  me  presents 
of  food,  for  my  safe  care  of  him  at  the  sea-coast.  Hired  a  new 
man  55andi-ki-yemba.  At  a  village  where  I  stopped  for  the  night, 
I  met  a  slave  who  had  run  away  from  Corisco.  His  language 
was  a  curious  mixture  of  Benga,  Galwa  and  English.  As  I  had 
lived  on  Corisco,  he  was  pleased  to  talk  about  persons  and  places 
there.  Of  all  the  missionaries,  he  remembered  meeting  only 
Rev.  Mr.  De  Heer.  I  bought  there  skins  and  an  idol.  Of  such 
things  I  have  given  away  very  many  as  curios,  to  friends  in  the 
United  States. 

On  the  1 8th,  with  an  early  start,  I  reached  Mr.  Sinclair's  by 
11.30  a.m.,  in  time  still  for  "breakfast."  In  the  traders' 
cuisine,  they  ate  a  small  informal  hasty  meal  in  the  morning. 
Then,  "breakfast"  at  11.00  a.m.;  informal  cups  of  tea  and 
crackers  in  the  mid-afternoon;  and,  a  hearty  course-"  dinner  " 
at  night.  Mr.  Schorsch  was  there,  looking  very  poorly.  Mr. 
Sinclair  told  me  of  Mr.  Schorsch's  vagaries,  to  the  point  of  loss 
of  reason.  After  breakfast,  in  our  room  alone,  I  handed  him 
the  official  letter  of  his  recall  by  the  Board.  This  man,  who  had 
insulted  and  oppressed  my  sister  to  the  point  of  injury  to  her 
health,  and  who  had  annoyed  me  in  a  multitude  of  ways,  to  the 
point  of  arousing  the  Benita  mob  to  drive  me  away,  broke  down, 
and  made  a  voluntary  and  pitiably  humble  acknowledgment  of 
all  his  wrong-doings  toward  my  sister,  myself,  and  the  Mission. 
He  begged  me  to  "allow"  him  to  remain  in  the  Mission!  He 
knew  I  had  influence,  though  1  assured  him  that  the  action, 
on  which  the  Board  based  its  recall,  was  of  the  entire  Mission, 
and  not  of  myself  or  any  one  alone.  Whatever  resentment  I 
had  against  him  disappeared,  when,  all  his  arrogance  gone,  on 
bis  knees  he  begged  me  to  retain  him  as  my  personal  servant, 
to  be,  as  he  said,  my  "hewer  of  wood  and  carrier  of  water"! 
That  he  could  make  such  a  proposition  was  itself  evidence  of 
unbalanced  mind.  It  would  not  have  been  safe  or  wise  even  if 
in  any  way  possible,  for  me  to  have  kept  him. 


CHAPTER  IX 

WITH    AN    INSANE    COMPANION  AUGUST,    1875 

AS  Mr.  Schorsch  had  no  funds,  his  status  as  a  missionary 
gone,  he  could  get  no  farther  supplies  from  the  traders, 
and  he  would  have  to  leave  the  river.  But,  it  would  not 
be  safe  for  him  to  journey  alone,  even  if  natives  had  not  been 
afraid  to  travel  under  his  insane  authority.  In  his  helplessness, 
the  only  solution  of  the  difficulty  was  for  me,  tired  as  I  was 
with  my  nine  days'  canoe  journey  up  the  130  miles  of  the  river, 
and  anxious  as  I  was  to  get  back  to  my  work  at  Kasa's,  to  turn 
and  go  down  again,  escorting  Mr.  Schorsch  to  the  river's  mouth. 
He  submitted,  apparently  gratefully.  But.  I  never  was  sure, 
in  dealing  with  him,  of  how  much  of  cross-planeing  his  dis- 
eased mind  was  capable. 

So.  the  next  day,  August  19,  I  started  again  in  the  canoe, 
with  Mr.  Schorsch,  down  river.  At  night,  in  the  village  where 
we  slept,  he  was  in  a  very  excited  state,  and  uttered  thoughts  of 
suicide. 

He  was  full  of  suspicions.  When,  on  the  21st,  I  shot  an 
iguana,  as  food  for  my  crew,  he  seemed  shocked  at  my  cruelty 
(  ?)  in  killing  the  animal.  (I  have  never  killed  animals  simply 
for  the  sake  of  killing.)  Such  sensitiveness  was  part  of  his 
disordered  mind,  considering  how  regardless  he  had  been  of  the 
rights  and  feelings  of  his  fellow  missionaries. 

At  Onanga's  Nkami's  village,  where  the  people  politely  pre- 
sented- me  with  fish  and  a  fowl,  again  Mr.  Schorsch  was  dis- 
tressed, actually  suspecting  that  those  articles  were  a  safe  and 
purchase  of  himself!     Late  in  the  evening,  we  reached  Angala. 

The  next  day.  Sunday,  was  passed  quietly  at  that  village.  I 
needed  the  rest  and  a  bath.  Chief  Esongi  was  intelligent  in  his 
chat.  I  held  a  service  with  his  people.  Mr.  Schorsch  was  more 
rational  in  his  conversation.  Indeed,  talking  seemed  to  relieve 
him ;  he  needed  to  give  vent  to  his  fears  and  suspicions.  A  cer- 
tain man.  Koruma,  of  Cape  Lopez,  with  a  canoe-load  of  slaves, 
stopped  at  Angala.  on  his  way  to  the  Cape.  And,  when  I  and 
the  slaver  resumed  our  respective  journeys  shortly  after  mid- 
night (the  moon  being  bright,  and  I  anxious  to  finish  my  task), 

93 


94  MY  OGOWE 

Mr.  Schorsch  expressed  the  absurd  fear  that  I  intended  to  sell 
him  to  that  slaver! 

Between  8  a.  m.  and  9  a.  m.  of  the  Monday,  I  reached  a  little 
island  near  the  river's  mouth,  where  Mr.  Schmieder  was  locat- 
ing a  new  trading-house,  as  a  sop  to  the  Orungu,  and  where  was 
lying  at  anchor  his  little  tug-like  river-steamer.  At  once.  T  dis- 
persed my  men  to  the  adjacent  villages,  some  to  buy  food,  and 
others  to  find  some  large  comfortable  boat  or  canoe,  for  Mr. 
Schorsch's  seventy-mile  sea-journey  to  Libreville. 

A  Mpongwe  sub-trader,  Ogombedenge,  and  his  wife, 
Anyingila  ("Agnes  ")  came  to  visit  me.  She  had  been  a  most 
troublesome  and  disorderly  schoolgirl  at  Baraka,  during  my 
short  occupancy  of  it,  in  the  spring  of  1871.  But,  she  had  set- 
tled down  into  a  very  submissive  wife. 

My  men  returned,  bringing  abundance  of  mcvandd,  plantains, 
fowls,  and  fish,  for  the  voyage  to  Libreville,  and  reported  that  a 
large  and  comfortable  canoe,  belonging  to  Ogombedenge.  avail- 
able for  my  purpose,  was  daily  expected  from  up-river.  Mr. 
Schorsch  and  I  slept  that  night  on  the  deck  of  the  little  steamer. 
He  seemed  more  quiet,  and  less  unreasonable. 

On  Tuesday  afternoon,  the  big  canoe  arrived.  T  allowed  my 
men  to  show  their  joy  (joy  that  we  should  soon  return  up- 
river)  by  giving  it  a  salute  from  my  Winchester.  Mr.  Schorsch 
began  to  be  alarmed,  as,  for  the  first,  he  fully  realized  the  fact 
that  I  was  not  going  to  Libreville,  and  that,  for  the  rest  of  the 
way,  he  would  be  under  the  care  of  the  natives.  And,  my 
troubles  increased,  with  the  almost  inevitable  haggling  about 
pay.  Four  Orungu  men  had  asked  $2  (trade)  apiece  for  the 
voyage.  I  had  agreed  on  $1.50.  each  for  five  men.  But,  T 
felt  sure  that  they  would  make  a  "  strike."  at  the  last.  There  was 
delay  in  some  repairs  to  the  canoe,  and  alterations  for  Mr. 
Schorsch's  comfort.  I  stood  by,  giving  measurements  to  the 
carpenter.  At  night  Mr.  Schorsch's  suspicions  came  out  again  ; 
and,  for  the  first,  my  patience  broke,  and  I  answered  indignantly 
his  charge  that  he  had  seen  me  making  marks  on  the  canoe 
where  the  crew  should  cut  him!  YVe  again  lay  down  on  the 
deck  that  night ;  but.  I  slept  little.  I  did  not  know  what  thoughts 
of  murder  there  might  be  in  his  heart.  He  and  I  alone,  he 
could  have  thrown  me  into  the  sea. 

The  expected  haggling  did  come  next  day.  The  Orungu 
wanted  a  crew  of  eight  at  S3  apiece.  I  settled  tor  five  at  S3 
apiece:  and  Ogombedenge  kindly  gave  me  three  of  his  own  men 
for  nothing.     With  a  strong  crew  of  eight,  with  paddles,   the 


WITH  AN  INSANE  COMPANION  95 

men  would  not  have  to  depend  on  their  sail.  Well  provided 
with  food,  Mr.  Schorsch  started  on  Wednesday,  August  25, 
Ogombedenge,  with  my  canoe  and  my  crew,  escorting  him  out 
of  the  river,  to  assure  me  that  there  would  be  no  delay  at  the 
village  at  the  mouth,  and  that  the  canoe  was  actually  out  at  sea. 
(Mr.  Schorsch  was  kindly  treated  by  the  men,  as  their  wages, 
on  my  written  order,  were  to  be  paid  at  Baraka,  only  on  con- 
dition of  their  safe  delivery  of  him  at  Libreville.) 

RETURN    UP    RIVER. 

Then,  on  Thursday,.  August  26.  I  began  again  another  week's 
journey  in  ascent  of  the  river.  On  the  way,  I  observed,  for  the 
first  time,  the  handsome  blossom  of  the  pandanus  (screw-pine). 
Reached  Angala  before  sundown,  having  been  able  to  make  the 
thirty-mile  run  in  one  day,  because  of  the  good  tide,  and  the 
canoe  being  practically  without  any  load.  Traveling  next  day, 
with  various  incidents,  to  a  forest-camp  at  night.  The  next 
day.  to  a  village  opposite  to  Ngumbi,  where  I  remained  over 
Sunday  (pleasanter  than  at  Isagi's,  across  the  river).  The  next 
day,  to  Igenja.  And,  the  next,  to  the  village  of  my  man,  Tivino, 
beyond  Oranga.  And,  on  the  next,  Wednesday,  September  1, 
reached  Mr.  Sinclair's,  at  sundown.  The  exposure  on  the  way 
had  given  me  ague-chills :  and  my  feet  were  sore  with  the  drv- 
season  chigoes  that  had  infested  me  at  Angala.  and,  to  which 
I  had  been  unable  to  give  proper  attention.  I  had  to  make  an 
inventory  of  Mr.  Schorsch's  effects,  and  arrange  for  sending 
them  to  him. 

My  feet  broke  out  with  ulcers,  from  the  neglected  chigoe  pus- 
tules. 

On  Sunday.  September  5.  there  was  no  opportunity  for 
preaching  at  Aguma.  I  remember  the  beauty  of  the  evening, 
as  I  sat  on  the  veranda  admiring  the  views  across  the  river  to 
the  distant  hills  on  the  Ngunye  affluent. 


CHAPTER  X 

RETURN    TO    KASA's,   AUGUST,    1 875 

OX  Monday,  the  6th  of  September,  I  was  trembled  about 
reports  that  Bakele  had  been  building  on  my  Belambla 
premises.  So.  as  my  feet  were  slightly  better,  and 
leaving  some  of  my  belongings  to  be  brought  by  a  canoe  of  Mr. 
Sinclair's  a  few  days  later,  I  hasted  up  river,  on  the  7th.  A 
frequent  annoyance,  for  years,  in  travel,  was  that  I  was  limited 
in  my  plans  for  stopping  at  certain  places,  by  the  fact  of  some 
one  of  the  crew  having  a  "palaver"  (feud)  of  either  his  own 
or  of  his  family  at  a  particular  place;  and,  he  would  fear  to 
be  seen  there.  In  later  years,  when  I  had  become  acquainted 
through  the  whole  river.  I  was  able  to  assure  my  crew  that  my 
simple  presence  would  protect  them.  And.  it  was  so.  The  man 
in  the  case  might  feel  uneasy,  and  the  villagers  might  look  ask- 
ance at  him,  and  might  go  so  far  as  to  mutter  to  him,  "  Wait! 
until  we  catch  you.  when  the  white  man  is  not  with  you!  "  But, 
the  personal  respect  that  was  accorded  me.  together  with  the 
common  tribal  law  of  hospitality  that  protected  not  only  the 
visitor  but  his  retinue  also,  prevented  any  assaults  on  my  crew. 

During  the  day.  on  the  way.  at  a  village.  T  had  been  warmly 
recognized  by  a  woman.  Bya-utata,  one  of  Chief  Avyake's  wives, 
who  had  enjoyed  listening  to  the  singing  of  the  hymns  by 
Ingumu  and  myself,  in  the  previous  year. 

That  evening,  a  convenient  stopping-place  would  have  been  at 
the  young  Chief  Anyambe-jena's.  But  he  never  had  treated  me 
courteously.  So  I  passed,  intending  to  sleep  in  the  forest. 
Rut.  I  yielded  to  my  crew,  who,  though  tired  as  they  were, 
paddling  after  dark,  wished  to  go  farther,  to  a  little  island, 
where  trader  Sakwele  had  his  house.  They  wished  for  society. 
And.  his  wife  could  understand  a  little  of  my  Kombes'  language. 

The  next  day.  Wednesday.  September  8,  we  passed  a  hippo- 
potamus at  the  same  spot  where  one  had  pursued  us  in  the  pre- 
ceding June.  The  men  picked  up  from  a  sand-bar  a  small  saw- 
fish. It  had  been  recently  killed,  probably  by  an  alligator:  and 
only  its  head  had  been  eaten.  1  was  surprised,  all  the  way.  at 
sight  of  the  number  of  new  villages  that  had  sprung  up  during 

96 


RETURN  TO  KASA'S  97 

my  three  months'  absence  at  the  Coast.  I  stopped  at  Avyake's, 
to  eat  our  noon  meal.  Tobacco  smoke  had  always  been  a  dis- 
tress to  me.  I  could  not  allow  it  in  the  boat  or  in  my  house, 
or  during  work  hours,  though  I  did  not  forbid  it  on  the  prem- 
ises. The  long  seasicknesses  of  my  ocean-steamer  voyages  had 
been  intensified  by  the  inconsiderateness  of  fellow-passengers  in 
their  disregard  of  the  vessel's  prohibition  of  smoking  in  the 
saloon.  And,  as  a  guest  in  native  huts,  my  request  for  a  cessa- 
tion of  their  smoking  in  my  presence  was  almost  always  politely 
regarded.  But,  that  day,  a  certain  man  persisted,  and  I  made 
complaint  to  my  host,  on  my  guest-right ;  and  he  rebuked  the 
offender.  I  stopped  at  King  Ondene's,  to  make  him  a  present 
(commonly  miscalled,  a  "  dash  ").  He  told  me  that  it  was  not 
true  that  my  Belambla  premises  were  being  trespassed.  My 
fear  was  not  entirely  relieved.  As  I  passed  Mbilye  village,  the 
people  called  for  me  to  wait  for  one  of  Kasa's  men,  Disingwe, 
who  wished  to  go  with  me.  I  did  not  choose  to  wait,  being  still 
displeased  with  the  thought  of  that  report  about  trespass.  Di- 
singwe followed  me  to  Belambla ;  and  we  walked  over  the 
premises.  It  was  not  true  that  there  had  been  no  trespass.  I 
saw  where  people  had  begun  to  clear ;  but,  they  had  not  actually 
built.  He  seemed  very  anxious  to  show  that  Kasa  had  inter- 
fered to  prevent.  I  was  pleased  with  his  apparent  interest;  but, 
I  had  learned  to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  Kasa's  movements. 
Proceeding,  I  was  recognized  in  the  passing  canoe,  and  was 
received  with  vociferous  welcomes.  As  I  approached  Kasa's  at 
dusk,  I  fired  a  salute  of  five  shots  from  my  Winchester.  It  was 
a  common  practice  among  the  trading-canoes ;  was  an  announce- 
ment of  one's  own  dignity;  and  a  recognition  of  the  importance 
of  the  village  chief.  People  came  running  to  the  landing, 
among  them  Masomami,  and  Kasa's  sister,  and  young  lads  Mutyi 
and  Kimagwe  and  Mokun.  The  Nkami  trader,  ReNjega,  was 
there. 

The  next  day,  Thursday,  September  9,  I  remembered  my  mis- 
taken kindness  of  a  year  previous,  in  which  I  had  allowed  the 
men  several  days'  rest  at  the  end  of  the  long  journey :  and,  then, 
had  met  with  murmurs  when  I  set  them  to  work.  So,  without 
delay,  I  set  them  all  at  cleaning  my  guns,  shoes,  fishing-net, 
rusted  tins,  etc..  etc.  In  looking  over  my  goods  left  in  Kasa's 
care,  I  found  them  all  in  good  order,  except  that  he  had  broken 
my  cane-seated  folding  easy-chair,  evidently  by  an  excessive  use 
of  it.  But,  that  was  part  of  the  price  I  had  to  pay  for  having 
a  native  "chief"  as  my  friend!      (Indeed,  it  was  not  only  a 


98  MY  OGOWE 

"  native  friend "  who  thus  used  and  abused  my  furniture,  a 
white  missionary  friend  did  the  same  thing  once  while  I  was  in 
the  United  States  on  furlough.) 

I  was  pleased  that  more  of  the  Bakele  were  now  willing  to 
work  for  me.  Masomami's  good  example  was  followed  by 
Mitimambi  and  Dumawebe  (a  brother  of  ftwanaja)  :  and  three 
boys  came  regularly  to  my  little  school,  Mutyi,  Bideli,  and 
Kimagwe.  I  rewarded  ftwanaja  and  Masomami  each  $2.50, 
for  their  care  of  my  goods  while  I  was  away,  not  an  iota  of 
which  had  been  stolen.  Also,  I  gave  to  her  a  dress  which  Mrs. 
De  Heer  of  Corisco  had  kindly  sent  for  her.  She  did  not  know 
how  to  put  it  on ;  so,  I  showed  her ;  and  then  she  started  out  to 
exhibit  it  on  the  street.  At  night,  there  was  a  good  service. 
And  afterward  Disingwe  came  to  present  me  with  chickens,  and 
to  tell  me  of  a  witchcraft  murder. 

I  kept  anniversary  days.  Friday,  September  10,  was  the  fifth 
anniversary  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Nassau.  I  had  writ- 
ten of  its  memory,  for  his  mother,  to  my  son  Charles,  a  few 
days  previous.  It  was  a  fitting  work,  by  which  to  mark  the  day, 
that  I  resumed  my  building,  gradually  each  day  taking  a  portion 
of  my  goods  away  from  Kasa's.  T  started  early,  with  materials 
T  had  accumulated,  thatch,  doors,  tools,  etc..  with  five  men  and 
four  boys,  to  my  hut-building.  Several  other  boys  came  along, 
of  their  own  will,  to  help.  Nwanaja  also  came,  to  manifest  her 
interest  in  the  progress  of  the  hut. 

Sunday,  September  12.  was  the  fourteenth  anniversary  of  my 
landing  on  Corisco  Island.  T  had  a  large  collection  of  people 
at  the  morning  service:  and  Ikunduku  helped  teach  the  children 
in  a  little  afternoon  Sunday-school.  The  next  day.  Monday, 
the  13th,  the  start  for  work  was  delayed  by  our  going  to  an 
adjacent  point  to  watch  four  elephants  which  were  swimming 
across  the  river.  Then,  I  had  to  make  payments  to  Mawale  and 
his  women  for  their  plantains,  yams  and  sugar-cane.  Then, 
native  trader  Dose's  canoe  came,  on  its  way  down  river  to  Mr. 
Sinclair's;  and  I  took  the  opportunity  to  write  short  letters  to 
him,  and  to  Mr.  Reading,  at  Libreville.  Gaboon.  So,  having 
begun  the  work  on  the  hut  late.  I  ran  it  on  until  dusk;  and 
returned  to  Kasa's.  Rut.  the  work  had  so  progressed,  that,  in 
order  to  save  the  carrying  back  and  forth  of  the  tools,  chest  of 
goods,  etc..  I  left  them  with  Tivino  and  Ekomba,  to  take  care  of 
them,  in  the  almost  finished  first  room  of  the  hut,  enough  of  it 
being  completed,  for  their  sleeping  there.  They  dreaded  to  re- 
main in  the  lonely   forest;  for.  a  heavy  storm  was  coming  of 


RETURN  TO  KASA'S  99 

thunder  and  lightning,  which  broke  just  after  I  reached  Kasa's. 
It  was  the  opening  of  the  rainy  season. 

The  next  day,  the  14th,  was  a  successful  one.  That  first 
room's  enclosing  was  completed,  and  the  clay  floor  leveled. 
People  from  adjacent  villages  came  to  see  and  to  sell.  And,  at 
night,  at  Kasa's,  was  a  good  evening  —  prayers,  with  interesting 
questions  by  the  people  about  the  future  life. 

The  next  day,  the  15th,  in  going  by  canoe,  we  followed  a  live 
floating  alligator.  It  disappeared.  But,  presently  we  found  one 
which  had  been  shot  at  the  day  before;  it  had  grounded  on  a 
sand-bar.  My  men  were  exultant  over  their  prize.  As  we 
towed  it  to  my  landing,  the  villages  we  passed  joined  with  shouts 
in  our  joy.  Some  time  was  required  in  carefully  removing  the 
skin,  which  I  wished  to  preserve,  and  in  dividing  to  the  hungry 
friends  who  gathered  about  the  scene.  I  gave  one-third  to  my 
men  for  the  day;  one-third  for  them  to  dry  for  future  use;  and 
one-third  to  my  Bakele  friends,  among  them,  of  course,  were 
Nwanaja  and  others  of  Kasa's  women.  All  this  made  confu- 
sion ;  and  there  was  not  much  building  done.  People  came  to 
sell  sweet  potatoes,  rough-hewn  planks,  rattan-twine,  thatch, 
plantains,  yams,  and  fish.  Sakwele  arrived  with  some  of  the 
boxes  I  had  left  at  Mr.  Sinclair's  to  be  forwarded  to  me.  The 
next  day,  Thursday,  the  16th,  enough  more  of  the  hut  was 
done  to  justify  my  leaving  two  more  men  also  to  sleep  there. 
1  returned  late  in  the  evening  to  Kasa's,  to  lodge  there  for  the 
last  time.  A  few  more  days'  work,  or,  at  most,  a  week,  I  hoped 
would  complete  the  hut. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE     BELAMBLA     HUT OCTOBER.     l8/5 

ON  Friday,  September  17,  I  removed  my  goods  from 
Kasa's  and  established  myself  at  my  Belambla 
grounds,  although  only  one  of  the  five  rooms  was  per- 
fectly complete  as  to  doors,  windows,  bedstead,  shelves,  etc.  It 
was  only  of  native  materials,  but  larger  and  more  carefully  built 
than  an  ordinary  hut.  That  very  afternoon,  I  was  made  indig- 
nant at  the  persistent  efforts  of  some  of  the  people  to  build  on 
the  premises.  I  smelled  the  smoke  of  burning  brush  on  the 
eastern  side,  and  went  with  Menga  to  see  about  it.  Discovered 
two  women  on  the  ground  where,  a  few  days  before,  I  had  seen 
a  clearing  begun.  When  they  saw  me.  they  fled,  abandoning 
their  jug  of  water.  This  I  seized,  and  took  to  my  hut ;  and 
then  went  to  the  adjacent  village  to  complain.  On  my  return. 
Disingwe  followed  me,  and  professed  to  be  angry  at  the  people 
who  had  made  the  clearing.  Some  of  the  people,  by  my  delay 
at  the  sea-coast,  believing  I  would  not  come  back,  had  begun  to 
clear  on  my  premises,  for  a  village.  At  Kasa's  protest,  they  had 
stopped  and  built  elsewhere,  but  very  near  the  boundary  line. 
Now,  one  man,  unwilling  to  lose  his  labor  of  the  clearing,  began 
to  make  a  garden  on  the  spot.  He  made  me  much  trouble.  I 
had  to  wait  for  Kasa's  return  from  his  journey,  for  the  settle- 
ment of  that  matter.  T  was  much  disturbed  about  it.  T  liked 
the  Bakele ;  had  no  desire  to  hold  them  at  a  distance.  But,  my 
experiences  in  Kasa's  village,  with  its  daily  excitements  and  con- 
fusions, had  made  me  refuse,  not  only  to  build  there,  but  any- 
where else  near  a  village.  I  had  selected  Belambla.  because  it 
was  near  enough  to  a  population  for  my  meeting  with  and  talk- 
ing to  them,  when  I  should  visit  them,  or  they  me,  and,  yet. 
far  enough  for  me  to  have  restful  quiet  hours  when  I  needed 
them  for  school  or  other  intellectual  work.  I  believed  I  had 
conquered  in  my  contest  with  Kasa,  in  that  matter.  And.  now, 
in  the  very  beginning  of  my  residence  on  my  own  ground,  to 
have  Disingwe's  people  actually  do  what  Kasa  had  not  dared  to 
do.  was  outrageous.  I  did  not  know  in  whom  to  believe.  I 
was  not  sure  that  Kasa  himself  was  not  back  of  it  all. 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  101 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  18th,  Disingwe  and  Shakwame 
(the  younger  of  the  two  offending  women)  came,  and  I  had  a 
talk  with  them.  An  old  man,  Joba,  joined  in  the  discussion. 
All  promised  to  behave.  While  I  distrusted  their  sincerity,  I 
still  hoped  that  the  affair  would  end  well.  That  people  had 
much  to  be  taught  yet,  of  the  simplest  things.  They  had  not 
ceased  to  ask  me  for  liquor. 

Sunday,  September  19,  was  a  clear,  bright  day;  and  many 
people  came  from  the  adjacent  villages  to  my  services;  among 
others,  Sakwele  and  his  crew  stopped,  on  their  trade-journey 
down  river.  After  he  had  gone,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  I 
invited  Nwanaja  and  five  other  women,  with  the  trader  ReNjega 
(Lord-of-leopards)  to  remain  to  dinner  with  me.  Other  men 
stayed  around,  looking  longingly;  but,  I  neither  invited  them, 
nor  gave  them  food.  ( It  was  oriental  that  uninvited  ones  should 
gather  around  a  feast,  e.  g.,  Lazarus.)  Doubtless,  they  thought 
it  very  strange  that  ivomen  had  been  invited  instead  of  them- 
selves. Among  them  was  a  man,  Semegwe,  at  whom  I  felt  in- 
dignant when  he  remarked  that  I  ought  to  have  prepared  rum 
to  distribute  to  my  friends!  (That  is  what  the  Roman  Catholic 
priests  did  when  subsequently  they  entered  the  Ogowe.)  He 
had  known  me  for  a  year ;  and,  yet,  my  constant  protests  against 
the  liquor  traffic,  seemed  to  have  failed  to  make  him  understand 
that  my  doing  without  liquor  was  a  matter  of  principle,  and  not 
of  economy  or  neglect.  In  the  afternoon,  my  composure  was 
spoiled  again,  observing  smoke  rising  from  the  clearing,  about 
which  I  had  had  trouble  only  the  day  before.  I  began  to  ques- 
tion whether  my  refraining  from  violence  was  being  misunder- 
stood for  weakness.  I  even  began  to  debate  with  myself  whether, 
if  the  heads  of  the  villages  persisted  in  allowing  (perhaps  en- 
couraging) the  women  thus  to  make  gardens  on  my  grounds,  I 
should  not  leave  the  Akele  tribe,  and  go  down  river  to  the  Galwa 
or  Nkami,  who  were  better  acquainted  with  white  men  and  their 
rights. 

On  Monday,  the  20th,  there  was  loud  shouting  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  and  news  of  Fanwe  having  killed  one  Akele 
and  wounded  another.  This  was  the  beginning  of  what  eventu- 
ally proved  to  be  a  revolution  in  the  tribal  conditions  of  that 
part  of  the  Ogowe.  A  year  previously,  there  had  been  reports 
that  the  great  Fariwe  tribe  of  the  Interior,  that  subtended  at 
least  100  miles  of  the  equatorial  coast,  and  who  had  at  that  time 
appeared  at  Libreville  and  a  few  other  points,  were  advancing 
down  the  Ogowe.     Now,  those  reports  were  proved  true.     The 


102  MY  OGOWE 

tribe  had  emerged  on  the  right  or  northwest  bank  of  the  river, 
and  had  come  into  conflict  with  the  Bakele  of  that  bank,  who 
were  now  beginning  to  flee  to  my  left  bank.  A  year  later,  the 
difficulties  became  more  pronounced.  And,  ten  years  later,  the 
entire  river  was  practically  in  possession  of  the  Fanwe.  I  went 
to  the  adjacent  village,  to  make  complaint  of  the  abuse  of  my 
grounds,  of  the  preceding  day.  The  "  palaver  "  was  unsatis- 
factory. The  Akele  man  was  actually  insulting;  and  I  indig- 
nantly left.  On  returning  to  my  hut,  through  the  forest,  my 
indignation  was  increased  at  finding  some  men  hunting.  They 
took  my  remonstrance  smilingly,  saying  that  hunting  over 
grounds  was  not  an  offense,  as  they  were  taking  only  animals 
and  not  land,  and  that  wild  animals  belonged  to  anybody !  Per- 
haps I  should  not  have  felt  offended  at  their  logic,  considering 
how,  even  in  civilized  lands  and  against  civilized  laws,  hunters 
constantly  trespass  on  farmers'  fields  and  woods. 

The  next  day,  September  21,  Disingwe  visited  me.  I  spoke 
severely  to  him  about  the  matter  of  my  premises.  Kasa's  father 
came,  and  tried  to  assure  me  that  the  affair  would  be  properly 
settled.  The  native  African's  viewpoint  of  time  is  oriental ;  next 
month  will  do  as  well  as  to-morrow.  This  is  trying  to  an 
occidental,  who  looks  at  time,  to-day  and  now.  I  sent  to  Kasa's, 
to  remove  the  very  last  of  my  belongings,  as  my  hut  was  being 
so  rapidly  completed,  that  I  now  had  space  for  almost  every- 
thing. In  the  matter  of  domestic  arrangements.  I  was  much 
better  off  than  I  had  expected  to  be  in  the  wilderness.  The 
Kombe  young  man,  Ikunduku,  having  obtained  some  skill  from 
the  Benita  ladies,  was  actually  able  to  cook  me  some  pan- 
cakes. 

On  Wednesday,  the  22d.  I  did  not  superintend  work.  I  left 
it  to  Manga's  eye,  though  I  knew  very  well  that  the  work  would 
go  slowly  and  perhaps  imperfectly.  I  spent  the  day  in  writing 
letters  to  my  children  and  to  mission  friends.  But,  one  of  the 
men  I  detected  smoking,  and  fined  him  ten  cents.  The  reason 
for  the  prohibition  of  my  people's  smoking  during  work-hours 
was,  because  they  lost  so  much  time  adjusting  and  relighting 
their  pipes.  I  found  that  the  location  of  my  little  mission-sta- 
tion was  a  more  favorable  one.  for  buying  necessaries,  than  had 
been  Kasa's.  I  readily  obtained  more,  and  at  better  prices,  food, 
and  building  materials,  and  curios.  Among  the  latter  were  some 
small  elephant  tusks,  and  a  monkey.  All  my  African  life,  I  col- 
lected such  curios.  Every  time  I  came  on  furlough  to  the 
United  States,  I  gave  them  all  away  to  my  relatives,  or  to  the 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  103 

kind  friends  at  whose  homes  I  was  entertained,  or  as  marriage- 
gifts,  or  as  contributions  to  museums. 

In  the  evening,  Disingwe  came,  to  appease  with  a  present,  my 
displeasure  of  the  preceding  day.  His  wife  accompanying  him, 
also  made  a  small  gift,  of  sugar-cane;  and,  according  to  custom, 
I  responded,  with  a  piece  of  soap.  Soap  was  one  of  my  most 
frequent  responses.     I  emphasized  the  gospel  of  soap! 

On  Thursday,  the  23d,  I  sent  my  canoe  with  letters  and  for 
goods,  down-river,  to  Air.  Sinclair's  Aguma.  The  crew  were 
the  three  Kombe,  one  Galwa,  and  one  Akele.  The  other  Bakele 
failed  to  appear.  I  think  that  they  were  afraid  they  would  be 
sent  on  the  journey.  So,  I  was  alone.  I  spent  the  day  in  hoe- 
ing a  little  garden,  and  leveling  the  ground  near  the  hut.  People 
came  to  sell;  I  bought  a  chicken  and  "  bush  "-lights  (torches  of 
gum  of  okume,  the  African  mahogany).  I  sat  late  and  alone 
at  night,  reading  my  United  States  newspapers  and  books,  by 
light  of  a  candle,  a  bush-light  and  a  great  fire  of  logs.  It  was 
quite  romantic,  all  alone  there  in  the  forest.  It  appealed  to  my 
suppressed  spirit  of  adventure  and  my  boyhood's  desire  to  be  a 
soldier.  There  were  no  living  beings  near  me  (unless  unseen 
wild  ones)  besides  my  goat  and  chicken  and  monkey.  I  am  sure 
that  the  goat  felt  lonely;  his  occasional  cry  was  diagnostic. 
The  rain  fell  heavily. 

On  the  24th,  I  went  off  to  a  corner  of  the  boundary,  where 
I  heard  chopping,  and  found  two  women  cutting  firewood. 
They  said  they  did  not  know  that  that  was  trespass ;  that  they 
were  not  taking  my  Ian d,  only  wood !  They  seemed  so  innocent, 
that  I  could  not  be  angry  with  them.  I  remembered  how,  in 
boyhood  in  the  United  States,  with  no  consciousness  of  wrong- 
doing, I  had  gone  nutting  into  farmers'  woods,  without  thinking 
of  asking  permission. 

The  Akele  lads  came  to  their  work,  accompanied  by  Mutyi's 
mother.  She  cooked  me  some  tasteful  ngdndd  (a  pudding  of  a 
rich  oily  gourd-seed). 

On  September  25,  my  canoe  returned  with  unexpected  prompt- 
ness. Rather,  I  should  have  expected  them ;  for,  the  Kombe  and 
the  Akele  had  no  tribal  friend  to  tempt  them.  The  Galwa,  Ti- 
vino,  was  tempted,  and  failed  to  return.  The  news  of  the  ar- 
rival of  goods  spread ;  and  people,  to  whom  I  had  given  due-bills, 
came  to  have  them  paid.  Xew  boys  also  were  desiring  to  come 
to  school. 

Sunday,  September  26,  was  a  clear  bright  day.  The  river 
was  rising  so  rapidly,  in  its  semi-annual  flood,  that  I  could  al- 


104  MY  OGOWE 

most  see  it  advance,  as  I  watched  it  at  the  landing.  People  took 
advantage  of  the  fact  they  had  learned  that  I  would  do  no  work 
on  Sunday,  in  the  way  of  travel,  purchase  or  payment,  or  dis- 
cipline. So,  there  was  shouting  over  their  hunting-nets,  off  to- 
ward one  of  my  boundaries.  Therefore,  very  few  people  were 
at  my  services. 

RaGomu,  one  of  Mr.  Sinclair's  men,  came  with  some  of  my 
boxes  from  Aguma.  The  natives  knew  nothing  of  days  and 
Sundays,  on  their  travel ;  so,  it  was  not  an  offense  that  he  should 
land  my  goods;  and,  I  furnished  him  and  his  crew  with  food. 
It  was  a  slight  return  for  Mr.  Sinclair's  kindness  in  forwarding 
my  boxes.  His  firm,  H.  &  C,  and  also  the  other  two  English 
firms  subsequently  in  the  river,  for  years  never  charged  me 
anything  for  such  transportation.  Charges  began  to  be  made 
by  them  later,  when  they  ran  small  steamers.  Even  then,  the 
German  house  was  the  first  to  put  their  dealings  with  the  Mis- 
sion on  a  purely  commercial  basis.  Boys  from  ftando's  village 
came,  not  simply  to  my  day  school,  but  to  remain  with  me  as 
part  of  my  family.  I  allowed  two  of  them,  one  of  them  named 
Ekanga  (a  son,  and  a  brother,  of  Nando)  to  come  at  once.  My 
cook  made  a  special  effort  for  my  dinner,  an  Ashanti-chicken. 
(I  have  already  described  this  mode.)  There  being  no  bones, 
the  fowl  when  placed  on  the  table  is  readily  divided,  by  two 
cross-sections,  into  four  portions,  just  the  right  size  for  a  help- 
ing, as  African  fowls  are  not  large. 

Monday,  September  27,  was  a  notable  day.  My  hut  was 
completed,  and  I  was  established  in  it.  Its  dimensions  were, 
36  ft.  x  12  ft.,  with  a  center  annex  in  the  rear,  of  12  ft.  x  6  ft. 
It  had  only  the  usual  native  clay  floor.  But,  I  began  at  once 
to  gather  material  for  a  larger  and  better  house,  elevated  from 
the  ground  on  posts. 

It  was  also  a  crowded  day.  Besides  the  work  at  building, 
there  was  an  unusual  Monday  crowd  of  people  coming  and 
going,  with  much  confusion.  My  neighbors,  gradually  learn- 
ing that  I  would  not  even  talk  a  trade-bargain  on  Sunday,  had 
an  accumulation  of  wants  from  over  Saturday.  After  the  con- 
fusion, I  discovered  that  my  butcher-knife  was  missing.  It 
spoke  well  for  the  people's  honest  treatment  of  me,  that  this 
was  the  first  thing  that  had  been  stolen  from  me  since  my  com- 
ing among  them.  Could  I  have  said  the  same  in  every  part  of 
civilized  and  Christian  America?  My  sore  feet  were  well. 
There  were,  as  vet,  verv  few  chigoes  at  the  place ;  and,  I  did  not 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  105 

think  there  would  be  many;  for,  there  was  no  sand  there.  Nor 
was  there  an  unusual  quantity  of  mosquitoes;  and  I  believed 
there  would  be  fewer  as  the  place  became  more  cleared.  At 
night,  there  was  a  heavy  rain.  The  thunder  and  lightning-  were 
splendid ;  but,  not  as  magnificent  as  on  Corisco  Island,  of  ten 
years  before.  I  sat  up  late,  reading;  during  the  day  hours,  I 
was  too  occupied  by  the  natives.  Ikunduku  and  my  four  little 
boys  sat  with  me,  looking  at  pictures  which  he  was  able  to  ex- 
plain to  them,  the  while  that  they  all  munched  the  ground-nuts 
(grown  by  the  Bakele)  which  I  had  given  them  to  roast. 

Tuesday,  the  28th,  was  a  varied  day.  The  Bakele  workmen 
were  absent.  Nando  came  to  rebuke  his  three  boys  (Ekanga, 
Dupakwe  and  Makata)  for  not  having  first  asked  his  permission, 
before  coming  to  live  with  me.  (I  did  not  know  that  they  had 
come  without  permission.)  Of  course,  I  justified  him;  and  he 
allowed  them  to  remain.  Kasa  sent  me  a  goat,  and  I  bought 
another  for  $4  (trade).  Disingwe  brought  thatch.  People 
coming  and  going  all  day.  Ekomba  was  so  utterly  stupid  that 
I  told  him  to  stop  work  for  the  day,  and  charged  him  on  his 
month's  account,  as  absent.  I  fined  Manga  for  swearing.  My 
monkey  was  becoming  mischievously  troublesome. 

On  Wednesday,  September  29,  I  wrote  to  my  friend  Mr. 
Reading  at  Libreville,  "  The  completion  of  this  hut  has  quite 
spoiled  my  simple  diet.  As  I  have  plenty  of  eggs  (but  no  milk) 
I  am  indulging  occasionally  in  pan-cakes." 

Kasa,  after  a  long  absence,  had  returned  to  his  town  on  the 
preceding  Saturday,  but  had  not  yet  visited  me.  I  would  have 
gone  to  see  him ;  but,  almost  every  other  day,  I  was  told,  "  Kasa 
is  coming  to-morrow."  So,  I  waited  for  him.  "  To-morrow," 
in  Africa,  meant  some  indefinite  time  in  the  future.  Masomami 
and  Mitimambi  were  quarrelsome  at  their  work.  I  dismissed 
them  for  the  day,  and  detained  all  the  others  late.  Monkey  was 
missing.  At  night  I  read  to  Manga  and  Ekomba,  from  Rev. 
Air.  Ibia's  "  Benga  Customs,"  which  the  father  of  my  beloved 
Benita  friend,  Rev.  George  Paull,  had  published  for  me,  in  1872, 
while  on  my  furlough  in  the  United  States. 

Kasa  finally  made  his  visit  to  me  on  Thursday,  September  30. 
It  was  quite  formal  and  impressive.  First,  came  some  of  his 
children,  announcing,  "Our  father  is  coming!"  Presently, 
came  some  of  his  women.  They  did  not  venture  to  utter  his 
name,  simply,  "  He  is  coming!  "  And  then  finally,  himself,  his 
chief  wife,  and  a  few  men.     Our  talk  together  was  of  our  re- 


106  MY  OGOWE 

spective  journeys.  In  native  etiquette,  the  visitor  (unless  an  in- 
ferior) does  not  always  bring-  a  gift.  But,  on  departing,  the 
visitor  must  be  given  by  the  host.  So,  I  went  into  my  little 
store-room,  and  distributed  to  himself  and  women  a  variety  of 
not  very  costly  goods.  And  he  and  they  went  away  pleased. 
My  own  dwelling-hut  being  completed.  T  began  to  build  a  shed. 
under  which  to  protect  the  materiel  1  would  collect  for  a  more 
permanent  house.  In  clearing  the  ground,  I  found  charred 
human  bones.  Cremation  of  the  dead  was  not  an  Ogowe  cus- 
tom. But.  the  burning  of  witches  and  wizards  was  one  of  their 
modes  of  punishment.  What  a  tragic  tale  those  remains  could 
have  told ! 

On  October  I.  my  delinquent  Bakele  workmen  returned.  But. 
I  would  not  permit  Mitimambi  to  resume.  He  hung  around 
until  after  work  hours:  and  then  I  gave  him  a  talk  about  obedi- 
ence, paid  him  his  "  book."  and  dismissed  him.  A  fine  big  mail 
was  brought  me  by  Mr.  Sinclair's  canoe.  I  hastily  glanced  over 
my  letters  during  the  busy  day  hours.  And.  then,  at  night,  after 
evening  prayers.  I  sat  down  quietly  and  fully  to  enjoy  them. 
(That  became  more  decidedly  my  habit,  during  my  life  in  Africa. 
Letters  that  I  had  longed  for,  for  a  month,  if  they  happened  to 
come  at  hours  that  would  be  broken  by  native  duties,  I  have  laid 
aside  unopened,  until  I  could  read  them  undisturbed.  They 
were  too  sacred  to  mix  with  crude  cares.)  Ikunduku  had  made 
me  a  specially  good  supper  of  fried  chicken  and  pancakes.  So, 
I  shared  with  him  and  Manga  my  coast  letters,  particularly  my 
sister's  August  letter,  from  their  own  Benita  home. 

Saturday.  October  2  :  Kasa  respected  the  decision  that  ex- 
cluded him  from  building  on  my  grounds,  but  he  had  insisted  on 
removing  his  village  to  a  point  near  me.  He  and  his  people 
were  busy  clearing  his  new  premises.  He  came  with  some  of 
them  from  where  they  had  been  working,  and  asked  me  for 
food !  I  gave  him ;  but.  not  willingly ;  for.  he  was  not  far  from 
a  village  of  his  relations.  Then,  he  wanted  a  padlock;  I  gave  it. 
Then,  be  wanted  a  gun.  and  $2  worth  of  powder.  I  gave  the  gun. 
Then,  he  pretended  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  pay  I  had  given 
him  for  his  thatch  in  the  preceding  June!  And.  for  some  bam- 
boo I  had  gotten  from  his  people  in  September!  And  said 
that  a  canoe  I  had  borrowed  in  June  had  not  been  returned ! 
I  had  listened  patiently  to  him.  But,  to  revive  a  claim  on  pay- 
ments that  had  been  accepted,  and  falsely  to  lay  on  me  the  loss 
of  his  canoe  were  too  much.  T  showed  him  that  I  was  dis- 
pleased ;  and  he  ceased  to  ask.      With  fine  diplomacy,  he  resumed 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  107 

the  role  of  "  friend,"  and  wished  me  to  go  with  him  to  see  the 
site  of  his  new  village.  I  went.  When  I  got  there,  I  was  sur- 
prised to  find  that  my  monkey  had  secretly  followed  me. 

The  view  of  sunset  across  the  river,  in  the  rainy  season,  on 
certain  days,  was  very  splendid.  Nowhere  else  in  Africa  do  I 
think  I  have  seen  such  magnificence.  I  would  be  looking 
through  the  slightly  humid  air  of  the  late  afternoon,  with  the 
width  of  the  river  as  a  foreground.  Beyond,  on  the  river  bank, 
was  the  densely  green  forest;  beyond  this,  a  range  of  hills  that 
were  purpling;  beyond  and  above,  the  masses  of  cloud,  cumuli 
and  strata;  of  every  rainbow  color,  and  of  all  imaginable  shapes. 
T  attempted  to  describe  it  one  day.  But,  how  successfully  de- 
scribe what  every  moment,  as  the  sun  sank,  was  changing  like 
a  kaleidoscope!  Nevertheless,  I  did.  five,  years  later,  incor- 
porate my  attempt,  in  the  first  chapter  of  my  "  Mawedo  " 
(1881).  The  heavy  rains  were  always  preceded  by  a  strong 
tornado  wind.  The  forest  was  all  around  me,  literally  within  a 
stone's  throwr.  I  felt  a  magnificence,  in  watching  the  swaying 
of  the  trees,  and  in  listening  to  the  roaring  of  the  wind  through 
the  forest  aisles. 

Monday,  October  4:  Kasa's  women  came  to  sell  plantains, 
engaging  to  keep  me  supplied  if  I  would  keep  on  hand,  "  co- 
logne "  and  "  sweet  soap,"  instead  of  the  calico,  knives,  brass- 
rods,  and  crockery,  with  which  formerly  they  had  been  satisfied. 
I  obtained  the  perfumes,  and  scented  soap  and  cheap  jewelry. 
And,  they  were  pleased.  What  a  step  they  had  made  to  "  civili- 
zation," in  the  single  year  since  I  had  first  met  them ! 

In  my  buying,  especially  from  the  men,  I  had  to  be  rigidly 
firm.  Some  young  men  brought  rough-hewn  planks  for  sale. 
After  they  had  accepted  their  agreed-upon  price,  they  begged 
so  amazingly  for  something  more,  to  be  "  topped  "  as  a  "  dasli  " 
(gift),  that  I  refused  the  planks,  took  back  the  price,  and  re- 
turned to  them  the  sugar-cane  they  had  presented  me.  For  the 
cane,  I  had  thanked  them;  and  I  would  not  have  forgotten  to 
make  some  return  the  next  time  I  should  meet  them.  Their 
asking  for  an  immediate  return  was  entirely  too  commercial. 
As  to  the  custom  of  the  "  dash,"  it  was  an  evil  one,  not  of  native 
origin,  but  introduced  by  white  traders.  The  per  cent,  of  gain 
on  the  cheap  goods  paid  for  the  ivory-tusk  or  basket  of  rubber 
was  (in  those  days)  so  large,  that  the  trader  could  well  afford 
to  add  something  at  the  close  of  the  bargain.  He  gained  a  tem- 
porary reputation  for  friendly  generosity,  by  giving  the  addition 
as  a  present,   rather  than  by  including  it  in  the  original  price. 


108  MY  OGOWE 

He  could  keep  prices  down.  But  I  would  not  yield  to  the  de- 
mand for  the  extra  present;  I  was  not  trading;  and,  from  the 
first,  I  had  given  better  prices  for  food  and  building  materials. 
Jonganwe,  a  relative  of  Kasa,  came  to  claim  pay  for  the 
Belambla  premises,  saying  that  Kasa  had  no  right  to  sell  it  to 
me!  My  patience  had  become  exhausted  on  that  subject. 
Really,  in  that  wilderness,  no  one  owned  any  ground  but  what 
he  was  actually  living  on  or  cultivating.  When  a  village  site  or 
old  plantation  was  abandoned,  any  one  else  could  come  and 
occupy  it.  Those  Africans  did  not  know  of  individual  land- 
tenure.  Only,  when  foreigners  came  and  desired  permanent  and 
exclusive  possession  of  a  spot,  did  native  cupidity  find  a  reason 
for  making  a  claim.  I  refused  even  to  talk  to  Jonganwe,  and 
referred  him  to  Kasa.  Semegwe  happened  to  be  present,  and 
he  defended  my  right.  After  the  claimant  had  left,  Kasa  came; 
and,  I  gave  him  a  small  fee  to  settle  the  "  palaver."  While 
we  were  talking,  an  antelope  was  aroused  near  the  hut  by  some 
people  who  had  been  hunting.  Verily,  my  lodge  was  in  a  wil- 
derness ! 

It  may  illustrate  the  difficulties  unseen  in  pioneering  a  new 
place,  that  I  was  then  told  confidentially,  that,  when  I  first  came 
among  the  Bakele,  most  of  them  did  not  wish  to  deal  with  me. 
I  was  a  white  "  spirit  "  (because  I  talked  so  much  about  God 
and  spiritual  things!).  And,  they  feared  that  I  would  bewitch 
their  Chief  Kasa  and  King  Ondene !  This  explained  to  me  the 
cause  of  the  many  strange  delays  to  which  I  had  been  subjected. 

I  had  frequently  to  repeat  my  lesson  to  the  people  about  my 
refusal  to  follow  the  trader's  custom  of  "  topping  "  a  gift  or 
purchase.  On  October  5,  Nwanaja  and  Disingwe  each  pre- 
sented me  with  a  bunch  of  plantains.  They  then  hung  around, 
as  if  they  expected  some  gift  in  return.  They  should  have 
known  me  better.  I  plainly  told  them  that,  if  they  wished  to 
sell  me  the  plantains,  I  would  buy  them,  as  I  would  from  a 
stranger;  but,  that  if  they  expected  an  immediate  return,  I  would 
refuse  to  accept  their  gift,  because  returns  were  to  be  made  not 
on  the  same  day  as  the  receipt,  frwanaja  waited  two  days; 
then,  when  she  came,  T  did  not  know  whether  her  coming  was 
with  expectation,  but  T  gave  her  a  small  gift. 

At  evening-prayers  of  October  7,  little  Kimagwe  asked  me 
to  explain  the  Scripture  I  had  read.  This  pleased  me;  for, 
though  people  listened  to  my  daily  religious  services,  very  few 
had  asked  me  questions  or  shown  personal  interest  in  the  Word. 

October  8.     My  premises  were  becoming  enlarged,  like  a  little 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  109 

hamlet.  Besides  my  own  hut  (all  of  whose  rooms  I  soon  needed 
for  myself),  I  had  built  an  out-house  kitchen,  and  a  hut  for  my 
employees ;  and  I  was  building  a  shed  for  the  storing  of  material 
for  the  real  house  to  be  erected  on  posts  above  the  dampness  of 
the  ground.  Every  day,  people  were  bringing  yams,  ground- 
nuts, thatch,  sheep,  etc.,  more  than  I  had  need  for.  A  very 
pleasant  young  man,  a  relative  of  Dumawebe,  from  Ivinene's 
village,  assisted  at  work  all  day,  and  did  not  ask  for  pay. 

On  Saturday,  October  9,  I  went  with  Ikunduku  and  Kimagwe, 
to  see  the  site  of  Kasa's  new  village  near  me.  I  went  on,  to 
another  village.  There  I  sat  talking  with  an  old  man.  He  was 
intelligent,  and  wished  to  reply  to.  even  to  argue  with  me.  He 
was  respectful;  but,  he  candidly  said  that  the  Bakele  would  not 
change  their  customs,  even  if  I  should  preach  to  them  for  a  long 
time.  (I  regret  to  say  that  this  proved  true.  Rev.  Mr.  Pres- 
ton, of  Libreville,  had  prepared,  long  before,  the  Dikele  New 
Testament  which  I  was  using.  But.  in  his  experience,  my  own. 
and  that  of  my  successors,  the  Bakele  were  found  the  least  im- 
pressionable of  all  the  tribes  in  our  mission  field.)  "While  sit- 
ting with  him,  a  little  girl  passed  by.  She  was  attractive ;  I  no- 
ticed her,  and  spoke  of  her,  as  "  a  pretty  child."  He  asked  me 
whether  I  wished  to  marry  her! 

On  Sunday,  October  10,  the  service  of  the  day  was  a  pleasant 
one.  Kasa  had  brought  with  him  a  number  of  people  from  the 
Interior.  He  took  them,  for  their  noon  meal,  to  ftandi's  village. 
I  invited  three  of  his  women  to  remain  and  eat  with  me.  They 
had  learned  some  of  my  ways ;  instead  of  promptly  beginning 
to  eat.  they  waited  for  me  to  ask  the  blessing.  "When  Kasa  re- 
turned with  his  guests,  I  allowed  him  to  take  them  into  my  inner 
room,  that  they  might  see  the  white  man's  strange  things.  He 
pointed  out  the  door-lock,  and  turned  the  key,  fastening  the  door. 
Without  thinking  that  my  joke  would  be  misunderstood  (for. 
I  sometimes  joked  with  him,  and  he  appreciated)  I  remarked  to 
them.  "  Now,  you  are  captives !  "  As  soon  as  the  door  was 
unlocked,  two  of  them  rushed  out.  to  escape!  Probably,  they 
had  heard  of  treachery  in  days  of  the  foreign  slave  trade ! 

On  Monday.  October  11,  I  was  forty  years  of  age.  As  the 
house-work  was  going  on  well,  I  left,  although  Masomami  and 
Mutyi's  mother  had  come  to  see  me,  and  went  with  Kasa  to  listen 
to  his  "  palaver  "  about  two  elephant  tusks.  It  was  to  be  held  at 
Semegwe's  village.  I  waited  there  a  long  time  for  the  com- 
plainants to  gather.  But,  time  is  so  little  a  factor  in  native 
African  arrangements,  that  I  became  tired,  and  left  before  the 


no  MY  OGOYVE 

discussion  even  began.  I  spent  the  afternoon  more  profitably, 
receiving  many  visitors  in  my  own  hut.  Among  them  were  two 
of  Kasa's  women,  waiting  for  him,  with  the  two  tusks ;  one  of 
them  was  the  mother  of  Kimagwe.  When  Kasa  returned,  he 
was  very  friendly ;  and  I  loaned  him  my  small  canoe  and  an  axe 
for  five  days.  I  preferred  such  a  loan  (for,  he  honorably  would 
return  them)  because  they  meant  honest  labor,  rather  than  the 
giving  of  trade-goods  which  would  soon  be  broken  or  wasted. 

On  October  12,  King  Ondeiie's  great  fat  wife  came  to  see  me. 
So  also,  one  of  Nandi's  women.  And  Disingwe's  wife  brought 
the  three  plantain  bunches  for  the  bottle  of  cologne,  which  she 
had  been  so  desirous  of  obtaining.  Verily,  the  cologne  was  a 
great  factor  in  Bakele  civilization !  I  discovered  that  a  sheet  was 
missing  from  the  week's  wash;  and  was  amazed  that  Ikunduku 
had  not  himself  informed  me.  On  the  Sunday  preceding.  T  had 
heard  that  a  mail  for  me  was  delayed  at  some  village  down  river. 
And,  on  that  Tuesday,  a  young  man  from  that  very  place,  in- 
stead of  bringing  the  package  to  me.  came  simply  to  tell  me  that 
it  was  there!  And.  I  was  so  longing  for  letters!  It  was  a 
beautiful  moonlight  night:  but,  the  day  had  not  been  a  happy 
one.  The  following  verses  expressed  my  feelings.  T  sent  a 
copy  of  them  to  Mr.  Reading  at  Libreville,  with  a  note.  il  1  found 
the  accompanying  piece  of  paper  in  my  wash-tub!  I  should  like 
to  be  acquainted  with  the  author,  as  I  have  a  fellow-feeling  for 
and  with  him.  Ask  him  whether  he  hangs  his  wash  on  the 
equator?     I  do." 

SOMETHING  TO  MEM) 


"  Something  to  mend!  "     It's  the  regular  cry 
Of  my  garments  abused  with  the  week's  toil  and  crush. 
And  the  Mondays  come  'round  so  much  faster  since  I 
Have  had  the  new  task  of  "looking  over"  the  wash. 
1  never  so  counted  the  days'  run  before. 
Ry  the  loss  of  a  button,  or  shirt-sleeve  all  torn: 
And.  now  late.   1  begin  to  see  slightly  more 
(  )f  the  burdens  so  petty  that  others  have  borne. 


Something  to  mend  !      From  my  frail  bamboo  shed, 
T  look  down  the  hill-side,  where  the  wave  on  the  stream 
( )f  Ogowe's  swift  tide,  so  grandly  outspread, 
Flashes  clear  in  the  light  of  this  tropic  sunbeam. 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  in 

From  the  window's  low  edge,  I  lay  down  for  awhile 
The  stitches  my  fingers  unskilfully  learn, 
To  watch  "  Driver  ants,"  in  their  soldierly  style, 
Climb  o'er  yonder  log  green  with  orchid  and  fern. 

in 

There  are  heathen  songs  ringing  from  deep  forest  glade, 
Or  that  float  from  canoe  with  the  paddle's  quick  stroke ; 
There's  the  laugh  of  my  school-boys  at  play  in  the  shade, 
Or,  some  spite  about  food  o'er  their  kitchen's  blue  smoke. 

Is  it  all  right  with  these?     Is  it  all  right  with  me? 

And  I  think  of  my  work  for  each  life  and  each  heart ; 

Of  the  daily  reproofs  for  the  faults  that  I  see, 

And  the  strength  to  o'ercome  that  I  try  to  impart. 

IV 

Something  to  mend !     Is  there  something  to  mend 
In  my  own  wrayward  heart,  as  I  teach  these  lost  sheep? 
Are  the  words  that  I  tell  of  their  Heavenly  Friend 
Vainly  told,  while  my  soul  fails  its  own  truth  to  keep? 

Ah !  the  rents  in  our  lives  !     The  sad  rents  in  our  lives ! 

The  failures  to  fill  the  grand  breadth  of  God's  Law ! 

The  weak  faith  that  wearies ;  the  error  that  strives 

Allegiance  from  Duty's  strict  limit  to  draw ! 


Something  to  mend?     There  is  something  to  mend, 

As  long  as  the  immortal  is  mingled  with  clay. 

But.  I  strive  on,  in  hope  for  the  Hand  that  shall  rend 

The  imperfect  from  what  shall  be  perfect  away. 
O !  that  Sabbath  of  Rest !     Joy's  fulness  above, 
When  the  world's  Week  of  Toil  forever  shall  end ! 
O !  the  Voice  that  shall  say,  with  such  wonderful  love, 
"  Beloved,  my  child,  there  is  nothing  to  mend !  " 

On  October  13,  Kasa  returned  my  borrowed  axe,  by  hand  of 
Isamidete.  Later,  he  and  Masomami  came.  I  told  them  of  the 
theft  of  the  sheet.  I  was  not  solicitous  of  the  pecuniary  value, 
but  I  was  as  to  the  matter  of  theft.  I  had  been  just  and  kind 
and  friendly,  and  (though  not  leaving  temptation  in  the  people's 
way)  I  had  trusted  them.  I  would  be  helpless,  as  there  was  no 
foreign  law,  if  theft  was  not  stopped  in  its  very  beginnings,  by 
my  professed  friends  the  native  chiefs.  I  announced  that  there 
would  be  no  more  gifts  until  my  sheet  was  returned.  Nor,  as  I 
was  soon  going  down  river  to  get  a  native  boat  I  had  ordered,  on 


ii2  MY  OGOWE 

a  former  journey,  from  a  Nkami  carpenter,  and  I  had  a  supply 
of  food  on  hand,  would  I  buy  any  more  food. 

On  Saturday,  October  16,  King  Ondefie  and  two  of  his  women 
came  with  gifts.  While  he  was  still  present,  came  a  young  man, 
Odoni,  son  of  Simisaka,  with  the  stolen  cloth!  He  said  he  had 
recovered  it  by  pursuing  the  thief  down  river.  I  was  pleased 
with  this  settlement,  but  not  entirely  satisfied.  I  never  felt  sure 
that  his  story  was  true;  nor  would  he  tell  me  who  was  the  thief; 
nor  was  the  theft  punished.  I  was  not  sure  that  the  offender 
may  have  been  one  of  Kasa's  own  people,  and  Odoni's  story 
made  up  in  order  to  put  the  blame  on  some  one  else.  These 
suspicions  grew,  the  longer  I  lived  with  Kasa  and  the  Bakele. 
They  were  the  most  untruthful  of  any  tribe  with  whom  I  lived 
in  Africa. 

But.  my  embargo  on  purchases  was  lifted.  I.  at  once  in- 
vested in  another  esetye  monkey  and  native  knives,  from  people 
of  the  Osamukita  village.  (That  was  a  large  trading-town,  not 
far  from  Kasa's  old  place.  The  proper  form  of  the  word  is 
Osamu-'kita  (Affair-of-Trade!).  Traders,  in  their  ignorance 
of  the  language,  wrote  the  name  as,  "  Sam-Kita  " ;  and  others 
who  knew  better  have  followed  that  spelling,  and  have  given  the 
name  to  two  other  places  lower  down  the  river.) 

On  Sunday.  October  17.  Semegwe  came  for  meeting;  but,  got 
tired  waiting  for  others,  and  left.  Only  seven  came,  two  men, 
one  woman,  and  four  children.  But.  more  came  in  the  after- 
noon to  Sabbath  school,  in  which  my  three  little  boys.  Kimagwe. 
Makota.  and  Ekange  were  progressing.  The  former  was 
spelling  in  the  Benga  primer.  T  felt  encouraged.  Perhaps  my 
depression  of  the  previous  week  may  have  been  partly  due  to 
my  occasional  ill  health,  under  bilious  attacks. 

On  Monday,  the  18th.  T  was  to  start  my  journey  to  Nkami. 
T  had  engaged  Kasa  and  Masomami  to  take  care  of  the  premises 
during  my  absence.  But,  they  failed  me.  (This  was  only  one 
of  many  failures  that  finally  broke  my  confidence  in  and  friend- 
ship for  Kasa.)  Semegwe  happened  along.  T  put  the  house 
in  his  charge,  leaving  in  his  care  one  of  my  workmen.  Ekomba. 
sick  with  boils.  Started  down  river,  stopping  at  Ondeiies. 
Avyake's,  and  Anyambe-iena's:  reaching  Mr.  Sinclair's  Aguma, 
at  sundown,  in  a  rain.  On  the  bluff,  by  the  front  edge  of  which 
that  trading-house  was  built,  was  the  Galwa  king's  town.  Adali- 
na-nanga.  There  had  just  arrived  the  small  steamer  of  Mr. 
Schmieden  bringing  a  mail  from  the  seaside.  T  had  a  precious 
supply  from  the  United  States,  and  from  the  Mission. 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  113 

Mr.  Schmieder  was  going  down-river  on  Wednesday,  the 
20th,  and  offered  to  tow  me.  Besides  his  work  in  rubber  and 
ivory,  he  was  gathering  natural  curiosities  for  his  friends  or 
museums  in  Germany.  I  was  much  interested  in  a  gorilla  skin, 
and  in  two  little  leopards,  of  the  size  of  an  ordinary  cat.  They 
were  playful  as  kittens.  The  ride  was  delightful  in  speed, 
though,  towed  in  the  vessel's  wake,  the  water  was  rough. 
Stopped  for  the  night  at  Oranga.  The  next  day,  stopped  on  the 
way  for  wood,  at  Isagi's  town  of  Ngumbi.  Almost  my  only 
memory  of  that  man  is  of  brutality  and  cunning.  He  told  us 
of  his  having  put  to  death  a  woman,  on  a  charge  of  witchcraft. 
I  was  landed  at  my  journey's  end,  Onanga's  village,  early  in  the 
evening.  His  father  had  been  the  head  of  the  village,  and  vari- 
ous memorial  ceremonies  were  being  performed.  Onanga's 
older  brother  was  the  successor,  though,  at  first,  Onanga  tried 
to  deceive  me  by  saying  that  himself  was  the  successor,  in  order 
that  I  should  make  him  the  usual  gift  in  recognition  of  the  posi- 
tion. 

The  next  day.  I  was  greatly  disappointed  as  to  his  work.  I 
had  bargained  for  a  boat;  he  had  made  a  kongongo  (a  boat  with- 
out a  keel).  And,  though  I  had  allowed  thirty  days  for  the 
job,  the  craft  was  not  yet  finished.  Nevertheless,  the  following 
day,  Saturday,  the  23d.  after  the  usual  effort  to  claim  more  than 
the  agreed-upon  price,  I  took  the  kongongo,  and  would  complete 
it  myself.  I  had  brought  an  extra  crew.  and.  T  took  from 
Onanga  his  little  son,  Owanga,  for  school,  and  a  lad.  Akaga, 
and  a  young  man.  ReSingane.  Shortly  after  starting,  I  met 
some  of  Onanga's  people  who  had  just  killed  a  crocodile. 
Though  I  did  not  long  for  its  flesh  myself.  T  bought,  for  40 
cents,  an  arm  and  part  of  the  tail,  as  a  delicacy  for  my  crews. 
Stopped  over  the  Sunday,  as  T  never  traveled  on  that  day. 

The  next  daw  King  Njagu's  would  have  been  a  convenient 
stopping-place  for  the  night.  Though  we  were  wet  by  an  after- 
noon rain.  T  declined  the  wishes  of  the  crews,  and  went  on.  even 
after  dark,  to  Oiiwa-ombe's. 

The  next  dav.  October  26.  on  the  journey,  we  were  slowly  toil- 
ing close  in  shore,  as  usual,  to  escape  the  current.  Hie  unfin- 
ished kongongo  had  no  guard  on  its  gunwale  above  the  stern- 
sheets  on  whose  platform  T  was  sitting,  with  my  rug.  Winchester 
rifle,  and  other  articles.  A  projecting  branch  brushed  our  side, 
and  extending  across  the  platform,  suddenly  swept  the  rifle  into 
the  river!  T  instantly  stopped  progress,  had  the  crew  hold  the 
craft  in  position  against  the  current,  by  seizing  that  same  branch. 


ii4  MY  OGOWE 

and  contemplated  diving  for  my  precious  rifle.  It  was  precious, 
not  because  of  its  pecuniary  value,  but  as  a  gift  from  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau in  1868,  for  its  frequent  use  in  getting  fresh  meat,  for  my- 
self and  crew,  for  protection  against  wild  beasts,  and  for  the 
moral  influence  of  the  sight  of  it  as  natives  saw  it  and  heard  of 
its  repeating  power  (though  /  never  used  it  in  the  way  of 
threat).  But,  I  was  not  skilled  in  diving.  I  would  not  order 
my  men  to  do  what  I  hesitated  to  do  myself,  especially  as  the 
spot  was  obstructed  by  sunken  logs.  I  was  intensely  grieved, 
too  much  so  even  to  speak  or  to  blame  the  steersman  for  hav- 
ing run  the  craft  into  the  bushes.  I  went  ashore  and  cut  a  long 
slender  15-foot  pole.  Then,  from  the  miscellaneous  articles 
which  I  always  carried  with  me,  I  tied  several  large  hooks  to 
the  end.  With  this,  I  carefully,  firmly,  slowly,  and  systematically 
dragged  the  bottom  of  the  river  at  the  spot  where  the  rifle  had 
sunk.  The  same  hidden  logs,  that  would  have  made  diving 
dangerous,  made  my  fishing  difficult.  But.  in  a  short  time,  I  felt 
that  the  pole  was  dragging  something.  Pulling  carefully,  the 
end  came  up  with  the  rifle  hanging  to  the  hooks!  They  had 
caught  on  the  leather  strap,  by  which  a  gun  is  hung  from  one's 
back,  in  walking.  No  part  of  the  mechanism  was  injured. 
And  the  powder  in  the  cartridges  in  the  magazine,  on  their  sub- 
sequently being  fired,  showed  it  had  not  been  wetted.  (That 
rifle  now  belongs  to  my  son,  in  the  year  of  whose  birth  his 
mother  had  presented  it  to  me.)  On  the  way.  young  men  and 
lads  sought  to  engage  employment  with  me.  A  man  wished  to 
hire  his  slave.  But.  I  declined  slave-labor;  not  that  T  objected 
to  a  slave's  person  in  my  household,  but  because  I  knew  that 
his  wages  would  be  taken  from  him  by  his  owner.  After  T  had 
refused  the  slave,  a  stout  lad.  who  probably  did  not  understand 
my  ground  of  refusal,  offered  himself;  and.  to  prove  his  strength. 
bared  his  arms,  and  exhibited  the  play  of  his  muscles. 

The  next  day.  Friday,  was  a  long  hot  pull,  past  Ashuka. 
Shot  a  large  snake,  and  saw  three  other  smaller  ones.  From 
the  villages,  people  followed,  in  canoes,  begging  me  to  buy  their 
provisions.  After  nightfall,  stopped  at  Tgenia.  the  town  of 
Ombva-ogwana.  the  pilot  of  the  Pioneer  on  my  first  entrance  into 
the  Ogowe.  He  begged  for  a  "small  "  gift.  T  gave  him  one. 
He  slighted  its  smallness.  So.  1  took  it  away,  and  gave  him 
a  lecture  on  thankfulness. 

The  next  dav.  the  28th,  in  starting.  T  picked  up  a  new  lad. 
ReXguwa.  On  Friday,  the  29th.  were  still  slowly  working 
along  the  Galwa  villages  of  Wombalya.      At  night,  in  the  village 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  115 

where  I  had  met  the  Galwa-Benga  slave  from  Corisco,  I  had  a 
good  meeting.  After  its  close,  I  overheard  some  of  the  people 
trying  to  imitate  my  singing.  One  man  asked,  "  Why  did  this 
Jesus,  of  whom  you  have  spoken,  die?"  Why  did  Jesus  die? 
What  a  text  for  a  sermon ! 

On  Saturday,  October  30.  I  reached  the  Adali-n'-ananga  be- 
fore noon.  Every  day  of  the  journey,  there  had  been  rain.  I 
needed  to  have  my  clothing,  my  boxes  and  their  goods,  thor- 
oughly dried.  And  letters  needed  to  be  written.  When  at 
Benita,  I  had  seen  that  the  wooden  enclosure  around  the  grave 
of  Mrs.  M.  C.  Nassau,  was  falling,  under  the  attacks  of  white 
ants.  I  wrote  to  my  father  in  the  United  States,  ordering  an 
iron  fence. 

At  the  trading-houses,  I  never  had  opportunity  to  preach  on 
Sundays,  even  if  the  traders  themselves  had  been  willing.  Mr. 
Sinclair  would  not  have  objected.  But,  the  class  of  natives  that 
gathered  around  the  traders'  houses,  thought  and  spoke  only  of 
buying  and  selling,  and  asked  only  for  liquor.  Just  at  that  time, 
at  Aguma,  they  were  building  new  huts.  And,  all,  natives  and 
white  men,  were  interestedly  expecting  the  coming  of  the 
Pioneer.  It  arrived  late  in  the  afternoon.  Special  interest  lay 
in  the  importance  of  some  of  its  passengers.  One  was  Mr. 
Jobet,  a  Frenchman,  but  agent  at  Libreville,  of  the  English  firm 
of  H.  &  C,  of  which  Mr.  Sinclair  was  a  subordinate.  With 
him  also,  a  young  Mr.  Boccaria.  And  Mons.  Marche,  who,  some 
three  years  before,  had  made  a  survey  of  the  river,  in  company 
with  Mons.  Compeigne.  The  interest  which  those  two  gentle- 
men had  aroused  in  France,  on  the  importance  of  the  Ogowe  as 
a  route  to  the  Interior,  had  resulted  in  the  organization  of  a  new 
French  expedition,  under  the  charge  of  Lieutenant  Savorgnan 
P.  De  Brazza,  an  Italian  count,  who  had  become  a  French  sub- 
ject. To  prepare  the  way  for  him,  M.  Marche  had  come  again 
to  the  Ogowe. 

The  new  master  of  the  Pioneer,  Captain  Bryant,  began  early 
on  Monday.  November  1,  to  discharge  the  vessel.  It  had 
brought  me  another  precious  budget  of  letters;  also,  a  lot  of 
windows,  doors,  and  100  boards,  for  my  new  house,  and  an 
abundant  supply  of  provisions.  I  hasted  to  load  them  for  a  re- 
turn to  Belambla. 

Mr.  R.  B.  N.  Walker,  the  chief  agent  of  H.  &  C,  who.  aside 
from  his  trade  duties,  was  deeply  interested  in  the  exploration 
of  the  Interior  from  the  west  coast,  had  always  retained  a  friend- 
ship  for  me,   because  of  my   fellow  sympathy  and   interest  in 


1 16  MY  OGOWE 

African  geography  and  philology.  He  was  planning,  with  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  of  England,  a  journey  into  the  In- 
terior by  either  the  Bonita  or  Ogowe  rivers.  He  invited  me  to 
accompany  him.  On  moral  and  religious  questions  we  had  little 
in  common.  But,  my  zeal  was  fired  at  the  thought  of  adven- 
ture, exploration,  and  possible  missionary  extension.  Awaiting 
the  consent  of  my  Board,  I  assented  to  accompany  Mr.  Walker, 
saying  that  I  would  go  with  him  and  recognize  him  as  chief 
(for,  in  all  Africa,  no  two  white  men  can  travel  as  equals  in  au- 
thority) on  his  agreeing  to  certain  conditions:  (i)  we  should 
travel  on  Sunday,  under  only  the  necessity  of  saving  life  or 
health;  (2)  I  should  handle  no  liquor;  (3)  I  should  be  free,  on 
the  route,  to  hold  religious  meetings  with  the  natives.  My  let- 
ter amused  him;  and  he  agreed.  But,  Secretary  Lowrie  of  the 
Board  in  New  York,  in  his  reply  to  my  request  received  in 
April,  1876,  for  a  temporary  leave  of  absence  (at  no  expense  to 
the  Board)  refused.  I  was  exceedingly  disappointed.  Living- 
stone was  none  the  less  a  missionary  when  he  took  up  the  role  of 
an  explorer.  Had  I  gone  on  that  journey,  the  Kongo  would  have 
been  opened  in  advance  of  Stanley;  and  our  Mission  might 
have  been  the  first  to  enter  the  region  of  the  (present)  Kongo 
Free  State.  Mr.  Walker  then  gave  up  his  plan,  and  remained 
as  a  trader  on  the  Coast. 

There  was  a  distressing  affair  at  Aguma  during  the  afternoon ; 
based  partly  on  that  singular  African  relation  of  white  men's 
position  to  each  other,  to  which  I  referred  above.  It  existed  all 
over  Africa.  Even  Livingstone  preferred  to  travel  alone,  rather 
than  risk  almost  inevitable  quarrel  with  a  white  associate.  Most 
of  Stanley's  troubles  came  from  the  jealousies  of  his  white  com- 
panions, although,  in  joining  his  expeditions,  they  had  signed 
contracts  as  his  subordinates.  Natives  always  drew  a  line  be- 
tween two  white  masters,  the  "  big  "  and  the  "  little."'  And. 
in  the  trade  on  the  Coast,  that  line  of  distinction  was  painfully 
enforced  by  the  white  men  themselves.  Some  tact  and  considera- 
tion and  grace  were  required  to  prevent  it  appearing  in  our  mis- 
sion ranks.  At  Adali-n'-ananga  Mr.  Sinclair,  who  was  very 
kind  and  friendly  with  me.  was  the  subordinate  of  Mr.  Jobet, 
who  was  himself  sub  to  Mr.  Walker.  Air.  Sinclair  had  two 
white  clerks  under  him.  They  all  three  held  sexual  relations 
with  native  women.  But,  Mr.  Sinclair  more  formally  confined 
himself  to  one.  whom  he  retained  in  the  house,  as  his  common- 
law  wife.  I  was  not  supposed  to  take  any  notice  of  her.  nor  did 
she  ever  appear  at  table.     But,  she  was  a  modest,  well-behaved, 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  117 

young  woman.  All  three  white  men  and  the  native  employees 
had  been  drinking,  over  the  Pioneer's  good  arrival.  The  latter 
were  drunk;  the  former  were  only  "  intoxicated."  Mr.  Sinclair's 
chief  clerk  made  some  insulting  remark  to  the  woman ;  she  com- 
plained to  her  protector.  A  quarrel  followed.  Mr.  Sinclair 
ordered  the  clerk  to  leave :  the  latter  refused,  knowing  that  he 
was  needed.  Mr.  Sinclair  then  said  that  he  himself  would  leave. 
He  packed  his  trunks,  and  came  to  my  room,  in  maudlin  tears, 
to  bid  me  good-by.  He  was  not  in  a  state  fit  to  decide  such  an 
important  question.  I  urged  him  about  his  own  commercial 
interests,  and  his  duty  to  the  firm ;  and,  however  wrong  his  rela- 
tion to  the  woman,  I  sympathized  in  his  defense  of  her;  for,  she 
did  not  deserve  the  vile  term  the  clerk  had  flung  at  her. 

At  dinner  that  night,  which  was  an  especially  fine  one  for  the 
presence  of  Agent  Jobet,  after  the  soothing  influence  of  a  good 
meal,  he  made  a  tactful  speech,  sustaining  Mr.  Sinclair  in  his 
authority  as  head  of  the  "  factory,"  but  declining  to  accept  any 
resignations,  and  hoping  that  all  would  lay  aside  personal  ani- 
mosities for  the  good  of  the  great  English  firm  of  H.  &  C. 
And  then,  in  closing,  he  startled  me  by  appealing  to  me  whether 
he  was  not  right.  Every  member  of  the  house,  from  agent 
down  to  the  humblest  clerk,  had  always  treated  me  with  such 
courtesy  and  kindness,  that  I  promptly  responded,  heartily  wish- 
ing the  best  for  H.  &  C,  regretting  that  there  should  be  differ- 
ences among  my  friends,  and  hoping  that  they  would  accept  my 
toast  of  "  Good  will  to  all!  "  even  if  it  was  offered  only  in  my 
invariable  water!  They  at  once  drank  to  it  in  something 
stronger !  Peace  was  restored.  And,  the  evening  passed,  in  an 
orderly  way,  with  singing,  and  checkers,  and  pleasant  chat.  Not 
long  after,  my  friend  justified  himself  by  quietly  parting  with 
the  woman,  and  by  dropping  his  own  use  of  liquor. 

The  next  day,  Tuesday,  November  2,  I  started  up-river  with 
my  two  crafts  heavily  laden.  It  was  a  rather  anxious  day. 
Food  was  needed;  but,  the  crews  were  afraid  to  stop  for  it  on 
the  right  bank,  the  Fanwe  side ;  and,  on  the  left  bank,  with  the 
Bakele,  at  Anyambe-jena's,  their  demands  of  a  price  for  a  re- 
cently killed  gazelle,  were  exorbitant.  A  strong  wind  preceding 
a  rain  made  waves  that  were  dangerous  to  the  canoes,  the  gun- 
wales of  which  were  only  slightly  above  the  water.  I  had 
learned,  by  my  experience  of  the  previous  year  with  canoes,  that, 
under  a  strong  wind,  it  was  wise  to  stop  ashore  until  its  force 
abated.  The  river  was  in  its  highest  semi-annual  flood ; 
Sakwele's  island,  at  which  I  stopped  for  the  night,  was  almost 


u8  MY  OGOWE 

submerged;  but,  the  house  of  Captain  Stone's  native  trader,  in 
which  I  slept,  was  safely  elevated  on  posts. 

It  was  pleasant,  next  day,  to  get  back  among  people  whom  I 
knew.  Stopped  at  various  villages;  at  one  where  a  piece  of 
fresh  antelope  was  bargained  for.  At  Avyake's,  my  friend, 
Bya-utata,  and  other  of  his  women  welcomed  me  warmly.  At 
another  village,  I  was  shown  a  pig  that  had  wandered  into  the 
street  from  the  forest.  It  was  not  of  the  wild  African  kind, 
which  is  red,  and  with  tassels  to  its  ears.  This  was  the  ordinary 
foreign  black  pig,  which  had  been  introduced  to  the  country, 
probably  by  Portuguese.  This  kind  had  gone  to  the  forest 
and  propagated  there;  evidently  it  had  not  lost  entirely  its  mem- 
ory of  domestication. 

1  reached  my  Belambla  late  in  the  afternoon.  Affairs  were 
quiet,  and  all  right.  The  news  of  my  arrival  soon  spread;  and 
Semegwe,  Nandi,  and  others  came  to  salute. 

With  the  materials  on  hand  for  a  real  dwelling-house,  I  began 
work  promptly,  and  with  some  new  rules,  making  for  efficiency : 
hours  from  7  a.  m.  to  11  a.  m.  ;  and  from  1  p.  m.  to  5  p.  m.  A 
great  many  people  came,  with  quantities  of  plantains  and  other 
food,  of  which  I  could  buy  only  a  small  portion.  The  inevitable 
white  ants  had  been  at  work  during  my  absence,  in  my  boxes 
and  trunks,  and  had  spoiled  some  of  my  clothing.  The  more 
urgent  was  the  necessity  for  my  getting  the  house  on  posts, 
which  I  was  planning  for  the  next  January.  This,  indeed,  would 
not  keep  ants  out;  but,  their  approach  could  be  seen  and  daily 
thwarted. 

On  Sunday,  November  7,  people  came,  after  waiting  awhile 
for  them.  I  never  expected  them  to  remain  perfectly  quiet,  like 
a  civilized  audience.  Crying  babies  did  not  disturb  me,  but  talk- 
ing women  did.  I  had  to  stop  and  tell  them  to  behave  them- 
selves. But,  the  younger  people  were  desirous  to  learn.  1 
taught  a  great  deal  in  the  afternoon  until  I  became  very  tired. 

I  had,  by  that  time,  thirteen  young  men  and  lads  living  on 
my  premises,  and  at  work,  either  in  school,  or  in  the  forest  gath- 
ering logs  to  be  squared  for  the  new  house.  There  were  fre- 
quent quarrels  among  them,  due  to  tribal  differences,  as  they 
came  from  four  different  tribes.  Makata  was  one  of  the  worst 
and  noisiest. 

For  ten  days,  about  that  time,  from  November  11  to  21,  I 
was  sick  with  a  heavy  cold,  that  developed  into  bronchitis  and 
almost  pneumonia.  I  lay  in  a  hammock  outdoors,  so  that  T  could 
have  some  slight  over-sight  of  the  work;  and,  that  the  simple 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  119 

fact  of  my  presence  should  preserve  order.  My  people  rarely 
fought  in  my  presence.  The  quarrels  would  develop  while  I 
was  not  with  them  on  their  errands  in  the  forest.  But,  one 
evening-,  two  women  from  Semegwe's  village  passing  along  with 
their  husbands,  fell  to  fighting  on  the  path  near  my  hut.  They 
were  rolling  on  the  ground,  scratching  faces,  pulling  hair,  and 
tearing  at  garments.  An  effort  to  denude  her  opponent  was  the 
objective  point  in  most  female  fights.  Each  knew  that  the 
modesty  of  the  other  would  yield  in  the  contest,  rather  than  be 
stripped  stark  naked  in  public.  (For  that  reason,  when  fights 
were  challenged,  the  contestants  prepared  themselves  by  tying 
on  their  clothes  very  tightly.)  I  did  not  know  the  cause  of  the 
quarrel,  or  which  was  in  the  wrong.  And  was  rather  surprised 
that  the  two  husbands  were  not  more  decided  in  their  efforts  to 
separate  the  combatants.  I  could  not  endure  the  shameful  scene 
on  a  mission  premises.  Weak  as  I  was,  I  arose,  and  advanced 
with  a  switch.  Doubtless  those  women  had  often  been  beaten 
with  the  heavy  hippopotamus-hide  lash.  But,  they  fled,  before 
my  little  switch  could  reach  them.  Something  about  the  white 
man  as  a  "  foreign  spirit  "  probably  gave  them  a  terror  greater 
than  their  husbands'  blows.  The  exertion,  naturally,  made  my 
sickness  worse.  Every  night  I  perspired  profusely ;  but  the 
draughty  hut  added  to  my  cold.  My  thirst  was  extreme.  I 
drank  largely  of  lime-ade. 

A  new  hut  went  up  rapidly,  as  I  had  gathered  all  materials 
ready.  It  was  in  size  24  ft.  by  14  ft.,  as  a  temporary  kitchen 
for  myself,  and  a  room  for  my  employees.  My  Kombe, 
Ikunduku,  faulty  as  he  was,  I  had  to  use,  during  my  sickness, 
to  assist  in  Sunday  services.  He  had  been  educated  at  Benita, 
and  knew  the  way,  even  if  he  did  not  always  follow  it.  In  my 
presence  he  could  conduct  a  service  properly.  Shortly  after  the 
meeting  had  been  dismissed  on  November  21,  a  large  company 
of  people  came,  and.  from  my  hammock,  I  led  a  second  service. 

As  I  was  recovering  on  the  22d,  I  started  a  mixed  crew  on 
an  errand  to  the  Adali-n'-ananga  "  factory."  One  was  an 
Akele,  Jongane.  He  soon  returned,  saying  that,  on  the  way,  in 
passing  Kasa's  village,  the  latter  had  stopped  the  canoe,  and  had 
forbidden  any  of  Randi's  people,  to  go  on  the  journey,  because 
of  a  family  quarrel  with  a  village  farther  down  river.  Those 
quarrels  were  constant  and  very  annoying;  for,  though  I  felt 
sure  that  my  presence  in  the  canoe  would  protect  the  crew,  they 
themselves  were  not  always  so  sure,  and  feared  or  sometimes 
refused  to  go  near  certain  villages.     As,  in  this  case,  Jongane 


120  MY  OGOWE 

said  he  was  not  afraid  and  was  willing  to  go,  I  ordered  him  to 
return  to  the  canoe  and  proceed  with  the  journey.  He  went; 
but  shortly  afterward  came  back,  saying  that  Kasa  had  hindered 
him.  I  was  very  indignant  at  this  most  daring  of  Kasa's  as- 
sumptions over  my  affairs.  The  next  day,  he  came  to  justify 
himself,  arguing  that  he  acted  as  he  did  to  save  me  from  trouble 
if  my  canoe  should  be  seized  by  the  enemies  of  Jongaiie's  family. 
Perhaps  there  was  some  ground  for  his  action.  The  mere  fact 
of  the  canoe  being  mine  might  not  save  it,  when  my  presence 
in  it  would  have  done  so.  For,  that  canoe  that  should  have  re- 
turned in  three  or  four  days,  did  not  finally  return  until  ten  days 
later.  They  came  with  a  long  story  of  how  they  had  been  seized 
at  a  village  near  the  Ngunye  river,  and  had  been  released  only 
through  some  interest  with  Mr.  Sinclair. 

On  Sunday,  November  28,  a  gleam  of  comfort,  in  the  midst 
of  Bakele  apparent  indifference  to  personal  interest  in  my  Mes- 
sage came  when  little  Kimagwe  offered  to  repeat  the  Lord's 
Prayer  in  his  own  Dikele  language.  Many  had  a  desire  to  be 
taught  to  read,  and  I  was  glad  for  that,  even  though  1  knew  that 
their  desire  to  learn  was  only  in  the  line  of  civilization. 

Everything  unusual  in  the  native  African  life  is  made  the 
occasion  for  seeking  gifts,  visits,  journeys,  deaths,  etc.  This 
custom  extended  itself  to  us  foreigners,  especially  if  one,  as  I 
did,  affiliated  myself  as  friend  with  the  people,  in  order  to  win 
them.  The  demands,  though  not  severe,  became  onerous,  in 
their  number  and  frequency.  The  traders  accepted  those  re- 
quests from  fewer  people;  for,  their  dealings  with  the  natives 
were  only  commercial.  King  Ondene  came;  his  begging  was 
not  only  for  himself  as  visitor,  but  also  as  a  mourner  for  the 
recent  death  of  a  brother.  (In  some  tribes,  the  presentations, 
"  for  wiping  away  sorrow,"  were  quite  formal.)  I  took  occa- 
sion to  warn  him  about  witchcraft  murders,  as  I  heard  that  he 
had  put  to  death  two  persons.  Desiring  some  variety  from  the 
constant  tin-can  of  hard  crackers,  and  the  occasional  batter- 
cakes,  I  attempted  myself  to  make  some  biscuits.  How  hard 
and  dyspeptic  they  were!  I  probably  had  put  in  too  much  soda, 
and  had  kneaded  them  unnecessarily. 

When,  on  Deceml>er  2,  my  long-delayed  canoe  returned,  it 
brought  me  a  mail ;  among  the  rest,  a  letter  from  Count  De 
Brazza. 

Work  had  gone  so  well,  notwithstanding  the  constant  tribal 
frictions  of  my  employees,  that,  when,  on  December  8,  their  out- 
houses and  my  new  kitchen  were  completed,  I  gave  them  a  holi- 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  121 

day,  by  taking  them  a  fishing  and  hunting  excursion  far  up 
Mbilye  Creek.  I  shot  a  number  of  birds,  and  gathered  some 
beautiful  orchids.  It  was  a  pleasant  day,  and  we  returned  late, 
with  sharpened  appetites.  ReSingane  fried  me  two  of  the  birds 
very  nicely. 

My  building  operations  had  confined  me  to  Belambla.  I  had 
not  itinerated  since  my  locating  there  in  September.  So,  one 
day  early,  I  took  my  entire  company,  to  visit  the  villages  up 
river.  Stopped  for  late  breakfast  at  Mbomi.  Then,  passed 
Sene,  on  the  way  to  the  "  Osamu-'kita  "  district.  The  current 
was  swift,  with  swirling  eddies  that  made  me  feel  slightly  nau- 
seated. Came  to  the  spot  where  Mr.  Boccaria  was  building  his 
trade-house.  I  had  been  the  most  advanced  among  the  white 
men  of  the  river.  Now,  trade  was  passing  me.  He  was  living 
quite  crowded  in  a  small  shed.  After  a  year's  effort,  I  thought 
my  circumstances  still  were  narrow.  His  were  worse;  but,  in  a 
few  months,  his  narrowness  would  disappear.  Back  of  him  was 
commerce.  Back  of  me  was  only  a  church !  But,  he  had  good 
food.  He  kindly  gave  me  some  nice  pilot-bread  and  a  leg  of 
mutton.  We  went  on  toward  Aleke's  town  of  the  Osamu-'kita 
collection  of  villages.  Was  met  by  a  canoe  of  men  who  sus- 
piciously inquired  our  "  tribe."  My  crew  of  ten  had  representa- 
tives from  four  tribes.  Probably,  those  men  recognized  in  my 
company  a  member  of  some  hostile  family.  After  they  had 
passed  us,  they  turned  and  followed,  as  if  pursuing.  I  did  not 
like  their  action,  and  suspected  that  they  meant  to  quarrel  with 
some  one  of  my  crew.  I  said  nothing  to  them  or  to  the  crew, 
and  quietly  but  ostentatiously  filled  the  magazine  of  my  Win- 
chester full  of  cartridges.  The  men  noticed  my  act,  and  ceased 
their  pursuit. 

I  had  heard  so  much  of  the  "  greatness "  of  Aleke  and 
"  Sam-kita,"  that,  on  my  arrival,  I  was  disappointed  at  his  lack 
in  hospitality.  It  certainly  was  a  large  town.  After  supper, 
which  was  indeed  a  hearty  one  all  around,  a  very  large  company 
of  people  gathered  to  hear  me,  in  the  spacious  ikenga  (public 
reception-room).  In  their  curiosity  they  persisted  in  making 
remarks  among  themselves.  It  was  a  long  time  before  they 
quieted  sufficiently  for  me  to  begin  to  talk.  Just  then,  a  woman 
set  up  a  loud  quarrel  with  a  man;  and  the  meeting  was  broken 
up.  I  complained  sharply  to  Aleke  of  his  indifference ;  for,  as 
head  of  the  town,  he  could  have  compelled  quiet.  I  remained 
all  night.  The  next  morning,  there  were  heavy  rain  clouds. 
When  the  rain  ceased,  I  departed,  giving  Aleke  only  a  small 


122  MY  OGOWE 

gift,  and  being  given  no  attention  by  the  people.  Their  interest 
in  trade  was  so  entire  that  they  did  not  even  dissemble  any  in- 
terest in  myself  or  my  Message.  I  felt  that  Aleke's  was  the 
most  unpleasant  place  at  which  I  had  been,  in  the  river,  except, 
perhaps,  Isagi's  at  Ngumbe. 

As  I  came  on  down-river,  I  stopped  at  Mr.  Boccaria's  to  drink 
a  cup  of  coffee  with  him.  From  all  sources,  wherever  I  could 
gather,  I  was  anxious  to  obtain  information  of  the  geography 
of  the  Ogowe  and  its  relation  to  the  Gaboon.  Mr.  Boccaria  told 
me  positively  (of  which  I  had  been  given  an  intimation  at 
Agonjo  on  the  Rembwe)  that,  starting  from  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  opposite  to  Osamu-'kita,  there  was  a  route,  through 
the  forest,  of  only  two  days'  journey  (partly  by  water)  north- 
ward to  the  Rembwe,  emerging  on  that  river  at  a  village  called 
Ezanga  or  Isanga.  Also,  that  he  knew  of  a  path  (not  known 
to  other  white  men)  from  the  spot  where  he  then  was  building, 
one  day's  journey  southward  to  the  Ngunye.  I  was  more  in- 
terested in  the  Rembwe  route,  for  its  possible  development  of 
communication  with  Gaboon,  in  the  future  of  my  Ogowe  work. 
(That  route  has  since  then  been  described  both  by  traders  and 
by  missionaries.)  But,  I  was  surprised  about  the  proximity 
of  the  Ngunye ;  I  had  not  supposed  that  its  sources  turned  so 
far  northward.  Maps,  at  that  time,  were  quite  inaccurate. 
Even  native  names  were  badly  spelled.  I  interested  my  em- 
ployees often,  out  of  work  hours,  by  their  assisting  me  to  cor- 
rect these.  It  is  true  also,  that  natives  made  history  difficult 
by  taking  with  them  to  a  new  location  the  name  of  their  aban- 
doned town.  Therefore,  a  future  visitor  at  the  new  site,  who 
had  been  told  by  a  traveler  of  events  at  the  old  site,  would  not 
be  able  to  identify  the  surroundings,  e.  g.,  of  streams  and  hills. 
(That  is  true  of  the  present  "  Sam-kita.") 

Kasa.  visiting  at  Ibanyi's  village,  hailed  me  as  I  was  pass- 
ing, and  I  stopped  to  see  him.  With  the  aid  of  a  fetish-"  doc- 
tor," he  was  making  a  "  medicine  "  for  an  elephant  hunt. 

On  Saturday,  December  u,  an  Akele  man,  Mpunga,  who  had 
just  escaped  from  stocks  in  Avyake's  village,  brought  me  news 
that  two  white  men  were  traveling  up-river,  and  were  only  a 
short  distance  away.  This,  of  course,  aroused  my  curiosity  and 
interest  for  possible  visitors.  They  came  the  next  day.  Sunday, 
just  as  I  was  preparing  for  public  services.  They  were  M.  Marche 
and  Doctor  Ballay,  advance  guard  of  the  French  expedition,  on 
their  way  to  Osamu-'kita.  They  brought  me  news  that  the 
Pioneer  might   soon  be  expected   at   Adali-n'ananga ;   and  they 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  123 

passed  on  their  way.  Their  news  decided  me  to  hasten  prepara- 
tions for  my  journey  to  the  Coast,  for  annual  meetings.  Pos- 
sibly I  could  find  passage  on  the  expected  Pioneer! 

On  December  16,  the  workmen  brought  from  the  forest  the 
last  of  the  logs  needed  for  my  real  dwelling,  to  be  built  on  my 
expected  return  from  the  Coast  in  January.  The  next  day  I 
gave  them  a  holiday,  as  I  wished  to  be  rid  of  their  noise,  while 
T  was  making  my  last  arrangements  for  packing,  etc.  The  last 
job  was  to  rake  up  and  burn  (as  a  prevention  of  possible  fire) 
the  rubbish  around  my  huts  and  from  the  site  of  the  proposed 
new  house. 

On  Saturday,  the  18th,  ftwanaja  and  another  woman  came 
early  to  take  charge  of  the  huts  during  my  absence.  In  their 
presence,  that  there  might  be  no  chance  for  dispute,  if  articles 
should  be  lost,  I  made  out  an  inventory  of  goods  left  in  their 
care.  And  then,  started  down  river,  with  a  crew  of  ten,  some 
of  whom  were  to  be  left  at  their  homes  on  the  way.  In  all  my 
journeyings.  whether  for  supplies  or  other  reasons,  I  made  the 
preaching  of  the  Word  prominent.  This  is  true  of  all  the  years 
in  this  record,  even  if  I  do  not  always  mention  it.  Stopped  at 
Avyake's  for  a  late  breakfast.  And,  at  Ranch's  and  Manda's, 
to  inquire  about  their  recent  pursuit  of  my  canoe.  They  made 
a  plausible  explanation.  I  fired  at  and  wounded  a  hippopotamus 
across  the  river,  which  there  is  very  wide :  the  people  were 
amazed  at  the  range  of  the  Winchester.  I  did  not  shoot  for 
butchery;  only  for  food  or  defense.  That  animal,  if  seriously 
wounded,  though  I  failed  to  obtain  it  for  myself  and  my  crew, 
would  be  found  and  eaten  by  others.  I  never  made  threats ; 
but,  such  demonstrations  of  the  effectiveness  of  my  rifle,  I  am 
sure,  had  a  moral  effect  on  the  wild  natives,  that  redounded  to 
my  safety  among  them.  In  later  years,  and  in  more  civilized 
places,  the  gun  was  not  needed  for  that  purpose. 

Stayed  for  the  night,  and  next  day,  Sunday,  at  Anyambe- 
jena's.  It  was  a  very  heathenish  and  noisy  town;  but,  during 
my  Sunday  services  the  people  behaved  better  than  I  expected 
they  would. 

On  the  way,  on  Monday,  instead  of  keeping  the  main  stream, 
I  went  into  the  channel  on  the  left  bank  by  the  Tazie  villages. 
I  did  not  like  the  appearance  of  the  people;  they  looked  as  if 
they  would  make  trouble,  on  slight  provocation.  In  one  village 
was  a  monstrosity,  a  child  with  ears  like  an  elephant's. 

Reached  Mr.  Sinclair's  by  10  a.m.;  and,  after  a  bath  and 
clean  dress,  enjoved  his   11   a.m.  breakfast.     In  the  afternoon, 


i_'4  MY  OGOWE 

joined  Mr.  Sinclair  and  his  Senegalese  clerk.  Mane,  for  a  call 
across,  to  the  river's  left  bank,  on  Count  De  Brazza,  at  the 
Inenga  village  of  King  Ra-Noki,  Lembarene.  (That  name  has 
since  been  given  to  the  French  Post,  three  miles  lower  down- 
river on  the  right  bank.)  The  Count  invited  us  to  remain  for 
evening  dinner.  He  showed  me  the  instruments  of  his  journey, 
for  taking  latitudes  and  longitudes,  for  making  repairs,  etc.,  etc. 
He  and  Dr.  Ballay,  as  Frenchmen  (but  not  as  officials)  signed 
Kasa's  deal  of  sale  to  me  of  the  Belambla  ground.  For  a  camp, 
the  evening  dinner  was  quite  elaborate  in  its  courses.  There 
was  such  a  variety  of  dried  and  compressed  and  desiccated  vege- 
tables and  meats !  Very  pleasant  to  eat,  but,  desiccated  though 
they  were,  the  quantity  needed  for  a  journey  of  months  would 
be  burdensome.  In  his  subsequent  journeys,  ten  years  later, 
my  friend  De  Brazza  learned  to  depend  on  the  food  of  the  coun- 
tries he  passed  through.  Though  sometimes  on  famine  rations, 
the  plan  saved  porterage,  and  left  him  to  quicker  and  more 
rapid  movements  with  a  smaller  body  of  men.  There  was  a 
dog  in  camp  that  attracted  my  attention.  While  I  was  petting 
it,  Dr.  Ballay,  perhaps  only  in  imitation  of  the  extravagance  of 
Arab  hospitality,  said  I  might  have  it.  I  took  him  at  his  word; 
and  mentioned  the  fact  to  the  Count.  He.  perhaps  in  joke, 
claimed  the  dog  as  his.  Then  we  suggested  that  Solomon's  de- 
cision should  settle  the  dispute.  Neither  of  us  yielding,  we 
agreed  that  the  dog  should  be  divided  in  two.  But,  the  joke 
stopped  there ;  for,  he  claimed  the  head,  and  I  was  not  willing 
to  accept  the  tail.  (When,  later,  they  made  their  start  for  the 
far  Interior,  they  felt  that  the  dog  would  be  an  encumbrance; 
and  it  was  given  to  me.) 

In  the  evening,  at  his  house,  Mr.  Sinclair  told  me  the  story 
of  King  Ra-Xoki's  blindness:  As  a  young  man,  coming  into 
power,  he  had  perfect  sight  and  all  his  senses.  He  was  ambi- 
tious. Went  to  a  sorcerer-doctor  to  have  made  for  himself  a 
powerful  fetish-charm  that  would  ensure  him  wealth  and  influ- 
ence. The  sorcerer  told  him  that  only  by  becoming  blind  could 
all  people  be  caused  to  look  up  to  him.  He  accepted  the  condi- 
tion, and  voluntarily  destroyed  his  own  sight  with  a  hot  iron 
rod.  But,  he  obtained  his  wish!  He  had  wealth,  wives,  slaves, 
and  authority.  The  Expedition  had  come  to  him  to  have  him 
use  his  influence  with  the  interior  tribes  so  that  they  should 
make  no  obstructions.  He  was  well  paid;  he  sent  his  people 
to  guide  the  French  canoes  through  the  upper  Ogowe  Rapids: 
and  himself  accompanied,  on  part  of  the  way.     Blind  as  he  was, 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  125 

all  his  other  senses  had  become  so  very  acute,  and  his  memory 
so  clear,  that  he  knew  all  the  channels,  through  which  he  had 
traveled  on  his  slave  journeys  in  his  younger  days;  his  face  felt 
the  presence  of  the  solidity  of  rocks  or  trees  in  front  of  him 
as  compared  with  the  vacuity  of  open  spaces,  and  his  ear  recog- 
nized the  difference  in  the  sounds  of  the  swirl  of  an  eddy,  the 
swish  of  a  wave  around  an  obstacle,  or  the  rush  of  shallow  water 
over  a  reef.  He  was  a  more  successful  pilot  than  those  of  his 
sight-possessing  people.     He  thoroughly  believed  in  his  fetish. 

JOURNEY    TO    THE    SEASIDE. 

There  being  no  certainty  of  the  Pioneer's  coming,  I  started 
on  Wednesday,  December  22,  with  my  company  of  ten  down- 
river, expecting  to  be  met  at  the  river's  mouth,  by  the  Hudson. 
Stopped  at  Schmieder's  house  on  business,  remaining  for  the 
late  breakfast.  On  to  Aveya's  near  Wombalya,  and  added  him 
and  his  little  brother  Onganga.  to  my  company.  Met  Isagi  com- 
ing up-river.  Opposite  Aromba,  met  the  little  steamer  of  Mr. 
Schultze,  agent  of  Woermann  House.  On  to  Oranga,  and 
bought  a  large  quantity  of  a  small  dried  fish ;  and  spent  the  night 
at  a  small  village.  The  next  day,  on  to  Ombyangwana's  at 
Igenja.  On  to  Ashuka,  and  ate  there.  On  to  Avanga,  where 
I  was  well  received ;  meeting  there  a  certain  man  Teno.  On 
to  Ngumbi,  meeting  there  at  anchor,  the  little  steamer  Njega 
towing  the  small  sailing-vessel  Brunette,  laden  with  goods, 
to  establish  a  trading-house  near  Belambla.  After  eating  sup- 
per ashore,  went  off  to  the  Njega,  and  spent  the  evening  with 
the  three  white  men,  Mr.  Schiff,  (Mr.  Schultze's  sub-agent)  his 
clerk,  Mr.  Neilson,  and  the  engineer. 

The  next  day,  the  man,  Teno.  came  to  escort  me  up  a  long 
creek,  to  Dumba,  where  I  vainly  tried  to  get  some  return  for  the 
expense  and  trouble  I  had  gone  to  in  helping  their  Nkami  young 
men  to  a  canoe,  in  the  previous  April.  Came  on  to  Ndogo,  King 
Njagu's  town ;  and,  though  the  hour  was  early,  stopped  there 
for  the  night,  because,  beyond  was  an  uninhabited  stretch,  and 
I  could  not  reach  another  village  before  dark.  (Had  it  been 
dry  season,  I  could  have  stopped  anywhere  in  the  forest.) 
Xjagu  was  affable:  and  my  goods  were  left  in  the  kongongo 
safe,  though  unprotected  by  other  than  the  fact  that  its  owner 
was  guest  of  the  king. 

Saturday,  the  25th,  was  Christmas.  But,  in  Africa,  during 
my  pioneering  years,  the  day  meant  little  to  me.  It  happened 
that,  on  that  day,  I  was  often  on  journey  to  the  seaside  meetings 


126  MY  OGOWE 

of  mission  and  presbytery.  My  crew,  some  of  them,  had  never 
heard  of  the  day;  and  those  who  had,  knew  of  it  only  as  a  time 
for  carousing  among  the  traders.  The  fact  of  the  Birth  of  a 
Savior  was  daily  before  me;  and  in  Civilization,  I  recognized  a 
special  time  for  its  commemoration.  But,  as  to  the  25th 
of  December  having  any  special  sanctity  as  the  actual  anniver- 
sary, I  have  never  believed.  An  unusual  number  of  monkeys 
were  in  sight;  and  I  shot  two  fish-eagles  for  the  crew's  meal. 
It  was  a  long  pull  to  INfango;  the  old  man  there  was  very  foolish 
in  claims  for  tribute,  as  "  king."  Was  pleased  to  meet  there 
a  young  man  who  had  become  civilized  by  former  service  with 
Rev.  Wm.  Walker,  at  Baraka  School,  Libreville. 

On  to  Onanga's,  and  was  warmly  welcomed.  Part  of  the 
warmth  was  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  I  came  to  pay  the  bal- 
ance due  for  the  kongongo.  Having  dropped  at  their  homes  on 
the  way  three  of  my  crew,  I  hurried  on  to  Angala  with  the  re- 
maining seven.  And  stayed  there  over  Sunday,  December  26. 
Chief  Esongi  was  a  very  well-informed  man.  He  had  learned 
much  from  his  contact  with  white  men,  even  though  some  of 
them  were  Portuguese,  to  whom  he  had  sold  slaves.  He  asked 
me  many  curious  questions  about  theology. 

The  next  day,  Monday,  27th,  went  on  seaward,  through  a  new 
one  of  the  many  channels  of  that  part  of  the  Ogowe  Delta. 
How  my  Kombe  men  rejoiced  as  they  came  in  sight  of  their 
familiar  sea!  But  I  began  to  dread  the  possibility  of  my  hav- 
ing to  sail  it  in  that  small  craft,  if  our  cutter  Hudson  should 
happen  not  to  keep  its  appointment  there  for  me.  Saw  a  small 
vessel  resembling  it,  far  out ;  and,  in  a  borrowed  canoe,  sent  mes- 
sengers to  inquire.  Before  they  returned,  late  at  night,  Ejombo 
the  native  assistant  of  Captain  Menkel,  himself  came,  in  a  canoe, 
with  letters  for  me,  to  Schmieder's  little  trading-house,  where  I 
was  waiting!  After  supper,  it  was  a  long  and  dangerous  pull 
out  to  where  the  Hudson  was  anchored  off  the  river's  mouth,  no! 
reaching  it  until  near  1 1  o'clock  that  night.  The  Hudson  started 
at  once,  with  my  kongongo  in  tow.  But.  shortly  after  mid 
night,  was  met  by  a  tornado  that  compelled  it  to  again  anchor 
until  the  storm  was  past.  rJ  ne  progress  of  the  vessel  was  so  slow- 
that  T  was  wearied  and  exhausted  with  seasickness.  (  How  much 
1  suffered  from  it  during  twenty-five  years!)  The  motion  of  a 
boat  was  to  me  less  sickening  than  that  of  a  larger  vessel.  When, 
by  afternoon  of  Wednesday  29,  we  were  off  Pongara  Point,  the 
extreme  left  bank  cape  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gaboon,  1  believed  I 
could  make  quicker  progress  and  with  less  pain  by  paddling.     So, 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  127 

with  my  seven  men,  I  entered  my  little  craft,  and  we  paddled 
across  the  ten  miles  of  the  estuary,  and  were  ashore  by  5  p.  m., 
and  were  welcomed  by  my  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Reading. 
It  was  prayer-meeting  evening.  After  it,  a  visit  on  Rev.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Bushnell,  and  the  reading  of  a  mail  awaiting  me  filled  a 
happy  evening. 

Next  morning,  the  Hudson  came  to  anchor,  and  some  of  my 
goods  were  sent  ashore.  I  had  a  goat,  as  a  present  for  two  of  the 
elder  young  women  in  Mrs.  Bushnell's  school,  Njivo  (Hattie) 
and  Akera.  They,  with  Njivo's  elder  sister,  Anyentyuwe  were 
my  earliest  and  most  attractive  friends  in  that  school.  They 
were  Christians,  and  grew  up  to  useful  matronage  in  the  com- 
munity. The  two  sisters  had  important  places  during  my  Ogowe 
life.  Instead  of  waiting  at  Baraka  for  my  sister  to  come  from 
Benita,  as  I  heard  of  the  aftermath  of  Mr.  Schorsch's  doings 
there,  I  decided  to  go  and  escort  her.  So,  in  the  afternoon  of 
that  Thursday  the  30th,  on  the  Hudson,  I  resumed  the  sea 
journey. 

And,  in  the  very  last  night-hours  of  the  old  year,  came  to  the 
journey's  end  at  anchor  in  the  Mbade  cove  at  Benita.  Went 
ashore  to  Mr.  Menkel's,  and  lay  down  exhausted,  to  sleep  on  a 
lounge. 

The  next  morning,  January  1,  1876,  I  early  sent  a  note  to  my 
sister  at  Bolondo  house,  for  her  boat,  Evangeline,  to  come  for  me. 
While  waiting  for  it,  I  went  to  the  Cemetery,  and  sat  by  the 
graves  of  Mrs.  Nassau  and  my  little  Paull. 

The  Evangeline  brought  me  over  the  two  miles  to  Bolondo  and 
warm  welcomes  from, my  sister  and  her  associate  Miss  Lydia 
Jones.  But.  it  was  distressing  to  listen  to  their  accounts  of  un- 
kindnesses  to  which  they  had  been  subjected  by  the  Benita  peo- 
ple. That  very  day  I  met  a  demonstration  of  it.  A  yellow- 
faced  young  man,  Bokamba,  from  Sipolo  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  had  an  altercation  with  my  sister  about  the  price  of  a  fowl. 
Indignant  at  his  violent  words  to  her.  I  rebuked  him ;  and  then  he 
turned  on  me  with  a  knife !  In  the  evening,  a  long  consultation 
with  the  two  ladies  about  Benita  affairs.  The  Benita  that  I  and 
my  successor  Rev.  S.  H.  Murphy  had  built  up  so  happily  and  ef- 
fectively during  its  first  eight  years  was  apparently  ruined  by  the 
monomaniac  Schorsch.  The  two  ladies  were  reaping  some  of  the 
aftermath  of  the  ill-will  of  the  people  at  his  removal,  aimed  at 
them  in  the  absence  of  myself  the  prime  mover  against  him. 
(That  evil  has  long  ago  been  wiped  out,  and  Benita  church  has 
now  a  fine  record.     But,  I  have  never,  even  to-dav,  been  able  to 


128  MY  OGOWE 

meet  the  Benita  people  without  a  pained  memory  of  that  past.) 

On  Sunday,  January  2,  we  went  to  the  church  at  Mbade,  and  I 
preached  from  Genesis  ii,  7 ;  and,  in  the  evening-  at  Bolondo 
from  Revelation,  i,  10. 

The  next  day,  old  Chief  Aka  and  young-  Beduka  came  to  call 
on  me.  I  protested  to  them  against  the  violent  acts  of  some  of 
the  Kombes  toward  my  sister.  They  asserted  that  those  acts 
were  exceptional  and  not  approved  of  by  the  people  at  large. 
But,  I  did  not  accept  their  explanations.  They  were  not  Chris- 
tians. There  was  no  foreign  government  at  Benita ;  we  looked 
to  the  Kombe  chiefs  for  protection;  Aka  himself  was  a  chief;  I 
could  not  accept  his  statement  that  "  Benita  people  "  did  not 
"  approve  "  of  the  acts  of  which  I  had  complained,  the  while  that 
"  Benita  people  "  did  not  punish  the  offenders.  Mwanyatye-Tom 
also  came  to  talk  with  me  about  those  same  affairs.  He  was  a 
church-member,  and  a  young  man  of  influence. 

Tuesday,  January  4,  was  occupied  with  loading  the  Hudson, 
for  a  return  to  Libreville.  My  Kombe  men  remained  at  their 
homes.  That  night,  with  my  sister  and  Miss  Jones.  I  embarked. 
Stopped,  on  the  6th,  at  Elongo  Station,  Corisco  Island,  to  visit 
the  De  Heer  family.  Preached  for  Rev.  C.  De  Heer  on  Sunday. 
"  Godly  sorrow  that  needeth  not  to  be  repented  of.'' 

On  Monday.  January  10,  with  the  addition  of  Melumu.  a 
Benga.  who  entered  my  employ  for  the  Ogowe,  resumed  the 
voyage  to  Libreville  on  the  evening  of  the  nth. 

Our  annual  meetings  were  begun  on  Thursday,  the  13th.  At 
their  close  on  Wednesday,  the  19th.  a  reception  was  arranged  at 
Mrs.  Bushnell's,  for  the  French  Commandant.  Besides  Mrs. 
Bushnell,  there  were  our  mission  ladies  present.  Misses  Nassau. 
Tones,  Lush,  and  Dewsnap,  also  a  visitor.  Miss  Johnson,  of  the 
Scotch  U.  P.  Mission  at  Calabar,  whose  knowledge  of  French 
made  her  efficient  as  interpreter.  The  Commandant  seemed  not 
to  be  on  very  good  terms  with  the  Jesuit  Mission  of  Gaboon.  On 
the  20th,  I  heard  that  Mr.  Boccaria  was  dead  at  the  Plateau,  hav- 
ing come  there  sick  from  the  Ogowe.  1  knew  of  the  excesses  of 
his  dissolute  life.  I  did  not  wonder  at  his  death.  But.  I  re- 
gretted that  it  added  another  to  the  statistics  that  were  sent  out  to 
the  world  as  (unjustly)  proving  that  .Africa  was  a  necessarily 
fatal  country  for  white  people  to  reside  in.  But.  he  had  been 
kind  to  me:  and  T  went  to  his  funeral.  Xot  being  quite  well  my- 
self. T  rode  on  the  Baraka  horse.  That  was  the  first  Roman 
Catholic  funeral  T  rememl>er  ever  to  have  attended. 

A    romance    was    revealed,    in    which    I    took    some    interest. 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  129 

Petiye,  a  Kombe,  handsome,  polite,  well-educated,  Christian,  a 
pupil  of  my  sister  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  attending  as  her 
escort  from  Benita,  was  discovered  in  a  lover's  correspondence 
with  Akera,  one  of  the  prettiest,  most  vivacious,  lady-like,  and 
educated  young  women  of  the  Baraka  Mpongwe  School.  There 
was  no  impropriety  in  the  correspondence  or  their  association ; 
and  I  encouraged  them,  going  so  far  as  to  suggest  an  elopement. 
But,  the  Bushnells  understood  better  than  I  at  that  time,  the  inten- 
sity of  the  Mpongwe  tribal  feeling  against  allowing  their  daugh- 
ters to  marry  any  member  of  any  "  lower  "  tribe,  however  good 
or  noble  he  might  be.  They  could  marry  only  in  their  own 
Mpongwe  or  Orungu  (or  possibly  Xkami)  tribe,  or  become  com- 
mon-law wives  of  white  men.  (By  whom  they  were  sought  for 
100  miles  up  and  down  the  coast.) 

After  preaching  in  the  morning  of  Sunday,  January  23.  on 
Noah's  dove  of  peace,  I  was  called  by  Mrs.  Bushnell  to  interfere 
in  a  savage  fight  going  on  in  the  yard  between  two  of  my  Gal- 
was,  Aveya  and  Akaga.  Often  in  the  Ogowe,  I  had  seen  my 
employees  quarrels;  they  had  always  yielded  to  my  command. 
But,  that  day  I  was  scandalized,  I  and  my  people  being  Dr.  Bush- 
nell's  guests.  Aveya  yielded:  but  Akaga  was  so  wild  as  utterly 
to  disregard  me.  I  had  to  violently  seize  him,  and  roughly  flung 
him  into  his  house,  and  threaten  with  the  French  police  if  he 
emerged  without  my  permission. 

We  were  all  waiting  for  the  coming  of  delegates  from  adjacent 
missions,  whom  our  mission  had  invited  to  a  convention,  for  the 
discussion  of  missionary  topics.  While  waiting,  I  was  prepar- 
ing a  musical  program.  My  guitar,  which  I  had  brought  with 
me  to  Corisco  in  1861,  and  which  had  been  of  service  there  and  at 
Benita.  but  for  which  there  had  been  no  place  in  my  Ogowe  hut, 
I  had  left  stored  at  Baraka.  In  tuning  the  strings  up  to  their 
proper  pitch,  their  tense  draft  tore  the  neck  from  the  body.  The 
dampness  of  the  climate,  while  it  was  in  storage,  had  softened  the 
gluing  of  the  joints,  and  the  instrument  fell  to  pieces.  (As  my 
violoncello  had  done  in  187T.)  I  mourned  over  my  guitar  al- 
most as  I  would  have  for  a  human  friend.  It  had  been  my  com- 
panion for  twenty  years.  It  had  given  pleasure  to  many  social 
gatherings;  the  sentiments  of  its  songs  had  given  relief  to  my 
often  saddened  heart :  really,  when  alone,  I  had  touched  its  strings 
as  I  would  have  spoken  to  an  intimate  loving  friend;  for,  in  the 
choice  of  keys  and  chords  I  could  give  utterance  to  sensitive  feel- 
ings as  I  was  unwilling  to  do.  at  that  time,  to  any  human  as- 
sociate. 


130  MY  OGOWE 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  29th,  our  convention  visitors  came  on 
the  steamer  Kongo.  They  were  the  Rev.  Dandeson  Coates 
Crowther  and  wife,  of  the  English  Episcopal  Mission  at  Bonny ; 
the  Rev.  Hugh  Goldie  and  wife,  of  the  Scotch  U.  P.  Mission  at 
old  Calabar ;  Rev.  Messrs.  Samuel  Griffiths  and  Theophilus  Parr, 
of  the  English  Primitive  Methodist,  of  Fernando  Po;  and  Rev. 
Messrs.  Robert  Smith  and  Joseph  J.  Fuller  and  Mrs.  Fuller  of  the 
English  Baptist  Mission  on  the  Cameroons  (Kamerun)  River. 
Letters  of  regret  at  being  unable  to  attend  were  received  from 
Rev.  Messrs.  J.  Milum  and  J.  B.  Wood  of  Lagos,  and  the  Right 
Rev.  S.  Ajai  Crowther,  D.  D.,  Anglican  Bishop  of  the  Nile  re- 
gion. There  were  very  instructive  essays  read  on  assigned 
topics,  followed  by  interesting  discussions  covering  several  days ; 
and  helpful  discourses  in  the  evenings. 

RETURN    TO    THE    OGOWE. 

On  Monday,  February  7,  with  goods,  supplies,  and  material  for 
my  new  house,  dog  "  Brownie  "  given  me  by  Mr.  Menkel  at 
Benita,  and  the  company  of  my  crew  of  the  kongongo  which  was 
in  tow,  I  was  given  passage  for  the  Ogowe  on  the  Pioneer,  by 
courtesy  of  its  new  master,  Captain  De  Grauchy  and  Messrs. 
Woodward  and  Dixon. 

The  Njegd  was  in  pursuit,  and  passed  us  on  the  next  day.  Its 
schooner,  under  sail,  was  also  in  sight.  Anchored  at  the  Nazareth 
mouth  of  the  river,  in  the  evening.  Entering  the  river  the  next 
morning,  Wednesday.  February  9,  we  reached  Adalinananga  on 
the  14th. 

How  rapid  the  changes  in  the  river,  since  I  had  first  entered  it 
eighteen  months  before !  At  that  time,  there  were  in  the  river, 
all  told,  only  five  white  men.  Now  there  were  two  dozen,  the 
number  of  firms  rushing  into  the  harvest  of  rubber,  was  increased, 
and  many  new  trading-houses  were  being  built,  some  of  them  out- 
distancing me  beyond  Belambla.  Ten  of  us  were  gathered  at 
Mr.  Sinclair's  dinner-table  on  evening  of  the  15th.  I  wish  to  put 
on  record,  that,  whatever  may  have  been  objectionable  in  the 
private  life  of  these  and  other  traders,  their  successors  in  subse- 
quent years,  their  conversation,  deportment,  and  actions  in  my 
presence  were  always  considerate  of  my  ministerial  character. 

I  finally  succeeded  in  engaging  several  new  Galwas.  And.  on 
Thursday,  February  17,  started  late  in  my  kongongo  with  a  crew 
of  five,  myself  at  the  rudder.  There  were  rumors  of  quarrels 
and  wars  up-river,  due  to  local  jealousies  over  trade  and  the  lo- 
cation (i.  e.  "  possession  ")  of  white  men.     My  crew  was  afraid 


THE  BELAMBLA  HUT  131 

and  I  yielded  to  their  fear,  by  stopping  for  our  lunch,  in  the  for- 
est, opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Ngunye.  And,  again,  I  yielded 
to  them,  to  avoid  the  village  on  the  right  bank  (whose  people  had 
seized  the  kongongo  some  months  before),  and  skirted  along  the 
left  bank;  passed  Tazie;  and  passed  Anyambe-jena's,  though 
darkness  was  approaching.  There  were  signs  of  rain,  and  the 
wind  was  strong.  It  was  now  my  turn  to  fear.  There  was  real 
ground  for  fear,  in  the  rough  water  the  wind  was  rising.  But 
the  crew  pulled  well ;  for,  they  wished  to  reach  the  safe  shelter, 
on  Sakwele's  Island,  of  Schmieder's  house.  His  native  trader 
there  I  found  keeping  an  ingenious  calendar.  In  a  small  shingle 
he  had  bored  seven  holes,  with  the  names  of  the  days  opposite  to 
them.  To  the  shingle  was  tied  by  a  string  a  peg.  Each  morn- 
ing he  shifted  the  peg  to  the  next  hole.  Though  not  a  Christian, 
he  knew  therefore  when  Sunday  came. 

The  next  day,  there  was  the  excitement  of  nearing  home,  even 
the  dreaded  hippopotami  seemed  to  welcome  me ;  certainly,  they 
bellowed !  A  passing  canoe,  with  hundreds  of  turtle  eggs,  ex- 
claimed, "O!  here  is  our  white  man!"  On  to  Avyake's  in  a 
heavy  rain.  (At  the  Coast,  it  would  still  really  be  "dry"  sea- 
son.) He  was  not  at  home;  but  his  women  welcomed  me.  So, 
also,  at  other  villages ;  even  by  the  young  man  who  had  stolen  the 
sheet  some  months  before.  And,  finally  at  Belambla,  Mokumi 
fired  a  salute  of  guns.  And  Nwanaja  reported  all  my  goods 
safe. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    BELAMBLA    HOUSE MARCH,     l8/6 

THE  very  next  clay,  February  19,  I  was  anxious  to  get  to 
work  at  my  house-building.  For  this  was  the  third  trip 
to  the  sea-coast,  on  which  I  had  been  delayed  twice  as 
long  as  I  had  expected.  But,  I  had  to  sit  and  receive  visitors  all 
day ;  ftandi  and  his  people ;  Ondeiie  and  his.  He  vexed  me,  by 
asking  me  for  rum !  How  rum  was  ingrained  into  their  ideas 
of  white  men!  And,  how  little  I  seemed  to  have  impressed  them 
by  my  frequent  assertions  that  I  did  not  deal  in  rum !  Surely, 
they  seemed  to  think,  that,  though  the  missionary  does  not  sell 
it,  he  will  hand  it  out  a  drink  to  us,  as  a  matter  of  common  hos- 
pitality of  the  river!  For,  had  not  some  of  them  seen  me  sit- 
ting in  company  of  white  men  who  were  drinking  it?  And,  was 
it  not  true,  that  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  not  only  drank  it. 
but  also  bought  and  sold  with  it?  That  Saturday  was  the  first 
night  in  my  Ogowe  life  that  I  slept  on  a  mattress,  one  of  my 
new  treasures  just  brought  from  the  Coast. 

On  Monday,  21st,  Kasa  presented  with  me  a  young  gorilla, 
alive,  in  good  health,  small,  not  weighing  over  twenty  pounds. 
It  was  tame,  but  got  angry,  like  a  spoiled  child,  when  its  wishes 
were  crossed.  If  I  had  been  only  a  naturalist,  in  the  collecting 
business,  it  would  have  been  worth  to  me.  in  those  early  days  of 
gorilla  investigation,  if  safely  landed  in  Liverpool,  $t,ooo.  I 
wished  that  I  could  send  the  animal  to  America !  Ekange  re- 
ported to  me  the  number  of  days  of  his  service  during  my  ab- 
sence. He  had  cut  a  notch  on  a  bamboo  stick  for  each  day. 
He  reckoned  58  notches,  saying  that  he  had  lost  only  4 
days.  ftwanaja  was  satisfied  with  a  gift  of  $3  (trade)  for 
the  two  months'  care  of  my  house.  (She  said  that  she  had  not 
done  it  for  "pay.'')  And.  I  presented  her  with  a  dress,  which 
Miss  Lush  of  Baraka  had  given  me  for  her. 

T  was  given  an  explanation  of  the  meaning  of  a  boat-song, 
whose  Fnglish  1  had  often  heard,  but  had  not  recognized.  "  Pass 
'way!  "  "  'Way!  pass!  "  It  was  a  salutation  to  the  spirits  of  the 
locality  that  was  being  passed. 

On  Friday.  25th,  Captain  Stone's  little  steamer  Oriingu,  that 

1.^ 


THE  BELAMBLA  HOUSE  133 

had  gone  up-river  with  quite  a  tow  of  boats  to  his  new  trading- 
house,  stopped  for  me,  on  his  way  back,  and  took  the  gorilla  for 
me  to  Libreville,  to  be  forwarded  to  the  United  States,  as  a  gift 
to  the  Philadelphia  Zoological  Garden.  (It  never  reached  its  des- 
tination. It  had  to  pass  through  too  many  hands.  Such  pre- 
cious articles  are  safe  only  in  the  care  of  the  owner  or  a  paid 
employee.)  Ekange,  to  whom  I  had  given  special  care  and  in- 
struction, deserted.  We  had  had  no  difficulty.  But,  what  he 
had  learned  made  him  available  as  a  trader's  valet,  with  whom 
he  would  obtain  wages  far  beyond  what  I  could  give.  This  was 
a  constant  experience  in  our  mission  schools.  Very  much  as 
young  men  in  civilization  employ  their  acquired  knowledge  for 
advancements  as  clerks  in  a  store,  rather  than  as  preachers  in  a 
pulpit.  But,  I  was  distressed  at  the  apparently  little  hold  I  was 
obtaining  on  the  Bakele.  In  singing  hymns  in  the  evenings  with 
my  English-speaking  young  men,  the  Benga  —  Mbiko,  Melumu, 
and  the  Mpongwe,  ReTeno,  I  discovered  that  my  own  hitherto 
unused  book  (unused,  because  I  had  had  no  companions  who  could 
sing  English)  contained  two  songs,  "Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth 
by,"  and  "  Home  of  the  soul,"  which  I  had  first  heard  at  the 
convention  at  Baraka. 

I  soon  observed  a  change  in  the  Bakele.  Few  came  to  my  hut, 
and  but  little  was  brought  for  sale  of  food,  or  bamboo  for  build- 
ing. My  first  feeling  was  one  of  depression,  lest  there  was  some 
personal  influence  or  ill-feeling  against  me.  But,  after  a  while, 
I  recognized  the  real  cause,  in  the  sudden  increase  of  the  number 
of  traders,  both  foreign  and  native.  So  many  had  come  simul- 
taneously, and  paying  larger  prices,  and  higher  wages  than  I  had 
been  giving.  Even  my  own  Galwa  employees,  who  had  sought 
engagement  with  me,  and  who  had  seemed  satisfied  with  the 
wages  I  stipulated,  now  asked  for  a  raise.  They  were  restless 
because  they  saw  that  the  traders'  boat-crews  were  obtaining  the 
same  wages  ($4  per  month),  and  were  doing  no  house-build- 
ing or  anything  else,  while  lying  in  the  villages.  They  forgot 
that  those  crews  were  journeying  in  their  canoes  every  few  days, 
and  my  journeys  were  rare.  King  Ondene  presented  me  with 
two  large  pieces  of  dried  elephant  meat.  At  best,  elephant  meat 
is  coarse  in  fiber,  and  has  a  rank  odor.  Those  pieces  had  been 
so  poorly  dried,  that  they  were  impossible  for  me.  But,  my 
workmen  were  pleased  to  have  them. 

On  March  2,  Dr.  Ballay  stopped  to  make  a  polite  call,  on  his 
way  down-river,  in  company  with  a  large  number  of  interior 
Okanda  people.     He  mentioned  that  the  explorer,  Dr.  Lenz,  was 


i34  MY  OGOWE 

at  Lope,  ioo  miles  farther  in  the  Interior.  And,  in  the  after- 
noon, a  canoe  of  Akandas  from  Dr.  Lenz,  passed  down,  for  a 
load  of  supplies  from  Adalinananga.  How  all  this  impressed  me 
with  thought  of  the  number  of  men,  the  efficiency  of  influence, 
and  the  power  of  wealth  that  were  back  of  these  commercial 
and  scientific  movements,  while  I  was  hampered  at  every  step. 
Almost  every  day,  there  was  some  confusion  or  dissatisfaction. 
Ajufie  came  to  get  his  pay;  and  left.  He  had  not  worked  on 
even  seven  days;  yet  he  produced  a  tally-stick  with  ten  notches, 
and  asserted  that  he  had  worked  ten  days !  It  was  not  often  that 
my  employees  made  such  palpable  lies.  Of  course.  I  did  not  yield. 
He  accepted  his  proper  pay ;  and,  I  was  glad  to  have  him  go.  The 
Galwas  were  complaining  of  hard  work,  dragging  logs  to  be 
squared  as  sills  for  the  house.  There  was  trouble  also  about 
food;  not  as  to  quantity  (in  that  I  was  just)  but  that  the  mess- 
mate did  not  have  it  ready  promptly!  Some  tribes,  or  individuals 
in  tribes,  used  as  their  staple  staff  of  life  only  cassava;  others, 
only  plantains.  I  could  not  always  supply  both.  The  traders 
had  no  such  difficulties;  their  better-paid  servants  took  what  was 
given  them,  or  a  lash:  for,  if  one  disliked  his  ration  he  could 
always  get  rum  with  which  the  ration  was  easily  supplemented. 

The  young  Mpongwe  man,  ReTeno,  from  Baraka,  who  had  un- 
willingly yielded  to  Dr.  Bushnell's  urgency  that  he  should  join 
me,  could  have  been  of  great  assistance  by  his  knowledge  of  a 
civilized  household's  affairs.  But  he  had  no  interest  in  the 
missionary  side  of  my  work ;  and  grumbled  about  having  to  do 
without  his  coast-tribe  comforts,  forgetful  of  the  greater  sacri- 
fices I  was  making. 

I  went,  on  Saturday,  March  4,  to  hold  a  prayer-meeting  in 
Njamakiluma's  village.  The  people  were  not  attentive.  On  my 
return,  passing  through  Ranch's  village,  I  saw  a  woman  and  a 
little  boy,  in  stocks,  on  a  witchcraft  charge. 

As  the  Bakele  had  no  clocks,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  value  of 
time,  I  changed  my  tactics  for  the  Sundays.  Instead  of  having 
one  public  hour-service  in  the  morning,  and  a  similar  hour  for 
afternoon  Sabbath  school,  waiting  often  for  a  convenient  num- 
ber to  gather.  I  accepted  them  as  they  came,  by  twos  and  tens, 
at  any  hour  all  day.  In  that  way  Sunday,  the  5th,  was  passed, 
hirst  came  a  Benga  man  with  some  Bakeles.  As  he  had  been  in 
our  Coast  Mission  School.  I  invited  him  to  remain  to  my  noon 
meal.  Then,  Chief  Walinja,  on  his  way  to  the  witchcraft  palaver 
at  ftandi's,  where  there  was  much  shouting  all  day.  After- 
wards, some  people  from  Myangane's.     Then,  the  trader  Dose 


THE  BELAMBLA  HOUSE  135 

and  his  crew.  My  Mbiko  man,  Melumu,  from  Corisco  Island, 
had  been  well-taught  by  Rev.  C.  De  Heer,  and  was  useful  in  my 
little  Sunday-school.  (He  could  have  risen  to  permanent 
prominence  and  usefulness ;  but,  some  years  later,  pride  and 
polygamy  led  him  away.  For  a  long  time,  though  outside  of 
church  communion,  he  tried  to  make  Christianity  and  polygamy 
consistent. ) 

On  Monday,  March  6,  leaving  Melumu  in  charge,  I  had  to  go 
to  Adalinananga  for  supplies.  Stopped  at  various  villages  on 
the  way  (as  was  my  custom  on  journeys).  At  Manda's,  I 
found  a  man  accused  of  witchcraft,  closely  held  in  foot-stocks  and 
neck-sticks.  •  I  plead  for  his  life.  At  the  trading-house  that 
night  with  Mr.  Travis  (in  Mr.  Sinclair's  place)  I  sat  down  to 
write  letters  to  the  United  States ;  but  was  called  away  by  a  mes- 
senger who  came  in  a  canoe  from  Mr.  Schmieder's.  I  went,  and 
found  him  alone,  and  sick  with  dysentery,  complicated  with 
strange  cramp  pains  in  his  chest.  He  looked  badly.  I  suspected 
native  poison.  Such  things  were  done  sometimes  in  revenge. 
I  pitied  him,  whatever  his  life  had  been.  He  had  shown  kind- 
ness to  me.  He  was  alone,  with  no  one  to  attend  to  him ;  I  re- 
mained all  night  with  him. 

The  next  day,  at  Aguma,  a  little  boy,  Mwarogase,  who  said  he 
was  a  s*on  of  the  late  Galwa  King  Nkombe  (Sun),  asked  for  serv- 
ice. He  was  too  small ;  so,  I  took  him  as  a  schoolboy.  I  liked 
his  smile.      (He  remained  with  me,  off  and  on,  many  years.) 

The  following  day,  Mr.  Schiff  called  on  me,  and  asked  me  to 
delay  my  return  up-river  one  day,  kindly  offering  to  tow  me,  as 
himself  was  going.  But,  I  started ;  for,  I  was  anxious  to  get 
back  to  my  house-building,  although  it  was  a  stormy  season. 

I  reached  Sakwele's  house  on  "  Goree  "  Island,  native  name, 
Nenge-sika  (island  of  wealth),  and  was  welcomed  by  him  and 
his  woman  Akanda.  I  did  not  have  a  good  rest;  for,  late  at 
night  there  was  a  cry  of  robbery.  A  thief  was  caught,  who  had 
stolen  Kombora's  iron  pot.  The  next  morning,  I  quite  approved 
of  his  being  tied  and  beaten.  On  to  Manda's,  where  we  cooked 
our  late  breakfast  at  a  little  hamlet,  near  his  beach.  On  to 
Avyake's  who  gave  me  a  sheep.  On  to  Myangane's,  who  gave 
me  cassava.  To  another  village,  where  I  bought  plantains, 
There  was  news  of  a  fight  between  the  Senegal  Goree  traders 
and  the  Bakele  of  Mbilye  creek. 

As  I  approached  Belambla,  there  was  an  oppressive  quiet. 
The  villages  were  in  fear  of  war.  At  my  hut,  Melumu  gave  me 
an  account  of  two  attempts  at  theft  while  I  was  away.     Nwanaja 


136  MY  OGOWE 

came;  and  while  she  was  still  continuing  her  call,  Mr.  Schiff 
arrived  at  noon,  on  his  way  up-river.  As  he  had  offered  me  a 
tow.  I  had  him  remain  to  lunch,  making  a  special  spread  for  him. 
ftwanaja  also  was  fed.  Ondefie's  wife  also  came,  for  a  dress  I 
had  promised  her :  for,  it  was  too  much  for  her  dignity  that  "  the 
King's  wife"  had  no  dress,  while  "  Chief  "  Kasa's  had  two! 

With  difficulty  could  I  obtain  food  for  my  employees  for  over 
Sunday.  Xot  that  there  was  any  scarcity,  but  the  war-scare 
had  made  the  women  afraid  to  go  to  their  plantations.  With  the 
mercuriality  of  the  Xegro  race  (perhaps  also  with  my  own  vari- 
ations of  health),  some  days  were  delightfully  free  from  com- 
plaints, insubordination,  or  fights.  On  Friday.  March  17,  all 
started  to  work  in  good  humor  and  good  time  And  men  came 
unexpectedly  to  sell  needed  building  materiels  in  unusual  quan- 
tities. So.  after  work  was  done,  in  the  evening,  I  amused  my 
people  by  romping  with  them,  renewing  my  university  athletics  in 
jumping  over  logs,  etc.  The  voluntary  lessons  at  night  were 
good.  Good  humor  seemed  also  to  have  spread  to  the  adja- 
cent villages.  Their  shouts  and  gun-firing  were  not  of  an  angry 
tone.  Firing  of  guns  was  ever  a  part  of  Akele  demonstration  of 
all  or  any  feeling,  whether  of  joy  or  grief! 

Saturday.  March  18,  was  a  marked  day  in  my  house-building. 
After  weeks  of  prq>aration  in  collecting  materiel,  the  first  foun- 
dation post  was  set.  As  the  hole  was  dug.  I  was  interested  to  note 
that,  in  a  depth  of  less  than  four  feet,  the  spade  passed  through  a 
thin  black  surface  loam,  then  stiff  yellow  clay,  then  streaks  of 
reddish  clay  mixed  with  quartz  pebbles.  I  was  beginning 
to  keep  records  of  the  Fahrenheit  thermometer.  At  3  p.  m. 
of  the  19th.  it  marked  89°  :  a  heavy  tornado  came  up  about  4:45 
p.  m..  and  the  mercury  went  down  to  780.  (Such  storms  are  al- 
ways preceded  by  a  fall  in  temperature.  Nothing  in  the  African 
climate  ever  affected  me  so  unpleasantly  as  those  falls.  Unless 
T  promptly  wrapped  myself,  I  would  have  a  chill.)  That  change 
of  io°  would  be  the  equivalent  of  a  fall  of  20"  or  30  in  the 
United  States. 

On  March  24.  King  Ondene  came  with  a  retinue  of  his  peo- 
ple. All  native  houses  (and  most  of  those  of  foreigners,  in  the 
river,  up  to  that  date)  were  built  level  with  the  ground.  Even 
where  the  foreigners'  houses  had  a  plank  floor,  it  was  probably 
only  a  few  inches  above  the  clay,  lie  came  to  see  the  new  idea 
of  a  house  elevated  on  posts  four  or  five  feet  above  the  ground. 
His  curiosity  and  delight  was  almost  boyish,  at  sight  of  the  use 
of  a  spirit-level,  and  of  the  efficiency  of  a  one-man  cross-cut  saw 


THE  BELAMBLA  HOUSt  137 

that  had  been  given  me  by  my  friend  Mr.  Wright  of  Tacony,  Pa. 
Other  people  came  under  the  same  curiosity,  with  Mawale  from 
Mbilye. 

Regularly  I  gave  Saturday  afternoon  to  my  workmen ;  not  so 
much  for  their  sake,  or  for  any  deserts  on  their  part.  But  be- 
cause I  always  took  that  time  to  go  to  the  villages,  if  I  went  on 
no  other  days,  to  notify  them  of  the  approaching  Sunday  and  its 
services.  They  kept  no  record  of  time ;  Sunday  had  no  claims  on 
them,  especially  as  they  did  not  know  when  it  came  around.  By 
my  notification,  I  saved  myself  the  annoyance  of  their  bringing 
articles  for  sale  on  that  day.  Having  two  professing  Christians 
with  me,  I  sent  them,  Melumu  and  ReTeno,  on  the  25th,  to  hold  a 
meeting  at  Semegwe's,  while  I  went  to  Walinja's. 

With  their  aid  also,  I  gave  the  Sunday-school  a  more  organized 
form  than  it  had  had.  The  evening  singing  became  more  attrac- 
tive. And,  there  was  aroused  actually  a  spirit  of  emulation  when 
I  gave  my  household  a  report  of  their  success  or  failure  in  their 
week's  lessons. 

It  was  difficult  to  make  the  natives  understand  that  my  pur- 
chase of  Belambla  included  the  ownership  of  the  trees  that  grew 
on  it,  and  the  animals  living  on  it.  As  to  the  ground,  my  right 
was  fully  recognized;  there  was  (up  to  that  time)  no  attempt  to 
build  on  it.  But,  occasionally,  I  heard  an  axe ;  and,  on  investiga- 
tion, found  some  one  felling  a  tree.  On  Monday,  27th,  while 
Ibanyi  and  a  crowd  of  his  people  were  visiting,  there  came  also 
Ivinene  and  his  people.  Then  I  heard  a  dog's  bark  and  human 
voices  with  the  shout  of  hunting.  I  went  to  investigate,  and 
found  two  of  Nandi's  men.  As  they  persisted,  I  hastened  back 
to  the  hut,  and  got  my  rifle  with  intent  to  shoot  the  dog.  Ivinene 
sustained  me ;  but,  to  save  the  animal,  he  followed  me,  and 
shouted  to  the  men  a  warning.  I  pursued  the  dog's  voice  to  the 
outline  of  my  premises.  There  I  stopped,  making  a  dramatic 
recognition  of  the  same  right  against  trespass  on  others  which  I 
was  claiming  for  myself. 

I  did  not  see  the  women  use  flowers  as  ornaments.  I  rather 
wondered  that  they  did  not.  On  March  28,  Shvanaja  and  seven 
other  women,  led  by  one  man.  with  palm-leaves  in  their  hair, 
and  ferns  around  their  shoulders,  came  marching  to  my  door, 
and,  with  much  form,  seated  themselves.  They  said  they  had 
come  for  gifts ;  that  they  were  on  a  dancing-  tour  of  the  villages, 
and  were  on  their  way  to  King  Ondene's,  for  the  same  purpose. 
I  could  not  understand  whether  their  dance  was  merely  for 
amusement,   or  whether  it  had   some  superstitious   significance. 


138  MY  OGOWE 

But,  since  the  days  of  Herod  and  Salome,  women  have  danced 
for  a  gift! 

I  had  to  make  a  hasty  journey,  on  March  29,  down  to  Aguma 
trading-house,  to  bring  a  load  of  window- frames  and  other  ma- 
teriel I  had  left  there.  As  usual,  I  stopped  at  villages,  to  hold  at 
least  short  meetings.  At  Myangane's,  they  were  unusually  su- 
perstitious. They  listened  to  my  talk ;  but,  when  I  closed  my  eyes 
in  prayer,  most  of  them  ran  away.  Some  undefined  fear  of  my 
talking  to  a  "  spirit  "!  On  my  return  journey,  March  31,  I  was 
seized  with  a  severe  toothache.  At  Avyake's,  on  April  1,  I  gave 
a  cloth  to  the  woman  Bya-utata.  She  was  the  only  one  there 
who  manifested  any  interest.  She  asked  me  why  I  did  not  al- 
ways have  a  service  there,  instead  of  (as  sometimes  I  had  done) 
only  stopping  to  eat.  At  Belambla  again,  Melumu,  whom  T 
had  left  in  charge,  reported  that  a  chicken  had  been  stolen.  On 
his  own  motion,  he  paid  me  for  it,  saying  that  his  having  been 
left  in  charge  made  him  responsible  even  for  losses !  I  had 
never  met  with  such  an  exalted  point  of  ethics  in  a  native.  But. 
he  was  an  unusually  bright,  even  erratic,  young  man. 

My  toothache  continued,  so  that,  on  Sunday,  April  2,  I  could 
not  preach.  Melumu  conducted  the  service,  while  I  led  in 
prayer.  In  selecting  hymns  from  the  Benga  collection,  he  chose 
one,  a  "  Prayer  for  the  sick,"  meaning  me ! 

A  mail,  delayed  for  two  months,  came  on  Thursday,  April  13. 
It  had  come  by  the  Pioneer,  as  far  as  Adalinananga,  and  thence, 
was  kindly  forwarded  from  a  new  firm,  Taylor's,  by  one  of  his 
native  traders.  It  came  as  a  great  blessing;  for,  I  was  sick  in 
bed  with  fever.  What  a  variety  of  news !  What  wealth  of 
love  and  friendship !  From  parents  and  children ;  from  my 
friend  Thos.  G.  Morton,  M.  1).,  of  Philadelphia;  from  my  friend 
Mrs.  Patten,  of  Philadelphia,  about  a  stove  I  had  ordered 
through  her ;  from  my  father,  about  the  iron-fence  I  had  ordered 
through  him,  for  Mrs.  Nassau's  grave  at  Benita ;  renewed  sub- 
scriptions to  the  Philadelphia  Press  and  Presbyterian.  And,  the 
British  naturalist.  Mr.  Andrew  Murray,  of  London,  sent  me  a 
copy  of  an  English  agricultural  paper,  the  Gardiner's  Chron- 
icle, containing  the  account  I  had  written  in  the  previous  fall,  ac- 
companying a  rare  specimen  of  a  mygale  spider. 

My  house-building  was  going  on  rapidly.  The  frame  was  up ; 
and  on  the  15th  of  April.  I  marked  the  day  by  raising  the  ridge- 
pole to  its  place.  How  slow  the  people  were  to  learn  that  I 
would  not  purchase  on  Sunday!  Tt  was  not  strange  that  per- 
sons from  a  distance,  who  knew  of  no  division  of  days,  should 


W 

P 
i — i 

Pl, 
CO 

W 
i— i 

o 


THE  BELAMBLA  HOUSE  139 

happen  to  come  on  Sunday.  I  showed  them  no  displeasure ; 
but,  in  my  strong  desire  to  guard  the  sanctity  of  the  day,  I  did 
not  allow  them  even  to  land  their  goods  on  my  premises.  If 
they  chose  to  go  to  an  adjacent  village,  and  wait  until  the  mor- 
row, I  promised  to  buy.  But,  my  friend  Nwanaja,  who  knew 
better,  in  coming  to  services  on  April  16,  brought  along  food  to 
sell,  and  a  present  of  a  fine  pumpkin  grown  from  seed  I  had 
given  her  some  months  previously.  I  do  not  know  by  what  sys- 
tem of  ethics  she  may  have  thought  that  my  rule  against  buying 
building  materiel  would  not  apply  to  food.  Food  was  a  neces- 
sary. If  it  was  right  to  cook  food  on  Sunday,  why  not  also  buy 
it  on  that  day?  Or,  did  the  fact  that  she  "  came  to  church  "  jus- 
tify the  sale  of  her  food?  Poor  woman!  she  was  not  very  far 
from  some  of  my  countrymen,  who  have  concluded  a  horse-sale 
at  a  rural  church  door. 

I  would  have  been  pleased  to  accept  the  pumpkin  alone ;  but, 
as  she  had  so  mixed  it  in  her  ethics  of  the  clay,  I  declined  it. 
She  remained  after  meeting,  and  cooked  the  pumpkin  for  her 
dinner. 

How  different  the  river  from  its  condition  of  a  year  previous! 
My  situation  had  been  one  of  isolation.  But,  now,  with  the 
growth  of  trade,  and  new  firms,  and  more  white  men,  and  in- 
crease of  French  Senegal  Goree  traders  and  other  coast  tribes- 
men, there  was  every  few  days  the  passing  of  large  canoes 
manned,  not  like  my  small  one  of  five  or  six  paddles,  but  by 
strong  vociferous  crews  of  fifteen  or  twenty.  Those  big  na- 
tive traders  did  not  limit  themselves  to  my  narrow  economies 
and  discomforts.  Their  large  canoes  at  the  stern  had  a  raised 
platform,  on  which  they  reclined  on  rugs  with  their  women. 
Some  assumed  such  dignity  that  they  had  among  their  attend- 
ants a  trumpeter  who  blared  notes  of  warning  as  they  passed 
the  various  villages.  This  very  much  impressed  the  Bakele,  who 
would  gather  on  the  bluffs,  or  at  the  boat-landings,  with  shouts 
of  admiration.  White  men  also  often  passed,  on  trips  of  inspec- 
tion of  their  subordinates,  whose  trading-houses  were  already 
up-river  beyond  me.  Mr.  Travis  came  and  spent  a  day  with 
me,  on  one  such  trip.  And  Dr.  Ballay.  with  his  invariable  polite- 
ness, stopped  for  a  few  minutes  on  his  way  to  Gaboon,  where  he 
was  going  to  obtain  interpreters,  other  civilized  servants,  etc., 
etc.,  for  his  expedition  with  Count  De  Brazza. 

How  particular  I  had  to  be  about  precedents  and  appearances, 
in  matters,  of  which  I  would  have  taken  no  notice,  in  the  United 
States,  or  even  in  the  degree  of  civilization  of  the  Coast !     Kasa 


i4o  MY  OGOWE 

and  his  people  came  to  meeting-  on  Sunday.  April  30,  having 
with  them  a  very  large  ivory  tusk,  which  he  wished  to  leave  in 
my  care  for  the  day.  I  declined.  I  wished  all  visits  to  my 
premises  on  the  Sundays  to  be  entirely  divested  of  any  com- 
mercial aspect.  Even  on  a  week  day,  I  think  I  would  have  hesi- 
tated about  the  tusk;  just  because  ivory  was  the  great  factor  in 
trade.  An  unexplained  report  that  I  had  ivory  in  my  hut  would 
have  been  basis  for  belief  that  I  was  trading.  And.  I  had  had 
such  a  long  and  trying  experience  in  the  effort  to  stand  before 
the  natives  as  having  for  my  highest  and  purest  object,  their 
spiritual  welfare.  (Xot,  indeed,  that  I  was  without  human  in- 
terest in  their  works  and  wants;  that  I  had  proved  in  many 
other  ways.) 

On  May  3,  I  made  a  rapid  journey  down  to  Aguma,  in  two 
canoes,  to  bring  boards  for  the  new  house.  On  such  oc- 
casions, I  would  spend  there  a  day  or  so  purposely  for  the  sake 
of  writing  letters.  At  Belambla,  constantly  superintending 
building,  or  school,  or  visitors,  I  found  little  time  for  letters.  At 
Aguma,  I  was  a  guest ;  without  responsibility  or  care,  and  could 
write  uninterruptedly.  I  met  there  a  new  white  man,  a  Mr. 
Findley.  And  I  found  Dr.  Ballay  sick.  I  too  was  seized  with 
a  diarrhea  that  made  me  helpless  for  two  days. 

Then,  on  the  5th,  though  weak.  I  started  back  with  my  two 
loaded  canoes,  to  my  usual  night's  camp  at  Sakwele's  on  Xenge- 
sika  Island.  The  next  day.  the  river  channel  was  so  obstructed 
with  hippopotami,  that,  before  venturing  to  enter  a  certain  nar- 
row way,  I  had  to  fire  on  the  animals,  in  order  to  drive  them 
away.  In  passing  any  large  sand-bank,  my  crew  always  wished 
to  go  ashore  to  Seek  turtle  eggs.  The  animals  deposited  their 
eggs  at  night,  digging  for  that  purpose,  a  hole  on  the  top  of  the 
beach  above  the  water-line.  They  would  leave  the  eggs  cov- 
ered in  the  sand ;  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  by  day  was  expected 
to  hatch  them.  The  existence  of  the  nest  would  be  revealed  by 
the  freshly  broken  sand.  My  crew  found  a  nest  with  100  eggs. 
They  had  no  shells;  only  a  stiff  membrane.  I  did  not  enjoy 
them;  they  had  a  fishy  taste.  On  to  Manda's.  where  a  man 
hailed  me.  and  presented  me  with  a  monkey-skin,  for  which  (  for 
a  wonder!)  he  refused  to  receive  a  gift  in  return.  At  another 
village,  a  Mpongwe  trader  gave  me  a  leg  of  goat-mutton.  On 
to  Myangane's,  where  I  bought  food.  Passed  Ondene's  with- 
out stopping,  and  he  came  running  after  me  along  the  bank, 
wishing  to  know  the  reason  why.  Found  all  in  good  order  at 
the  house,  under  Melumu's  care. 


THE  BELAMBLA  HOUSE  141 

On  Sunday,  May  7,  little  Kimagwe  was  present,  and  asked 
some  strange  questions,  showing  that  he  was  doing  some  think- 
ing. In  his  lesson,  he  had  been  reading  about  Resurrection. 
He  asked,  "Are  there  towns  up  there?"  "Will  the  bodies  of 
those  who  have  been  burned  arise?"  "Will  infants  go  to  the 
bad  place?"'  "Will  they  always  be  infants?*'  "Will  people 
who  shoot  others  with  guns  go  to  the  bad  place?"  "Where 
is  the  sunshine,  now  that  the  darkness  of  night  has  come?" 
He  told  me  that  Kasa  prayed  now  to  God  as  well  as  to  his 
fetish ;  that,  one  day.  on  a  hunting  expedition,  he  had  prayed, 
"  Jesu!  give  me  elephants!  "  and  had  obtained  five.  And,  that, 
on  another  day,  desirous  that  his  journey  should  not  be  hindered 
by  rain,  he  had  prayed,  "Jesu!  delay  the  rain!  "  And  rain  did 
not  fall  for  five  days,  though  it  was  raining  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river.  (That  was  not  rare.)  Kasa  believed  that  his 
prayers  were  answered. 

By  May  8.  I  reduced  the  number  of  employees,  as,  the  new 
house,  though  not  fully  enclosed,  was  roofed;  and,  we  could 
work,  even  on  rainy  days,  under  that  roof.  I  still  had  ten  people 
on  my  premises,  one  Mpongwe.  one  Mbiko,  one  Akele.  and 
seven  Galwas.  I  had  eliminated  some  of  the  unworthy  and 
quarrelsome  ones ;  and  work  proceeded  harmoniously  and  more 
rapidly.  The  Bakele  were  daily  astonished  at  the  size  and  style 
of  the  house. 

By  May  10.  Kasa's  people  finally  removed  from  their  old  loca- 
tion to  the  new  site,  where  they  had  been  building  near  me. 
There  were  signs  that  the  rainy  season  was  drawing  to  its  close. 
My  food  supply  was  "  a  feast  or  a  famine."  Just  at  that  time. 
T  had  more  goat's  meat  than  I  needed.  Walinja  brought  one 
for  sale.  I  did  not  need  it  for  food  that  day.  nor  did  I  wish  to 
buy  it  and  have  it  tied  on  the  premises ;  its  bleating  would  annoy 
me :  unless  tied,  it  would  probably  be  lost.  So.  I  said  that  I 
would  buv  it  if  he  brought  it  again  in  five  days.  Under  those 
circumstances  most  people  would  have  lied,  saying,  "  Yes,"  the 
while  they  really  intended  to  go  and  sell  elsewhere.  He  agree- 
ably surprised  me  by  his  truth.  "  No,"  he  said.  "  T  want  the 
money  at  once.  I  will  not  wait  five  days.  I  will  sell  it  else- 
where."    I  complimented  him  on  his  truth. 

On  Saturday,  May  13.  I  sent  ReTeno  and  Melumu  to  Kasa's 
new  town,  to  plant  some  little  orange  trees  I  had  promised  him. 
At  whatever  places  I  lived,  I  always  planted.  Even  at  camps 
and  ordinarv  stopping-places  in  the  forest,  T  carefully  stuck  into 
the  ground  the   seeds  of  any   fruit   T   was   eating.      (Doubtless 


142  MY  OGOWE 

many  of  those  trees  are  living,  and  perhaps  their  fruits  have 
been  reproduced  in  other  places  on  the  Ogovve!  The  thought 
was  an  inspiring  one  as  to  other  seed  which  I  was  "  sowing  by 
all  waters.") 

The  growth  of  the  house  became  quite  absorbing.  The  17th 
of  May  was  marked  by  my  beginning  to  lay  the  flooring.  I 
had  sent  four  of  the  young  men  on  the  preceding  day  on  an 
errand  to  Aguma ;  a  fifth  left,  and  I  was  pleased  to  have  him 
go ;  I  was  saved  the  necessity  of  dismissing  him.  Kimagwe 
was  away  without  permission.  So,  I  had  but  four  left :  but,  they 
were  helpful,  though  I  did  the  actual  work  of  fitting  and  nailing 
the  foot-wide  planks,  at  the  rate  of  five  per  hour.  The  work 
tired  my  back,  in  stooping  to  drive  the  nails,  and  hasting  from 
point  to  point,  to  adjust.  Not  one  of  those  four  young  men 
could  be  trusted  alone  to  cut  a  board.  They  had  no  experience, 
and  my  boards  were  too  few  and  precious  for  them  to  practice 
on.  I  finished  the  flooring  in  three  days.  People  came  to  ad- 
mire it.  A  floor  that  was  not  mud  or  clay,  and  that  was  dry 
enough  to  be  slept  on  as  a  bed ! 

On  Saturday,  the  20th,  Melumu  and  his  crew  of  three  re- 
turned safely  from  Aguma.  I  was  glad  to  have  them  back: 
the  place  had  been  almost  too  quiet,  though  T  was  equally  glad 
to  have  gotten  rid  of  unsatisfactory  Esangeromba.  I  had  now 
nine.  One  of  Melumu's  characteristics,  his  vanity,  came  out  in 
rendering  me  an  account  of  his  journey.  In  his  self-praise,  his 
exaggerations  amounted  to  untruth. 

I  was  constantly  coming  on  native  superstitions.  On  May 
23,  ftandi  and  his  wife  brought  me  a  present  of  a  jomba  of 
alligator-meat.  T  know  no  more  appetizing  form  of  meat-cook- 
ery, even  in  civilization,  than  the  native  African  jomba  (igewu). 
The  meat  did  look  so  attractive,  that  I  ventured  to  eat  of  it  for 
my  supper.  Just  as  T  began  to  eat.  came  Ondene.  T  invited 
him  to  sit.  and  gave  him  a  piece  of  the  jomba  on  my  handsom- 
est plate.  He  seemed  afraid  to  eat  it  in  my  presence,  and  went 
away,  taking  plate  and  all.  to  eat  it  in  his  town!  I  could  not 
learn  the  exact  ground  of  his  fear:  whether  my  white  man's 
evil  eye;  or,  that  the  food  was  a  gift;  or.  whether  alligator  was 
one  of  the  articles  taboo  in  his  fetish  menu.  Two  days  later, 
he  sent  me  word,  asking  me  to  send  a  boy  to  carry  some  food 
to  me.  T  thought  it  strange,  that,  if  there  was  food  to  1x>  car- 
ried, why  had  he  not  sent  it  by  his  own  messenger?  So,  T  de- 
clined. ( Perhaps  I  erred.)  Then,  he  came  himself,  with  two 
of  his  women,  returning  my  plate,  and  presenting  me  with  a 


THE  BELAMBLA  HOUSE  143 

jomba  of  kondo-fish,  a  jomba  of  nganda,  a  bundle  of  ngwese, 
a  roll  of  boiled  plantains,  boiled  yams,  and  green  corn!  He 
first  tasted  of  each;  as  if  to  show  me  that  there  was  no  poison 
in  them.  Was  that  the  reason  he  had  hesitated  over  my  alli- 
gator meat?  I  enjoyed  his  fish  and  nganda  pudding  exceed- 
ingly. 

Native  African  poisons  are  many,  and  acquaintance  with  them 
is  general.  Cases  have  occurred  where  deaths  of  even  white 
men  (as  a  matter  of  revenge)  have  been  suspected  due  to 
poison.  But,  in  all  my  thousands  of  times  of  eating  at  hands 
of  natives  on  my  journeys,  I  never  hesitated  and  rarely  thought 
of  the  possibility  of  poison. 

My  house  was  still  growing.  I  had  begun  the  tying  of 
bamboo  on  the  outside  walls,  on  April  5,  and  that  part  of  the 
work  was  completed  on  May  27.  Then  I  began  on  the  inside 
partition  walls.  Having  been  so  successful  in  building,  I 
dropped  that  work,  for  a  clay's  itineration,  on  Monday,  the 
29th.  With  seven  of  my  people,  I  went  up-river,  stopping  for 
late  breakfast  at  Mbomi.  Thence,  on  to  Aleke's.  He  had  still 
the  rough  manners  I  had  protested  against  six  months  before, 
but  not  quite  so  offensive.  He  wanted  goods  badly,  and  of- 
fered me  a  sheep  for  sale.  Its  little  lamb  was  so  young  that, 
I  think,  he  must  have  known  it  would  not  live  away  from  its 
mother.  Recklessly,  he  still  urged  the  sale.  But,  pitying  the 
lamb,  I  refused.  There  was  a  large  meeting  at  night,  and 
better  attention  than  I  had  had  there  before.  Then,  the  next 
day,  I  rowed  for  an  hour  on  up-river  farther  than  I  had  ever 
gone.  Was  impressed  with  its  width,  depth,  and  magnificent 
curves.  I  came  to  a  village  where  a  man  named  Tyityi  told 
me  more  about  the  Interior  than  I  had  ever  heard  from  any 
one,  foreigner  or  native,  in  the  Ogowe.  For  the  first  time,  I 
heard  a  native  name  the  Nyam-Nyam  tribe,  of  which  I  had 
read  as  being  in  the  center  of  the  continent.  His  accounts  were 
all  in  accordance  with  what  I  had  read  of  the  best  travels  in 
the  Interior.  He  quite  stimulated  my  enthusiasm  for  a  journey 
thither.  O !  I  thought,  science  and  commerce  and  politics  can 
send  De  Brazza  and  Ballay  and  Lenz ;  why  could  not  my 
Church  have  consented  to  let  me  go?  He  told  me  much  about 
the  customs  of  those  interior  tribes.  I  might  have  been  a 
pioneer  to  them !  Years  afterward,  other  men  traveled  there, 
and  wrote  books,  and  told  of  things  new  to  them  and  to  the 
world,  things  of  which  I  had  known,  but  had  been  allowed  no 
opportunity  to  verify!     That  night,  after  return  to  my  house, 


144  MY  OGOWE 

I  had  to  get  out  of  bed  to  stop  a  noisy  quarrel  between  two  of 
my  Galwas,  Jenagani  and  Ayenwe. 

Work  on  the  house  progressed  well ;  all  its  bamboo  portions, 
walls  and  partitions,  were  complete;  and  Melumu  was  putting  in 
the  windows  and  doors.  It  would  have  been  finished  and  ready 
for  occupancy  by  that  date  (June  7),  if  I  had  not  interrupted  the 
work  by  itinerations  and  other  boat-journeys.  I  had  planned 
that  the  house  should  be  a  one  and  a  half  story.  But,  I  had  no 
boards  for  an  attic  floor.  Shortly  after  this,  came  a  canoe  with 
a  stove,  brought  to  Aguma  by  the  Pioneer.  Up  to  that  time,  my 
cooking  had  been  done  in  native  fashion,  on  the  clay  floor. 

Some  of  my  people  whom  I  had  allowed  to  visit  their  homes, 
had  returned  from  Aguma;  and,  on  the  12th.  I  started  them  all 
for  a  finish,  at  separate  jobs,  one  at  washing:  one  at  weeding 
around  the  huts;  one  with  a  machete  in  the  overgrown 
grass  and  bushes;  one  at  painting;  one  at  coal-tarring 
the  foundation-posts,  against  white-ants:  one  strengthening  the 
pillars  of  the  veranda;  and  two  at  the  doors  and  windows.  1 
appointed  two  Galwas  to  remain  and  keep  the  premises  while  I 
should  l>e  away  on  my  expected  semiannual  journey  to  the  meet- 
ings at  Gaboon.  (T  did  not  appreciate  the  note  of  coming  evil 
when  one  of  them,  Ananga-re-we,  came  in  the  evening  to  demand 
an  increase  in  wages.) 

The  last  of  the  doors,  the  front  door,  had  been  put  in  place, 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  13th.  There  was  a  sadness  about  it  that 
dampened  the  otherwise  joy  of  the  near  completion  of  my 
house.  That  door  was  the  front  door  of  my  first  African  home, 
of  the  old  Maluku  Girls'  School-house  on  Corisco  Island,  in  [861. 
It  had  been  torn  down,  after  the  Evangasimba  Station  work  had 
been  transferred  to  Benita.  about  1869.  Dr.  Ballay  had  returned 
on  the  Pioneer;  and,  on  the  16th  of  June,  he  stopped  on  a  |x)lite 
call,  as  he  passed  Belambla  with  five  large  canoes  of  employees 
and  goods,  on  his  way  to  rejoin  Count  De  Brazza  who  was  wait- 
ing for  him  above  the  Rapids  at  Lope  in  the  Okanda  country.  200 
miles  farther  in  the  Interior.  The  two  Galwa  men.  Lendaginya 
and  Ananga-re-we,  refused  to  stand  by  their  agreement  to  stay 
and  take  charge  of  the  premises  while  I  should  be  away  at  Ga- 
boon. It  was  a  "  strike  "  for  higher  wages,  besides  being  a  break- 
ing of  their  previous  engagement.  /  never  yielded  to  a  strike. 
I  preferred  to  suffer  loss,  if  need  were.  It  is  true  that  their  serv- 
ice as  guardians  required  at  least  one  of  them  to  remain  on  the 
premises  all  the  time;  but,  there  was  no  labor.  They  would  have 
an  easy  time  of  sitting  down  and  doing  nothing,  except  guarding 


THE  BELAMBLA  HOUSE  145 

against  white  ants  and  thieves.  So,  I  put  the  care  of  the  house 
and  grounds  in  the  hands  of  ftwanaja,  Kasa's  head  wife  and 
the  two  lads  Dumawebe  and  Kimagwe.  Kasa  himself  was  not 
at  home  when  I  made  this  bargain  with  his  wife. 

On  Saturday,  June  17,  I  was  busy  packing,  and  transferring 
all  my  belongings  from  the  hut  to  the  new  house;  entirely  com- 
pleted, but  which  I  had  not  yet  occupied.  I  tightly  closed  and 
barred  all  its  doors  and  windows,  giving  the  key  to  5hvanaja,  to 
whom  I  promised  to  be  back  in  a  certain  number  of  weeks 
(days).  That  was  unwise,  considering  that,  on  three  of  my 
previous  absences,  I  had  been  detained  twice  as  long  as  I  had  ex- 
pected. Though  there  was  no  probable  detention  of  which  I 
could  think,  I  should  have  left  room  for  possible  ones.  With 
my  kongongo  heavily  laden,  I  started  down-river,  stopping  at 
all  villages,  and  remaining  over  Sunday,  at  Manda's.  And,  on 
Monday,  the  19th,  to  Aguma.  There  I  met  two  new  men, 
Messrs.  Louis  and  Hutchinson  of  Taylor  &  Scott's  trading- 
house:  and  a  new  German  with  Mr.  Lubcke,  in  place  of  Mr. 
Schmieden 

Leaving  dog  Brownie  in  the  care  of  the  Aguma  H.  &  C.  House. 
I  started  down-river,  on  June  21.  On  the  way,  stopped  at 
Aveya's,  to  debark  Anangarewe.  His  delighted  mother  broke 
into  a  dance  as  she  saw  him  coming.  He  seemed  to  think  that 
his  broken  promise  for  Belambla  was  a  "  closed  incident."  and 
offered  me  a  parting  present,  which  I  refused,  though  his  mother 
begged  me  to  accept  it.  I  wished  him  and  Lendaginya  to  under- 
stand that  I  wanted  nothing  more  to  do  with  either  of  them.  I 
engaged  Aveya  to  go  to  supplement  ftwanaja,  in  one  month. 
Dropped  others  of  the  employees  at  their  homes,  on  the  way. 
At  Atangino.  the  village  of  one  of  them,  Zintango,  I  stopped  for 
the  night.  On  the  22d,  on,  past  Oranga,  and  to  Igenja.  for  the 
night.  On  the  23d.  in  the  Nkami  district,  and  at  Chief  Omva- 
ombe's,  for  the  night.  On  Saturday  24,  lunched  in  the  forest 
where  I  was  interested  in  the  variety  of  animals,  monkeys, 
kicia.  crocodiles,  nests  in  a  tree  of  the  ntyigo  (a  species  between 
the  gorilla  and  the  chimpanzee).  Reached  Onanga's  for  the 
night;  where  I  remained  over  the  25th,  Sunday.  But  the  peo- 
ple would  not  come  to  meeting,  because  the  mourning  for  their 
"  king  "  (who  had  died  a  year  before)  was  not  yet  ended.  And. 
they  were  vexed  at  my  crew  for  wearing  hats :  no  kind  of  orna- 
ment or  dignified  apparel  being  worn  during  mournings !  One 
woman  carried  her  indignation  so  far  as  to  seize  and  attempt  to 
confiscate  one  of  the  hats! 


146  MY  OGOWE 

On  Monday  the  26th,  on  to  Augala;  and  on  down  to  the 
mouth  after  dark.  I  attempted  to  look  whether  the  Hudson 
was  awaiting  me,  by  appointment.  But,  the  night  was  dark ; 
and,  I  would  not  venture  out  on  the  windy  sea.  Spent  the  night 
at  a  little  trading-house  on  Nengie  Island. 

The  next  morning,  the  27th,  the  Hudson  was  seen  at  anchor  out 
at  sea.  I  boarded  her,  being  saluted  by  her  American  flag,  and 
finding  there  a  large  mail.  With  fine  winds,  landed  at  Libre- 
ville about  9  a.  m.  of  the  28th.  Mr.  Reading  was  at  the  beach 
to  welcome  me;  and  I  was  entertained  by  Mrs.  Reading.  Was 
welcomed  also  by  the  Bushnells.  Miss  Dewsnap  was  away,  hav- 
ing gone  on  a  visit  at  Victoria,  Kamerun.  with  our  former  Miss 
Lush,  who  had  married  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  of  the  English  Bap- 
tist Mission  at  that  place.  I  sent  to  my  friend  Thomas  G.  Morton, 
M.D.,  of  Philadelphia,  two  mandril  monkeys,  and  an  eye- 
worm.  He  wrote  me  subsequently,  telling  of  the  monkeys'  de- 
structive antics  in  his  office.  Like  all  animals  coming  from  the 
torrid  zone,  no  ordinary  dwelling  on  a  temperate  region  is  suf- 
ficiently warm  for  them  in  winter.  He  sent  them  to  a  friend's 
conservatory;  but  t.ftey  soon  died.  The  eye-worm,  though  in  an 
imperfect  state,  was  a  great  rarity :  the  first  known  to  be  ex- 
amined in  the  LTnited  States.  Prof.  Leidy,  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  wrote  of  it  in  a  medical  journal,  calling  it  Dranun- 
culus  Log. 

On  the  30th.  read  with  intense  interest,  in  a  copy  of  the  Lon- 
don Illustrated  News,  an  account  of  Lieutenant  Cameron's  jour- 
ney across  Africa.  He  had  entered  from  the  east  coast  in  search 
of  lost  Livingstone:  met  Livingstone's  faithful  servants  bringing 
his  corpse  on  their  wonderful  journey  to  the  ocean:  had  con- 
tinued his  own  journey  to  Lake  Tanganyika :  had  failed  to  de- 
scend (what  Stanley  later  proved  to  be)  its  Kongo  outlet;  and, 
deflecting  southward,  had  gone  by  land  to  the  southwest  coast, 
emerging  in  Loanda. 

The  frigate  Venus,  of  the  French  admiral,  entered  the  harbor 
on  July  1.  And.  on  Monday  3.  with  Dr.  Bushnell.  T  went  to 
pav  my  respects.  The  admiral  was  very  much  interested  in  my 
statements  about  the  Ogowe.  particularly  as  France  was  just  at 
that  time  pushing  her  claims  in  t lie  Interior.  When  we  left,  he 
gave  us  a  salute  of  six  guns.  As  the  meetings  of  presbytery  and 
mission  were  to  be  held  at  Flongo  Station,  on  Corisco  Island. 
Dr.  Bushnell  and  I,  on  leaving  the  Venus,  immediately  boarded 
the  Hudson.  And,  with  a  good  run.  we  were  at  Elongo,  the  sta- 
tion of  Rev.  C.  De  Heer,  the  next  morning. 


THE  BELAMBLA  HOUSE  147 

The  native  minister,  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya,  occupying-  the  former 
white  station,  Evangasimba.  was  there.  Also  three  of  my  sister's 
candidates  for  the  ministry,  Myongo,  Petiye.  and  Kongolo,  for 
examination.  On  July  6,  the  Hudson,  promising  to  come  soon 
for  me,  returned  to  Libreville. 

I  was  entertained,  part  of  the  time,  at  Mr.  Ibiya's,  where  I 
was  doing,  with  him,  revision  work  on  the  Benga  New  Testa- 
ment. And,  on  another  day,  I  set  my  Galwa  men  at  cutting  away 
the  grass  which  was  shamefully  overgrown  about  the  graves  of 
my  friends,  Rev.  T.  S.  Ogden,  and  Rev.  George  Paull.  I  felt 
sadly,  to  see  the  old  Evangasimba  house  in  ruins.  It  had  be- 
come so  old,  that  it  was  being  taken  down,  to  utilize  elsewhere 
what  of  its  lumber  was  still  intact  from  white  ants. 

While  at  Mr.  De  Heer's,  I  was  present  at  the  marriage  to  one 
of  his  employees,  Vane,  of  a  young  woman,  Beyana,  who  had 
been  my  special  pet  at  the  Maluku  School,  twelve  years  before. 
I  was  delayed  on  Corisco,  more  than  ten  days,  by  the  failure  of 
the  Hudson  to  return  for  me.  (This  was  one  of  the  unexpected 
delays  on  which  I  had  not  counted  when  I  promised  5hvanaja  to 
return  to  Belambla  in  a  certain  number  of  days.)  It  finally 
came  on  Saturday,  July  22. 

Though  my  promised  number  of  days  were  passing,  I  had  then 
no  thought  of  danger  there.  And,  in  any  event,  before  re- 
turning to  the  Ogowe,  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  go  to  Benita,  in 
order  to  erect  around  my  graves  there,  the  ordered  iron  fence, 
which  most  unexpectedly,  had  just  then  arrived  by  the  Hudson. 
(This  was  another  delay,  on  which  I  had  not  counted  when  I  gave 
my  dates  to  Nwanaja.)  After  his  failure  about  the  Bolondo 
house.  I  could  not  trust  Mr.  MenkeFs  offer  to  do  that  cemetery 
work  for  me. 

On  Monday  the  24th.  sail  was  set  for  Benita,  which  was 
reached  next  day.  The  erection  of  the  fence,  with  few  tools 
and  unskilled  native  aid,  took  time  and  hard  labor.  I  spent  my 
days  at  the  Mbade  cemetery,  and  my  evenings  at  Bolondo.  in 
company  of  my  sister  and  Miss  Jones.  I  obtained  candidate 
Kongolo  as  my  companion,  in  place  of  Melumu.  And  on  Mon- 
day. July  31,  on  the  Hudson,  started  back  to  Libreville,  which, 
because  of  opposing  winds,  stopping  at  Elongo,  and  the  loss  of 
our  anchor,  we  did  not  reach  until  late  at  night  of  Saturday,  Au- 
gust 5.  Fortunately,  for  my  anxiety,  which  by  that  time  had 
become  real,  I  met  on  the  beach  a  Xkami  man  of  the  Ogowe,  who 
said  the  news  of  the  river  were  good.      (He  did  not  lie:  for, 


148  MY  OGOWE 

afterwards,  on  comparison  of  dates,  I  found,  that  up  to  the  time 
when  he  had  left  the  river,  all  was  safe.) 

A  mission  meeting  was  held;  and  Mr.  Reading  made  plans  to 
accompany  me,  on  a  visit  to  the  Ogowe.  as  he  was  interested  by 
my  tales  of  that  river. 

The  attempt  of  young  candidate  Petiye  to  seek  as  his  wife  the 
young  Mpongwe  lady,  Akera,  though  entirely  honorable,  and 
encouraged  by  herself  and  Mr.  Reading,  my  sister  and  myself, 
raised  such  a  storm  of  indignation,  that  a  mob  of  men,  led  by  her 
brother  Ndama,  came  on  the  premises,  threatening  to  assault 
Petiye,  and  to  break  up  the  Baraka  Girls'  School.  Mrs.  Bushnell 
acted  very  bravely.  When  the  crowd  of  angry  men  reached  the 
front  iron  gate,  she  thrust  her  bare  arms  through  it.  as  a  bolt. 
They  could  easily  have  pushed  her  aside.  But,  the  Mpongwes 
were  a  polite  people ;  and  Mrs.  Bushnell  had  ever  been  held  in 
great  respect.  Police  were  summoned ;  Ndama  was  arrested : 
the  mob  dispersed ;  Petiye  was  secretly  taken  to  safety  on  the 
Hudson;  and  a  pretty  romance  was  ruined,  with  a  necessarily  un- 
happy ending.  Akera  still  lives,  a  good  Christian  woman,  after 
passing  through  several  unwilling  marriages.  Petiye  is  dead : 
marring  his  Christian  years  of  usefulness,  and  barring  entrance 
into  the  ministry,  through  being  forced  by  his  family  into  po- 
lygamy. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

A    HIGHWAY    ROBBER,    AUGUST,     1876 

FINALLY,  on  Monday,  August  14,  the  date  on  which  I 
should  have  been  back  at  .Belambla,  Mr.  Reading  and  I 
started,  on  the  Hudson,  for  the  Ogowe,  having  in  tow  my 
canoe  and  kongongo.  As  usual,  the  vessel  was  slow,  even  un- 
necessarily so;  I  was  amazed  at  the  delays  and  I  began  to  be 
anxious  about  my  house. 

We  did  not  reach  the  Nazareth  mouth  of  the  river  until  Fri- 
day, August  18.  I  gathered  our  two  crafts  and  their  loads  of 
goods  at  the  little  trading-house  wood-station  of  Mr.  Schulze  on 
Nengie  Island.  In  the  evening,  1  sent  three  of  my  Galwa  people 
in  a  canoe  across  the  bay  to  the  village  of  Lisboa.  For  two 
years,  a  great  variety  of  little  steamers  had  been  passing  the 
Orungu  gate  of  the  river,  unharmed,  the  Orungu  themselves  had 
followed  trade  up  the  river,  and  were  associating  with  the  tribes 
there,  and  a  sop  had  been  given  them  by  the  German  home  hav- 
ing erected  the  wood-station  on  Nengie.  I  had  no  idea  that  the 
old  coast  monopoly  had  not  died.  My  crew  returned,  without 
food,  saying  that  they  had  been  robbed,  and  one  of  them,  Ayenwe, 
was  maltreated  by  the  Orungu,  on  account  of  a  war  (of  which  we 
had  not  heard)  between  their  two  tribes.  Had  we  known  of 
it,  I  would  not  have  sent  them,  nor  would  they  have  gone. 

The  next  morning,  Saturday,  August  19,  was  enacted  a  scene 
that  might  have  been  a  tragedy.  My  kongongo  and  large  canoe 
could  not  carry  all  the  goods  I  had  brought  on  the  Hudson. 
Purposely,  I  intended  to  leave  some  of  mine  for  a  future  journey, 
in  care  of  the  little  trading-house.  Mr.  Reading  and  I  were  se- 
lecting and  separating,  choosing  what  should  be  taken  in  our 
two  crafts.  While  thus  occupied,  we  saw  coming  to  us  a  fleet 
of  canoes  with  forty  armed,  war-painted,  angry,  shouting  Orungu 
men  from  Lisboa.  My  Galwas  were  terrified.  I  knew  that 
the  Orungu  had  resented  the  breaking  of  their  trade  monopoly, 
by  the  entrance  of  white  men  into  the  Ogowe  interior.  But 
they  had  been  unable  to  do  anything  to  stop  the  Pioneer  and 
other  little  steamers  that  rapidly  carried  white  men  and  their 
goods   (goods  that  the  monopoly  claimed  belonged  to  Orungu) 

149 


ISO  MY  OGOWE 

safely  past  their  borders,  to  the  despised  Gahva  and  Bakele.  Be- 
cause of  that  resentment.  I  had  availed  myself  of  the  safety  of 
the  Pioneer's  deck,  just  two  years  before.  But,  now,  I  had  as- 
sumed that  the  Orungu  had  hopelessly  given  up  thoughts  of  force, 
seeing  that  so  many  new  traders,  and  even  a  French  expedition, 
had  entered  the  river  after  me.  I  therefore  had  not  thought  it 
a  venture,  that  I  should  make  this  journey  past  their  tribe  with 
slow-going  paddles.  Probably  I  could  have  done  so.  if  I  had 
not  revealed  my  presence  by  sending  to  Lisboa  for  food.  The 
shouting,  yelling  Orungu.  led  by  two  men  whose  names  I  after- 
ward learned  as  Ndambenje  and  Aziza-njele,  leaped  ashore,  to 
where  we  stood  by  our  two  half-loaded  crafts,  and  other  boxes  of 
goods  lying  on  the  beach.  The  assault  I  at  once  felt  was  not 
against  our  crews,  nor  against  my  companion,  Mr.  Reading,  but 
against  myself.  As  he  had,  at  that  time,  only  a  slight  knowledge 
of  the  Mpongwe  (of  which  Orungu  is  a  dialect)  I  requested  him 
to  let  me  bear  the  brunt,  but  that  he  should  stand  near  me  in  the 
rear.  He  did  so,  placing  his  gun  and  my  rifle  prominently 
against  the  side  of  the  hut. 

I  did  not  really  think  that  personal  violence  would  be  given 
us.  Among  the  wilder  tribes,  that  could  be  possible.  But,  the 
Orungu  were  familiar  with  civilized  Gaboon.  Yet,  it  was 
probable  that  we  would  be  robbed.  To  what  extent,  might  de- 
pend on  our  diplomacy.  In  a  few  quiet  words  I  gave  my  idea 
to  Mr.  Reading,  that,  in  the  end,  I  might  yield  to  the  giving  of 
some  of  our  goods,  as  an  alternative  to  having  them  all  seized. 
Our  assailant  was  a  sufficiently  astute  man  to  know  that  in  being 
given  even  a  compelled  gift  he  was  safe;  while  an  out  and  out 
robbery  could  be  reported  to  the  French  government  at  Libreville. 
My  cue  therefore  was  to  hold  him  off  in  the  coming  discussion. 
with  a  bluff  of  audacity,  until  be  should  lessen  his  demands.  Mr. 
Reading,  from  time  to  time,  interjecting  (in  English)  a  word  of 
advice  or  suggestion,  in  a  tone  which  the  other  could  not  over- 
hear. The  forty  men  rushed  among  our  people,  pushing  them 
violently  aside,  and  laying  hands  on  the  boxes.  T  do  not  know 
whether  this  was  only  a  feint  or  a  real  attempt.  Tn  either  ease. 
Aziza-njele  fiercely  ordered  them  aside,  saying  that  the  "  pala- 
ver "  was  his.  that  his  business  was  with  the  white  men.  and  that 
they  should  await  his  commands.  I  stood  quiet,  erect,  with 
folded  arms,  lie  saw  we  were  unarmed,  but  not  without  arms 
(as  Mr.  Reading  showed).  lie  was  a  tall,  splendidly  built  fel- 
low, in  the  prime  of  life.  lie  began  in  a  loud,  fierce  voice,  and 
with  violent  gesticulation,  ordering  that  I  should  not  go  up-river 


A  HIGHWAY  ROBBER  151 

at  all,  but  should  turn  and  go  back  to  Libreville.  I  distinctly,  but 
quietly  told  him  that  I  would  not  go  back,  and  that  I  would  pro- 
ceed up-river,  where  I  had  my  house  and  my  belongings.  To 
this,  he  made  another  angry  talk.  But,  as  I  only  silently  stared 
him  in  his  face,  he  changed  his  position,  and  said  that  I  might 
proceed,  but  only  on  the  condition  that  I  remove  my  goods  and 
leave  the  river.  As  decidedly,  I  said  that  I  would  remain  in  the 
river  with  other  white  men  where  my  work  was.  Again  he 
raged,  declaring  that  not  only  I,  but  all  the  other  white  men 
should  be  driven  out  of  the  hated  Interior.  As  I  still  only  looked 
him  straight  in  his  eye,  he  again  changed  his  position.  He  said 
that  I  might  remain  in  the  Ogowe,  if  I  would  promise  to  give 
the  Orungu  a  white  mission  station.  I  softened,  and  said  that 
his  wish  was  a  good  one,  but  that  I  had  no  authority,  and  the 
mission  had  no  white  man  whom  to  send  to  him.  He  still  urged 
his  claim  for  a  mission  station  as  greater  than  that  of  the  despised 
Bakele.  As  I  still  stood  either  severely  silent,  or  uttering  only  a 
taunting  refusal,  he  again  changed  his  position,  demanding  a  na- 
tive school-teacher,  and  an  annual  tribute  of  $180.  Again,  I 
softened,  saying  that  I  would  be  pleased  to  locate  a  teacher  with 
him,  if  some  Mpongwe  Christian  would  volunteer.  But,  I 
laughed  at  his  word  "  tribute,"  saying  that  I  paid  tribute  only  to 
France  which  governed  both  him  and  me. 

That  made  him  again  angry,  and  he  raged,  saying  that  I 
should  at  once  give  him  $150,  or  he  would  seize  my  boxes.  I 
told  him  that  he  might  seize  them,  if  he  chose  to  have  me  brand 
him  all  over  the  country  as  a  thief ;  and  suggested  that,  as  to  his 
demand  for  a  gift,  I  was  willing  to  talk  about  it,  if  he  made  it 
more  reasonably ;  and  offered  him  $20.  O !  what  a  scene  he 
made!  ''Me!  Aziza-njele!  Me!  Me!  Twenty  dollars! 
Twenty  dollars  for  me!  Ha!  Ha!  Who  ever  heard!  "  And 
he  crouched  down  with  clinched  fingers  to  the  ground,  in  dra- 
matic disgust  at  the  humiliation  of  being  offered  so  despicable  a 
sum.  He  continued  his  dramatics  for  several  minutes.  And, 
then,  he  reduced  the  demand  to  $100.  "  No."  Then,  to  $80. 
"  No."  And  then  to  $50.  I  standing  silent,  and  only  shaking 
my  head  in  refusal,  thought  that,  to  make  a  precedent  of  giv- 
ing under  compulsion  would  expose  me  and  others  to  demands  in 
the  future.  I  reallv  preferred,  at  the  moment,  that  they  should 
rob  me;  and  then  I  surely  could  get  some  satisfaction,  not  in  re- 
turned goods,  but  in  their  village  being  burned  by  the  French. 
But,  Mr.  Reading  whispered  to  me,  at  the  mention  of  $50,  to 
yield.     I  assented,  and  said.  "Forty!"  Aziza-njele  agreed;  and 


152  MY  OGOWE 

smiling,  he  advanced,  extending  his  hand.  We  shook  hands; 
and  he  exclaimed  enthusiastically,  "  Now  we  are  friends!  "  But. 
his  mob  of  forty  men  were  disappointed  at  only  $i  apiece.  And 
so,  for  a  different  reason,  were  some  of  our  own  company;  for, 
Mr.  Reading's  two  Mpongwes  protested  against  his  direction  that 
they  should  unlock  a  certain  box  of  calico  prints.  Then,  the  mob 
assaulted  them.  But,  their  leader  ordered  them  off,  saying  again 
that  now  we  were  "  friends."  In  the  United  States,  Mr.  Reading 
had  been  a  successful  merchant  in  a  New  Jersey  village,  with 
all  the  polite  arts  of  pleasing  a  customer  and  making  the  best 
show. of  goods.  I  left  him  alone  in  the  task  of  paying  out  the 
$40;  he  could  do  it  more  politically  than  I.  Aziza-njele  took  his 
goods,  pleased,  and  a  professed  friend ;  and  knew  that  he  was 
safe  from  any  charge  of  theft.  (But,  not  long  after,  emboldened 
probably  by  his  success  with  me,  his  people  robbed  a  canoe  of 
the  German  firm.  The  firm  appealed  to  the  Government,  which 
sent  soldiers  hidden  in  the  hold  of  a  small  sailing  vessel,  which 
intentionally  anchored  itself  in  a  tempting  manner  near  Lis- 
boa.  Men  went  off  to  assault  the  vessel ;  and  the  captain  and 
crew,  apparently  alarmed,  made  no  defense.  But,  when  the 
pirates  took  possession  of  the  deck,  suddenly,  the  hatches  were 
opened,  the  soldiers  emerged,  and  several  of  the  Orungu  were 
killed.  That  was  the  last  attempt  of  the  coast  monopoly  to  ob- 
struct the  passage  up-river  of  any  white  man's  steamer  boat,  or 
canoe. ) 

My  settlement  with  Aziza-njele  that  morning  was  peaceable, 
and  without  any  actual  violence,  except  that  Mr.  Reading's  two 
Mpongwes,  Ngomi  and  Mintya,  indignant,  as  they  saw  piece 
after  piece  of  bright-colored  calico  handed  out  by  him  (cloth 
which  they  felt,  with  tribal  covetousness,  belonged  to  them), 
again  made  a  protest,  and  asked  him  to  give  only  inferior  goods. 
One  of  the  Orungu  struck  them.  Little  more  was  needed  to 
have  raised  a  riot.  But,  swallowing  the  wrong.  Mr.  Reading 
wisely  told  the  two  to  be  quiet ;  and  Aziza-njele  justly  flung  aside 
his  offending  man.  *  And,  the  Orungu  departed.  I  was  exhausted 
with  the  nervous  strain  of  the  exactly  two  hours'  contest.  Aziza- 
njele  was  a  raging  wave;  I  was  the  silent  rock.  But,  waves 
wear  away  rocks.  We  had  had  no  time  to  breakfast  before 
those  Orungu  had  assailed  us.  Though  the  hour  was  late,  we 
hasted  to  load  our  crafts,  and  depart  without  eating.  It  was 
possible  that  a  change  of  mind  might  lie  made  by  some  of  our 
assailants,  and  they  might  return  and  make  a  second  demand. 
Leaving  some  of  our  boxes  in  care  of  the  little  trading-house 


FFTISM    DOCTOR    AND    ATTF.NDAXT    DRUMMERS 


Facing  page   153 


A  HIGHWAY  ROBBER  153 

native  (a  Mpongwe),  we  finally  started,  still  heavily-laden,  by 
11.30  a.  m.  After  putting  a  few  miles  between  us  and  our  ene- 
mies, we  stopped  in  the  mangrove  swamp  for  breakfast.  The 
dry  season  wind  roughened  the  water,  making  waves  that  were 
dangerous  for  our  crafts  so  laden  to  the  gunwale.  I  had  kept 
my  nerve  during  the  contest  with  Aziza-njele  but,  in  the  reac- 
tion, I  confess  that  I  was  afraid  of  the  waves.  Also,  I  was 
suffering  from  a  very  sore  toe,  ulcerated  by  the  season's  chigoes. 
Our  crews  were  small;  and  we  two  white  men  had  to  take  the 
rudders,  at  night,  in  order  to  add  one  more  paddle  to  our  weary 
employees,  whom  we  were  urging.  They  wished  to  camp  in  the 
forest.  But,  we  persisted,  until,  at  9  p.  m.,  we  reached  the  com- 
fortable huts  of  King  Esongi  at  Angala,  thirty  miles  from  the 
sea.  That  distance  could  not  have  been  made  in  a  day's  journey, 
were  it  not  for  the  assistance  of  the  up-going  tide,  during  six  of 
our  nine  hours  paddling.  Farther  up  the  river,  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  tide,  and  against  the  river's  constant  current,  eight- 
een miles  a  day  was  the  best  I  could  usually  expect  to  make. 
The  next  day,  Sunday,  August  20,  was  a  restful  day.  Esongi's 
comments  on  my  sermon  of  the  services  were  really  thoughtful. 
I  would  have  been  glad  to  think  they  were  aroused  by  a  spiritual 
interest,  did  I  not  know  that  he  was  bound  by  polygamy,  slav- 
ery, and  superstition.  But,  as  a  literary  exercise,  his  conversa- 
tion was  that  of  an  educated  man. 

On  the  Monday,  I  lightened  our  crafts  by  leaving  some  of  the 
boxes  in  Esongi's  care.  I  would  pick  them  up  when  I  should 
on  my  return  journey  down-river,  bring  Mr.  Reading.  Passed 
Onanga's  village.  And  Nango,  where  the  people  shouted,  urging 
us  to  stop.  Our  laden  crafts  looked  like  wealth.  They  wished 
to  buy  some  of  it  with  their  offered  provisions.  But,  I  was  suf- 
fering with  a  headache,  and  we  pushed  ahead.  Camped  at  night 
in  the  forest.  The  next  day  passed  without  incident,  except 
that,  late  in  the  afternoon,  we  crossed  to  King  Njagu's  more 
friendly  side  of  the  river.  There,  the  stream  is  wide,  and  the 
water  was  somewhat  rough ;  and  a  hippopotamus  came  toward  us 
with  threatening  bellows.  But,  we  escaped  and  passed  Njagu's, 
seeking  for  a  camp  in  the  forest.  For,  Mr.  Reading  had  been 
so  impressed  by  the  Orungu  robbery,  that  he  did  not  wish  to  stop 
in  any  village  until  we  should  reach  Galwa.  Finding  no  favor- 
able spot,  we  landed  at  Chief  Onwa-ombe's,  for  the  night.  The 
scene  was  a  romantic  one.  He  was  having  a  sorcerer  make  a 
"  medicine  "  for  himself.  The  flaring  torches,  the  painted  men 
and  women,  the  dances,  the  drumming,  the  songs  were  thrilling. 


154  MY  OGOWE 

The  next  morning,  there  was  an  attempt  at  trouble  by  a  few 
of  the  Nkami,  in  the  same  spirit,  but  not  nearly  the  same  de- 
gree as  by  the  Orungu.  Probably,  they  knew  of  a  disturbed 
state  of  affairs  (of  which  I  was  not  then  aware)  and  perhaps 
our  crews  had  told  them  of  our  having  paid  a  price  to  the 
Orungu.  The  Nkami  were  also  a  "coast"  tribe  (their  lines 
emerging  on  the  sea  at  Cape  Lopez)  ;  but,  I  had  never  heard  of 
any  "monopoly"  claims  by  them  (except  from  Chief  Isagi). 
When  I  went  to  Oiiwa-ombe's  house,  to  make  the  usual  gift  in  re- 
turn for  our  night's  entertainment,  some  men  rudely  interfered, 
despised  my  "  gift,"  and  demanded  "  tribute."  There  was,  how- 
ever, no  violence,  nor  even  threats,  except  by  one  young  man. 
But  the  old  man  was  wise;  he  defended  me;  accepted  my  gifts; 
the  others  were  mollified,  and  we  parted  in  peace.  But  the  af- 
fair made  our  starting  late.  In  the  afternoon,  we  passed 
Ngumbe.  Several  times  during  the  day  we  were  alarmed  at  the 
number,  proximity  and  advances  of  the  hippopotami.  And,  the 
strong  night  wind  made  the  waves  dangerous.  Had  hoped  to 
reach  a  certain  town,  Avanga.  But,  failing,  we  made  a  good 
camp,  with  a  roaring  fire. 

The  next  day,  August  24,  we  passed  Avanga.  A  man,  with 
apparent  great  friendliness,  volunteered  to  guide  us  in  the  tor- 
tuous channels  of  the  sand-banks  until  we  reached  his  village,  and 
then  was  angry  at  us  because  we  would  not  stop  there,  and  made 
some  threats. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

BELAMBLA    PLUNDERED,    AUGUST,     1876 

1WAS  glad  when  we  finally  passed  the  limits  of  the  Nkami ; 
for,  all  the  way  from  the  river's  mouth,  there  had  been  evil 
intimations  (unappreciated  at  the  time)  of  trouble  ahead. 

My  Galwas  were  afraid  of  the  Ivili  at  Ashuka ;  to  satisfy  them, 
we  avoided  it  by  keeping  to  the  other  side,  the  right  bank;  but, 
in  so  doing,  met  much  rough  water.  For  the  night,  were  wel- 
comed by  Ombya-ogwana  at  Igenja. 

Mr.  Reading  had  used  his  guns  every  day  on  the  river ;  so,  the 
crews  were  well-supplied  with  meat.  On  the  25th,  I  stopped  at 
Nandipo,  to  buy  a  gorilla  skeleton;  but,  as  the  number  of  bones 
was  not  complete,  I  left  it.  I  failed  to  appreciate  that  even  an 
imperfect  skeleton  would,  at  that  time,  have  been  valued  in 
America.  (Years  afterward,  I  sent  an  entire  carcass  of  a 
gorilla  to  the  United  States,  after  several  failures  with  natives 
whom  I  had  hired.  They  hunted  for  me,  and  had  obtained  car- 
casses ;  but,  they  did  not  know  the  necessity  of  keeping  every  little 
bone  of  the  hand  or  foot.)  Passing  Oranga,  there  were  shouts 
for  us  to  stop  and  buy  from  them.  Went  on  to  Aromba,  and 
found  it  deserted;  the  huts  were  surrounded  with  weeds.  Men 
from  Nandipo  overtook  us,  anxious  to  sell  the  imperfect  skeleton. 
They  were  pleased  with  a  price  of  a  few  dollars.  Probably,  in 
the  United  States,  at  that  time,  I  could  have  obtained  for  those 
bones  $100.  Camping  in  the  forest  that  night,  I  felt  sure  that 
I  smelled  the  peculiar,  strong  odor  of  leopards,  and  even  imagined 
that  I  heard  their  stealthy  tread  on  dry  forest  leaves. 

On  Saturday,  the  26th,  we  were  passing  villages  of  the 
Wombalya  district,  and  were  in  sight  of  the  homes  of  several  of 
my  Galwa.  Stopped  at  Zintango's,  for  him  to  disembark,  as 
news  was  shouted  that  his  sister  had  died  while  we  were  at  the 
coast.  Passed  Aveya's  village,  where  his  uncle  violently  pro- 
tested, saying  that  Aveya  had  just  recently  come  from  Akele  with 
the  news  that  my  house  had  been  robbed  of  all  its  goods.  I 
could  not  believe  it;  and  passed  on  to  Ayenwe's.  On  landing 
there,  the  news  was  repeated.  I  could  not  believe  it  was  all  true. 
Native  reports  are  usually  exaggerated.     But,  my  crew  at  once 


156  MY  OGOWE 

were  alarmed,  and  feared  to  go  on  to  Akele.  I  stopped  for  the 
day ;  I  wanted  time  to  think ;  feeling  anxious  about  the  future  of 
my  station,  but  unable,  and  unwilling,  to  decide,  until  I  could 
certify  the  reports. 

Aveya,  Anangarewe,  Lendaginya  and  others  came  to  services 
on  Sunday  morning,  the  27th.  All  the  young  men  of  the  village 
dressed  up  finely  for  the  occasion.  It  was  a  quiet  day,  and  warm, 
for  August.  I  tried  not  to  think  of  the  troubles  ahead,  about  the 
pillage  of  my  Belambla,  which  news  Aveya  confirmed.  But, 
I  could  not  refrain  from  at  once  planning  whether  it  might  not 
be  my  duty  to  leave  Akele,  if  Kasa  should  give  me  no  satisfac- 
tion. And,  if  so,  where  next  should  I  go?  To  Galwa?  The 
hills  across  the  river  looked  attractive,  as  a  possible  site  for  a 
mission  station.  The  keen-eyed  villagers  seemed  to  read  my 
thoughts,  and  began  to  ask  me  to  come  and  settle  there. 

The  next  morning,  the  28th,  I  was  slow  in  leaving.  Anxiety 
to  get  back  to  Belambla  was  gone.  1  dreaded  the  unknown, 
coming  evils.  There  was  repacking  in  the  canoes ;  our  goods, 
which  necessarily  for  protection  against  theft  or  possible  rain, 
had  been  removed  to  the  huts ;  and  bickering  with  the  villagers 
over  the  price  of  chickens,  plantains,  and  other  food  supplies. 
On  our  way,  we  met  three  large  canoes  passing  down-river.  On 
hailing  them,  they  said  they  were  Goree  (Senegal).  There  were 
two  white  men  with  them,  who,  we  were  told  later,  were  the  trav- 
eler Dr.  Lenz  and  Air.  Lubcke,  representative  of  Woermann's 
firm.  On  passing  through  the  Ozugavizya  creek,  it  was  more 
than  usually  obstructed  with  sand-banks ;  so,  we  turned  into  the 
Kenje  cut-off.  Looking  ahead,  I  was  speculating  on  every  desir- 
able point  of  land,  as  possible  ground  for  a  new  station.  My  eyes 
fixed  themselves  on  a  hill  in  the  distance,  which  I  did  not  just  then 
recognize.  Mr.  Reading  also  was  looking  at  it.  As  if  he  was 
reading  my  thought,  he  exclaimed,  "  There's  the  place  for  your 
new  station!"  It  was  Kangwe  Hill!  His  thought  was  soon 
to  be  materialized.  We  reached  Adalinananga  by  5.30  p.  m. 
Messrs.  Travis,  Woodward  and  Findley,  on  a  pier  they  were 
building  at  the  Aguma  landing,  met  us  with  a  confirmation  of 
the  news  of  the  robbery  of  my  house.  But,  I  felt  slightly  re- 
lieved when  they  told  me  that  no  malicious  damage  was  done  to 
the  house  itself;  and  that  Kasa  had  a  prisoner  in  chains  awaiting 
me. 

News  also  that  the  Fan  we  had  finally  emerged  from  the  for- 
est, and  had  built  in  many  places  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river. 
Not  knowing  how  friendly  they  might  l>e,  and  to  avoid  giving 


BELAMBLA  PLUNDERED  157 

them  any  temptation,  Mr.  Reading  and  I  rearranged  our  goods, 
taking  for  the  remainder  of  the  journey,  only  food  and  necessary 
supplies. 

In  journeying  the  next  day,  the  absence  of  current,  due  to  low 
water,  allowed  our  progress  to  be  rapid,  even  in  the  tortuous 
channels.  We  kept  along  the  left  or  Akele  bank.  At  a  mbdgd 
(fishing-camp)  near  Tazie,  bought  fresh  fish.  Details  of  the 
robbery  had  been  given  us,  as  we  journeyed  that  day.  And,  be- 
fore sundown,  were  installed  in  Sakwele's  new  trading-house. 
A  Mpongwe  trader,  Angila-kukulani,  was  there  sick.  At  night, 
the  beautiful  moonlight  was  soothing  to  the  anxieties  of  the  day- 
light ;  and,  our  thoughts  rested  themselves  elsewhere.  Mr. 
Reading  said  that  the  view  reminded  him  of  the  Delaware  River 
at  his  Frenchtown,  N.  J.,  home. 

The  following  day,  August  30,  we  proceeded  slowly,  gather- 
ing at  the  villages  details  of  the  robbery.  Stopped  at  Avyake's 
to  eat.  Landed  at  Ondene's  in  order  to  hear  his  somewhat 
official  report.  As  I  listened  to  him.  I  felt  in  my  heart  as  if  he 
was  a  partaker  in  the  outrage.  In  passing  Kasa's,  was  informed 
that  he  was  absent,  at  a  fishing-camp  farther  up  the  river.  I 
reached  my  house  at  5  p.  m.  There  was  an  ominous  silence : 
for,  there  were  no  persons  living  on  the  premises.  The  grass 
and  white  ants  had  been  well  kept  down  by  Nwanaja  whom  I  had 
left  in  charge :  but,  the  reports  of  breaking  open  of  doors  and 
windows  by  the  robbers  were  evidently  true.  I  felt  sad  at  the 
probable  necessity  of  leaving  the  place,  as  I  saw  no  apparent  pro- 
tection for  the  future.  Nwanaja  came  with  the  key  of  the  house ; 
and  told  me  the  story  of  the  robbery: — Everything  had  gone  on 
well  and  safely,  until  the  time  had  expired  at  which  I  had 
promised  to  return.  Then,  the  Fanwe  had  suddenly  appeared  in 
large  numbers  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  the  Bakele 
became  frightened,  fearing  an  invasion  by  them.  Kasa  was  so 
alarmed  that  he  ordered  her  to  leave  my  house,  and  return  for 
safety  to  his  village.  She  had  objected,  saying  she  wished 
to  remain  and  fulfill  the  trust  I  had  placed  in  her.  He  insisted 
that  she  should  leave,  as  the  house  stood  alone  in  the  forest,  and 
that  if  she  alone  there  with  only  a  lad  should  be  killed  by  the 
Fanwe,  her  people  would  hold  him  responsible  for  her  death. 
She  therefore  had  left.  But.  even  so,  the  house,  unprotected, 
stood  safe  in  the  forest  for  two  whole  weeks;  safe  under  the 
prestige  of  my  name  and  Kasa's. 

Then,  two  Orungu  traders,  following  a  risen  wave  of  coast- 
tribe  animosity   (of  which  I  had  met  one   form  at  the  Ogowe 


158  MY  OGOWH 

mouth  in  the  Lisboa  assault  on  my  Galwas)  spread  a  report  that 
I  did  not  intend  to  return,  and  that  the  coast-tribes  were  to  pre- 
vent the  entrance  into  the  river  of  any  more  white  men.  (A 
part  of  Aziza-njele's  raging  talk  to  me!)  Those  same  Orungu 
had  said  that,  as  I  would  not  return  and  no  longer  cared  for  my 
house,  having  abandoned  it,  they  would  take  possession  of  what 
I  had  left.  Thereupon,  some  of  the  Bakele.  whether  or  not 
they  believed  the  statement  that  I  had  abandoned  the  house, 
claimed  that  they  were  my  heirs.  So,  they  joined  the  Orungu 
in  breaking  into  the  house,  and  shared  in  the  plunder.  I  had 
entire  faith  in  Shvanaja.  To  this  day,  I  do  not  believe  that  she 
shared  in  the  thefts.  I  believed  her  truthful:  and  though  what 
she  told  me  might  not  be  all  true  or  the  entire  truth.  I  believe 
that  she  believed  what  had  been  told  to  her.  The  next  day, 
Disingwe  came  to  say  that  he  was  going  up-river  to  call  Kasa. 
T  did  no  work  on  the  premises,  except  to  keep  the  weeds  from 
the  houses ;  and  awaited  events. 

The  following  day.  Friday,  September  i.  Kasa  came,  and  ar- 
ranged for  the  "  palaver  "  for  next  day.  Then,  Saturday,  the 
2d.  he,  Ondene,  and  others  came ;  but,  the  talk  was  very  unsatis- 
factory; a  shifting  of  responsibility;  professed  ignorance  of  who 
were  guilty;  and  pleas  for  delay,  professedly  for  following  up 
some  clues  of  guilt.  The  prisoner  whom  Kasa  had  been  holding, 
had  been  enabled  to  escape.  Kasa  returned  to  me  some  of  my 
goods,  which  he  said  he  had  rescued.  In  heart,  I  was  not  sure 
that  they  were  not  found  in  the  hands  of  his  own  people.  They 
were  pieces  of  furniture,  tubs,  buckets,  etc.,  which  T  would  have 
seen  in  their  huts,  had  they  not  been  returned ;  and  none  of  them 
were  valuable.  Everything  of  value  was  gone.  A  personal 
loss  of  $200;  and  of  the  Mission's,  at  least  $100.  Delay  was 
exasperating.  Why  should  there  be  delay?  Two  weeks  had 
already  elapsed  since  the  robbery.  Why  had  he  done  nothing  in 
the  interval?  But.  I  was  helpless.  I  passed  the  time  in  enter- 
taining Mr.  Reading,  who.  from  the  very  first,  was  pronounced 
in  his  opinion  that  nothing  would  be  gained  by  delay.  On  Mon- 
day, the  4th.  I  took  him  on  an  excursion  up-river:  and  found 
that  the  Fanwe.  who  had  appeared  on  the  other  side,  were  not 
savages  from  the  Interior :  but.  thev  had  come  from  the  banks 
of  the  Rembwe.  an  affluent  of  the  Gaboon,  where  they  had  had 
some  contact  with  civilization. 

As  the  question  of  abandoning  Belambla  was  still  sub  judicc, 
and  T  must  needs  come  back  thither,  at  least  temporarily,  after 


BELAMBLA  PLUNDERED  159 

I  should  escort  Mr.  Reading  down-river,  I  did  some  little  work 
at  repairing  the  doors  and  windows,  leaving  in  the  house  some 
few  goods,  as  sign  of  possession  and  occupancy.  I  did  not  fear 
there  would  be  any  more  stealing,  when  it  was  known  that  I 
would  return,  as  Kasa  and  others  said  that  the  real  reason  for 
the  robbery  had  been  simply  the  taking  possession  of  (supposed) 
abandoned  property !  I  did  not  believe  him.  But,  his  words, 
which  were  a  placing  of  the  blame  on  myself,  made  me  consider, 
what  would  have  happened,  if  I  had  done  differently.  If  I  had 
yielded  to  the  two  "  strikers  "  in  June,  had  increased  their  wage, 
and  they  had  stayed  in  charge,  would  they  have  remained? 
Would  they  not  have  fled  when  the  Orungu  threats  were  made? 
I  feel  sure  they  would  have.  Then,  if  I  had  not  promised  to 
return  by  a  certain  date,  would  the  case  have  been  any  better? 
True,  making  the  promise  was  not  wise;  but,  a  faithful  servant, 
like  Nwanaja,  would  still  hold  to  the  trust.  All  would  have 
been  well,  if  Kasa  had  not  compelled  her  to  abandon  the  house. 
There  was  no  real  ground  for  his  fear  of  Fanwe ;  they  did  not 
attack.  Even,  unprotected,  the  house  would  have  been  safe,  but 
for  the  conspiracy  of  the  Orungu.  Aziza-njele's  outrage  was  not 
a  purely  local  affair.  The  monopolistic  attempt  was  concerted 
in  the  entire  river.  I  believe  that  Kasa  was  a  consenting  factor 
in  the  robbery,  and  was,  in  self-defense,  trying  to  put  the  blame 
on  me. 

On  September  6,  I  escorted  Mr.  Reading  to  Aguma  House. 
There,  Mr.  Travis  informed  me  of  the  attempted  robbery  of  the 
German  agent  Schulze  and  his  Senegal  clerk  Mr.  Mane,  by  the 
Orungu  at  the  mouth  of  the  river !  So !  it  was  not  only  a  mis- 
sionary who  could  be  attacked.  Was  it  true  that  Aziza-njele 
would  attempt  to  drive  all  the  white  men  out  of  the  river?  In- 
deed, Mr.  Travis  represented  that  it  would  not  be  safe,  now  that 
there  had  been  an  actual  fight,  for  us  to  go  there.  Nevertheless, 
as  it  was  necessary  for  Mr.  Reading  to  return,  by  a  promised 
date,  to  his  work  at  Libreville,  we  continued  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  the  journey.  But,  we  took  a  day  off.  remembering  our 
view  of  Kangwe  Hill  ten  days  previously,  and  went  and  exam- 
ined that  hill  in  the  Ajumba  branch  of  the  Ogowe.  and  opposite 
to  a  village  Atangina  (not  Atangino).  We  admired  the  ro- 
mantic ravine  in  the  hillside,  its  unfailing  spring  of  clear  cool 
water  (a  point  that  deeply  impressed  me,  in  view  of  my  mistake 
at  Mbade  (Benita)  and  disappointment  with  the  Mbilye  at 
Belambla),  and  the  extensive  views  from  the  hilltop.     Sore  as 


160  MY  OGOWK 

my  feet  still  were  with  chigoes,  I  pushed  my  way  through  the 
dense  bushes  of  that  steep  hillside,  and  climbed  a  tree  to  obtain 
the  view  that  was  obstructed  by  the  forest. 

In  my  escort  of  Mr.  Reading,  on  Saturday,  September  9,  I 
started  on  the  journey  down ;  stopping  over  Sunday  at  the  village 
of  Ayenwe's  wife.  Resuming  the  journey  on  Monday,  one  of 
my  men,  Jenagani,  in  fear  of  what  might  happen  at  Orungu,  re- 
fused to  go  any  farther;  I  dismissed  him  from  my  service. 
Stopped  at  Oranga,  for  food;  but  their  prices  were  too  high. 
On  to  Igenja.  where  the  people  were  dancing,  dressed  in  ridicu- 
lous attire.  There,  Zintango  and  Ayenwe  did  not  refuse  to  go 
on,  but,  they  were  so  evidently  paralyzed  with  fear,  that  I  pre- 
ferred they  should  await  my  return  there.  Then,  a  young  man 
Awora,  who,  as  a  Mpanja  (a  sub-division  of  Galwa)  said  he 
was  not  afraid,  volunteered.  His  mother,  in  fear,  tried  to  pre- 
vent his  going  with  me.  He  ran  away  from  her,  and  actually 
jumped  into  the  boat,  as  I  pushed  it  off  from  the  landing. 
(Years  afterward,  he  became  a  Christian,  and  a  church  elder.) 

The  rainy  season  was  approaching;  there  actually  were  a  few 
showers.  Because  of  low  water  in  the  channels,  making  our 
progress  often  slow  and  tortuous,  wc  failed  to  reach  Avanga ; 
and,  late  at  night,  had  to  sleep  in  the  forest.  This  was  no  new 
experience  for  me ;  but,  I  feared  rain  for  Mr.  Reading.  Re- 
suming the  journey  next  morning,  and  stopping  at  Xgumbe,  I 
found  Chief  Isagi  unusually  attentive,  giving  us  fowls,  plantains, 
and  sugar-cane.  T  was  pleased  to  see,  that,  instead  of,  as  a 
Nkami,  siding  with  the  Orungu  coast  tribe,  he  had  taken  the 
part  of  the  river  tribes.  It  was  he  who  had  rescued  Mr.  Mane 
and  his  crew,  who  had  been  attacked  by  Aziza-njele  near  Xgumbe 
(not.  as  first  report  had  said,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river).  That 
assault  on  Mr.  Mane  was  even  more  serious  than  the  outrage 
on  myself.  In  my  case,  the  attempt  was  made  only  to  prevent 
my  entering  the  river.  In  Mane's  case,  he  had  been  followed. 
and  an  attempt  at  robbery  made,  after  he  had  ascended  the  river 
some  70  miles,  and  was  in  the  limits  of  another  tribe.  To  aid 
the  crew.  T  hired  two  lads  from  Isagi.  At  King  Njagu's.  wc 
met  a  number  of  Mpongwe  traders  who  had  been  in  the  company 
of  Mr.  Schulze's  schooner  when  it  had  been  attacked  by  the 
Orungu,  and  who  had  come  on  up-river  from  Angala,  "  King  " 
Esongi's.  Thev  warned  us  not  to  attempt  to  emerge  at  Orungu. 
during  the  then  present  excitement.  Nevertheless,  on  the 
Wednesday,  we  made  an  early  start  before  dawn.  We  stuck  in 
a    shallow    channel,    troublesomely    near    to    a    hippopotamus. 


o 
< 


o 

Pi 
Pi 

w 
> 

5 


BELAMBLA  PLUNDERED  161 

Finally,  we  reached  Angala  about  5  p.  m.  My  friendly  "  King  " 
Esongi  gave  us  the  news  of  the  river.  I  always  respected  his 
intelligence  and  his  judgment.  He  thought  it  safe  for  us  to  pro- 
ceed. But,  we  hesitated,  not  knowing  whether  the  Hudson  had 
kept  its  appointment  to  be  there  to  meet  us ;  it  would  not  be  wise 
to  go  into  an  Orungu  village  to  wait  for  that  vessel,  nor  safe 
to  camp  in  the  mangrove  swamp.  So,  on  Thursday,  the  14th, 
I  hired  Esongi's  nephew,  Banga  (Afraid)  to  go  the  thirty  miles 
to  the  mouth,  and  see  whether  the  Hudson  was  there.  In  his 
light  canoe,  he  should  have  returned  on  Friday.  As  he  had  not 
returned  by  Saturday  morning,  I  went  up-river  to  Onanga's,  and 
hired  his  large  native  boat  and  crew  of  six  men,  for  $28,  to  take 
Mr.  Reading  the  thirty  miles  to  sea,  and  the  seventy  miles  by 
sea,  to  Libreville  (I,  subsequently,  to  buy  the  boat).  He  was 
anxious  to  get  to  his  home,  lest  Mrs.  Reading  (who,  of  course, 
would  have  heard  native  reports  of  Aziza-njele's  doings)  would 
be  unduly  distressed.  Banga  returned  that  evening,  reporting 
"  no  Hudson." 

On  Monday,  September  18,  though  there  was  a  slight  rain, 
Mr.  Reading  was  off  at  7  a.m.  with  his  stout  Nkami  crew. 
(He  reached  Gaboon  in  entire  safety.) 


CHAPTER  XV 

BELAMBLA    STATION    ABANDONED.    SEPTEMBER.     1 8/6 

WHEN  the  rain  had  ceased.  I  loaded  my  kongongo.  and 
started  on  the  ioo  mile  return  to  Adalinananga.  Slept 
in  the  forest.  The  next  night.  Tuesday,  the  19th,  we 
rested  at  Yambe,  having  made  forty  miles  in  the  two  days.  I 
holding  the  rudder,  so  that  every  one  of  the  crew  could  be 
steadily  at  the  paddles.  The  next  day,  the  20th,  at  Xgumbe.  I 
landed  Isagi's  two  lads,  and  paid  their  wages.  But,  one  of  them. 
Mbumba,  had  so  attracted  me  by  his  good  looks,  and  himself  was 
pleased,  that  I  retained  him  in  my  service.  With  the  risk  of 
rain,  passed  the  night  in  the  forest,  at  a  deserted  Avanga  camp. 

The  next  day,  resisting  the  calls  of  people  at  various  villages 
for  me  to  stop  and  purchase  their  wares,  I  went  on  to  a  new 
village  of  the  Igenja  district,  and  found  Ombya-ogwana  (the 
former  Pioneer  pilot)  living  there.  He  had  quarreled  with  his 
people  about  my  Mpongwe  ReTeno's  brass-kettle  (lost  at  the 
time  I  had  stopped  at  his  former  place  on  my  way  up-river  with 
Mr.  Reading),  and  had  removed  to  this  new  place.  He  had 
very  poor  accommodations ;  not  even  the  native  gum  torches. 

The  next  day.  Friday,  22d.  I  had  to  hire  two  new  young  men, 
being  disappointed  in  not  rinding  awaiting  me  the  two  whom  I 
had  allowed  to  leave,  on  our  way  down-river.  But,  during  the 
day,  I  met  them  coming  to  me.  They  had  been  detained  by  the 
death  of  their  friend  Tivino's  father.  The  increased  crew  pulled 
well;  and  we  reached  Zintango's  just  at  dusk.  The  next  day.  I 
took  the  dismissed  Xandi-kijemba  again  into  my  service,  thus 
making  my  company  nine  in  number.  Stopped  at  Ginigo. 
Aveya's  village,  for  him  to  go  with  me  and  show  me  localities 
which  he  said  were  desirable  building-sites.  The  Galwa  were 
now  anxious  for  me  to  leave  Belambla,  and  build  with  them.  I 
examined  two  fine  localities;  one.  near  Ginigo;  and  the  other 
farther  up-river,  in  view  of  the  mouth  of  Ozugavizya  Creek. 
Ascended  that  creek,  and  stopped  at  Ayenwe's  father's  village. 
Orema-w-indego  (Heart-of- Friends)  to  buy  fish.  Passed  on. 
and  slept  at  Xtyuwaguma.  Was  well  received,  though  the  peo- 
ple   were   noisy   in   excitement    over  their   pursuit   of   a   passing 

162 


BELAMBLA  STATION  ABANDONED  163 

canoe,  and  the  capture  of  a  woman  in  some  family  quarrel. 
They  could  not  restrain  their  noise,  even  during  my  evening 
prayers. 

Even  on  the  next  day,  Sunday,  the  24th,  though  I  rested,  the 
day  was  marked  by  much  confusion.  The  people  were  still 
noisy  over  their  captive ;  my  crew  were  troublesome  about  their 
food ;  the  little  boys  of  the  village  were  having  riotous  enjoy- 
ment in  their  play  of  catching  goats  with  a  noose,  as  a  lasso. 
Their  game  became  ludicrous  even  to  me,  when  one  male  goat 
resented  proceedings,  and  put  one  of  the  lads  to  flight.  One 
young  man  made  an  effort  to  quiet  the  audience,  while  I  was 
holding  service.  But,  he  made  things  even  worse,  by  his  loud 
and  pugnacious  conduct.  I  had  read  an  American  western  book, 
one  of  whose  chapters  told  of  certain  lively  scenes  in  a  church 
called  "  The  Best  Licks."  That  young  man  reminded  me  of  it. 
A  pleasant  contrast  were  the  smiles  and  gratitude  of  a  woman 
who  brought  me  a  present  of  six  eggs  in  return  for  a  small  gift 
I  had  given  her. 

The  following  day.  Monday.  I  stopped  at  Kangwe  Hill  to 
lunch,  and  to  inspect  its  lower  side.  Found  another  fine  ravine, 
and  delightful  fresh  water.  Then,  we  raced  with  two  of  Mr. 
Travis's  canoes,  reaching  his  Aguma  House  at  1  p.m.;  where 
I  was  comfortably  safe.  For,  that  night,  there  was  rain  with 
thunder  and  lightning,  the  first  thunder  of  the  new  season;  the 
official  announcement  of  the  rainy.  The  water  in  the  river  also 
was  rising. 

On  Wednesdav.  September  2j,  I  started  again  for  Belambla. 
Reached  Anyambe-jena's  early,  and  stopped  for  the  night.  A 
stranger  to  the  customs  of  those  people  might  have  thought  I 
was  in  some  danger,  from  a  loud  quarrel  that  was  going  on. 
There  were  some  very  war-like  threats  and  acts,  about  some 
brother-in-law  of  his.  As  long  as  native  proceedings  were  not 
about  or  on  account  of  me,  I  had  learned  that  it  was  wisest  for 
the  visitor  not  to  interfere.  After  the  confusion  had  quieted.  I 
had  my  usual  evening  prayer. 

The  following  day.  the  28th,  passed  the  villages  of  Manda  and 
Myangarie.  stopping  only  at  Onderie's.  where  I  heard  that  Bakele 
had  been  killing  Faiiwe.  That  was  very  disastrous  for  my  mis- 
sion prospects,  and  utterly  preposterous  as  a  tribal  political  move. 
T  knew,  as  sure  as  fate,  that  no  tribe  could  bar  Faiiwe  advance. 
Diplomacy,  if  nothing  better,  should  have  told  the  Bakele  to  meet 
them  with  friendship.  Reached  my  Belambla  house  about  2 
p.  m.     There  again  another  blow!     The  house  had  ag'ain  been 


1 64  MY  OGOWE 

plundered !  This  time,  everything  was  gone,  doors,  windows, 
furniture,  and  every  movable  thing!  But,  I  did  not  feel  hurt 
as  much  as  at  the  first  robbery.  The  events  of  the  intervening 
four  weeks,  Kasa's  futile  efforts  at  reparation  during  my  absence 
down-river,  information  from  interviews  with  white  men  and 
other  tribes,  and  my  actual  consideration  of  the  probability  of 
removal  to  Galwa,  had  largely  lessened  my  interest  in  Belambla. 
Instead  of  pain  for  the  loss  to  my  work,  I  felt  indignation  at 
the  insult  to  myself.  I  had  given  faith  and  love  and  trust  and 
devotion  to  the  Bakele.  And,  they  had  failed  me.  If  it  was 
true  that  only  Orungu  had  been  the  robbers  in  August,  I  felt 
sure  that  Bakele,  Goree,  Orungu  and  all  were  sharers  in  this  last 
demonstration.  How  could  I  have  any  faith  that  anything, 
even  life,  would  be  safe,  if  I  remained  at  Belambla?  Would 
it  not  be  a  case  of  "  casting  pearls  before  swine  "?  There  would 
need  to  be  some  demonstration  more  vigorous  and  effective  than 
any  yet  made  by  Kasa  or  any  one  of  the  Bakele,  to  induce  me 
to  remain.  And,  yet,  the  neighbors  flocked  to  see  me,  and  were 
desirous  to  sell  me  food !  But,  I  said  nothing  publicly.  It  is 
oriental  to  go  slowly.  Africans  are  oriental.  They  deride  the 
fluttering  bluster  of  some  white  men. 

In  the  meantime,  whether  my  temporary  continuance  there 
should  be  weeks  or  only  a  few  days,  I  must  put  in  order  the 
house  in  which  I  was  still  to  sleep.  On  Friday,  the  29th,  I  set 
to  work  to  mend  the  broken  doors,  and  brush  the  dusty  walls. 
5hvanaja  and  Akanda  came;  and  I  gave  them  pretty  dresses  sent 
for  them  by  mission  ladies  at  the  Coast,  before  I  had  even 
dreamed  of  such  a  thing  as  robbery.  And,  as  to  ftwanaja,  I 
still  had  entire  faith  in  her.  Misfortunes  do  not  come  singly. 
About  midnight,  I  was  aroused  by  an  alarm  of  fire.  The  bamboo 
kitchen,  only  a  few  yards  from  the  house,  was  in  blaze.  For- 
tunately, the  wind  was  very  light,  and  was  blowing  from  the 
house.  I  worked  desperately  at  beating  out  the  flames,  and  in 
forming  my  employees  into  a  "  bucket-line  "  with  tins,  kettles, 
etc.,  from  the  river.  They  seemed  indifferent  or  dazed.  The 
Kombe.  Kongolo,  was  the  only  really  active  one.  I  had  carried 
out  of  the  house  some  of  my  more  valuable  boxes  and  goods, 
among  them,  a  bolt  of  cloth,  and  had  left  them  in  Awora's  care 
in  the  workman's  hut,  which  was  at  a  safe  distance.  After  the 
fire  was  extinguished,  the  cloth  was  missing!  He  had  stolen  it ! 
At  first,  he  denied:  but,  presently  he  admitted,  and  restored  the 
cloth.     And,  this,  from  one  of  my  own  employees!     What  was 


BELAMBLA  STATION  ABANDONED  165 

to  be  the  end?  (I  have  not  at  any  time  supposed  that  the  fire 
was  other  than  accidental.) 

On  Saturday,  the  30th,  Kasa  and  many  people  came  to  in- 
quire about  the  burning.  They  expressed  sympathy.  But,  they 
had  a  variety  of  suspicions.  I  think,  now,  that  some  of  them 
believed  that  it  was  a  deliberate  act  of  mine,  to  destroy  what  I 
could  not  take  away,  as  my  first  step  in  leaving  them.  I  was 
told  that  an  investigation  of  the  robbery  of  the  house  was  being 
made  against  N"andi's  people.. 

I  tried  to  put  away  the  conflicting  thoughts,  in  order  properly 
to  conduct  the  Sunday  services  of  October  1.  Very  few  people 
came.  But,  it  was  some  satisfaction  that  the  lad  Kimagwe,  of 
whom  I  had  had  hopes  in  spiritual  interest,  came  both  to  morn- 
ing service  and  afternoon  Sabbath  school. 

But,  on  Monday,  it  was  difficult  to  suppress  indignation  at  the 
crowd  of  visitors  who  came  asking  for  gifts.  Did  they  really 
despise  me,  that,  having  lost  so  much,  and  apparently  accepting 
the  loss  so  meekly,  my  meekness  was  mistaken  for  weak- 
ness ?  The  rich  white  man  had  so  much,  that  what  was  gone  by 
the  Orungu  robbers  was  only  a  bagatelle,  and  he  still  had  abun- 
dance to  give  to  his  Bakele  "  friends  "  ?  But  I  was  to  live  and 
eat,  even  the  little  while  I  might  stay  there;  so,  I  began  to  re- 
build the  kitchen,  with  Kongolo  as  a  blundering  carpenter. 

On  October  2,  I  wrote  from  Belambla  to  my  sister  at  Benita : 

"  I  am  kind  of  dazed.  A  great  deal  will  have  to  be  done. 
When,  or  what,  I  don't  know.  Accumulated  misfortunes  have 
left  me  without  energy  to  do  anything.  That  was  the  reason  I 
did  not  write  you  any  more  than  the  little  note  from  Angala,  on 
the  1 8th  of  September,  when  Mr.  Reading  and  I  parted.  I  re- 
turned safely  up  the  river  (the  rains  holding  off)  with  my  five 
crew ;  and  gathered  four  others  in  the  way.  Reached  Mr. 
Travis'  trading-post  (Aguma)  on  Monday,  September  25. 
That  night  the  rains  began  '  officially,'  with  thunder  and  light- 
ning. On  the  Wednesday,  I  came  on  here,  arriving  early  in  the 
afternoon  of  Thursday.  All  the  month  and  while  I  had  been 
down  the  river  with  Mr.  Reading,  Kasa  and  his  people  had  been 
away  fishing.  They  returned  just  the  day  before  I  did.  He 
had  done  nothing  about  the  robbery  '  palaver.'  The  stealing 
had  been  repeated,  and  even  damage  done,  with  appearance  of 
destruction  for  ruin  sake ;  of  which  there  had  been  none  at  first. 
I  can  do  nothing  by  myself.     It  is  not  as  at  Benita  and  Corisco. 


r66  MY  OGOWE 

I  am  entirely  in  the  hands  of  this  one  man.     I  think  I  ought  not 
to  stay  here,  if  no  redress  is  obtained.     Mr.  Reading  is  certain 
that  I  have  not  chosen  the  best  locality,  and  should  remove,  inde- 
pendent of  this  robbery  matter.     I  wish  some  one  could  have 
said  so,  exactly  a  year  ago,  when  I  begged  the  Mission  to  come 
and  assist  my  judgment  in  location,  before  expense  of  houses 
and  goods  were  put  on  these  premises,     Mr.  Reading  said  that 
he  wanted  to  come  on  the  Pioneer  at  that  time  for  that  purpose, 
and  would  have  done  so,  had  not  Dr.  Bushnell  hindered  him  by 
saying  that  himself  was  coming,  when  he  probably  had  no  inten- 
tion of  doing  so.      [Dr.  Bushnell  had  a  habit  of  always  '  expect- 
ing.']     I  chose  this  spot,   (passing  knowingly  and  intentionally 
the  very  place,  Kangwe  Hill,  which  Mr.  Reading  now  chooses) 
solely  for  the  two  reasons,  that,  the  Bakele  people  seemed  so 
friendly;  and,  that  it  was  twenty-five  miles  nearer  to  the  longed- 
for  Interior,  than  the  spot  of  Mr.  Reading's  among  the  Galwas. 
The  latter  is  about  one  and  a  half  miles  from  the  trading-houses. 
is  the  highest  ground  thus  far  on  the  river,  steep  and  difficult  of 
ascent,    in   a   great   geographical   center   of   three   streams,    etc. 
When  I  chose  Belambla,  I  could  not  know  that  the  Bakele  would 
show  such  persistent  carelessness  for  preaching  and  teaching,  as 
they  have  done.     The   Galwas   seem   to   care    for   both.     Also, 
this  spot  is   (I  must  admit)   a  somewhat  lonely  one.     Kangwe 
Hill    (Mr.   Reading's)    is  a  place  where  I   would  be  willing  to 
leave  you  alone,  if  I  needed  to  be  gone  awhile.     I  am  becoming 
conscious  that  no  new  unmarried  missionary  can  live  here  as  T 
have  done;  that  probably  no  married  one  would  be  willing  to 
come  this  far  with   his  wife:  and  that  no  recruit  of  any  kind 
will  soon  be  found  by  the  Board.      So.  the  thought  presses  it- 
self:    Ought  I  to  put  more  of  life  and  expense  on  this  place, 
which,  if  I  am  taken  away,  will  then  go  down:  or,  shall  I  start 
again,  at  Kangwe,  where,  even  if  T  die.  or  visit  America,  house 
and   goods   will   probably  be  safer  in   natives'   hands  than   they 
have  proved  here.      And.  yet.  T  do  not  blame  the  Bakele  much. 
They  stole  under  the  great  temptation  of  the  house  being  with- 
out any  guard;  and.  that,  after  weeks  of  no  guardianship.      It 
was  my   fault,   in  leaving  only  a  woman  and   two  children.      I 
trusted  too  much.     Then.  too.  the  Fanwe  have  appeared  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  in  several  places  (one  village  exactly 
opposite  my  house)  ;  and.  they  will  be  a  source  of  confusion, 
probablv  making  this   station   like   Nengenenge    [an   abandoned 
station  on  the  Gaboon  River].      T  could  keep  up  this  place  with 
natives,   as   an   out-station.      But,   going  away   will   be   difficult. 


.    BELAMBLA  STATION  ABANDONED  167 

Kasa  may  resist ;  of  course,  he  will  object.  And,  going  away 
from  a  place  I  like  (it  is  a  beautiful  spot,  even  Mr.  Reading  says 
that,  though  Kangwe  is  grander)  is  painful  work.  And,  be- 
ginning over  again,  at  clearing,  and  huts  on  ground,  etc.,  (all  of 
which  must  be  preliminary  to  a  house  on  posts),  just  after  I 
have  gotten  into  a  comfortable  neat  house,  is  discouraging.  It's 
hard  to  know  what  is  right  to  be  done.  I  am  willing  to  go  over 
the  work  again ;  but,  it  might  have  been  saved  me,  by  a  mission- 
ary visit  of  inspection  a  year  ago.  And,  is  it  best  to  stay  here 
just  for  the  sake  of  holding  the  advance  of  twenty-five  miles 
farther  into  the  Interior,  even  while  these  people  do  not  seem 
prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  Gospel?  Ought  I,  by  remain- 
ing, accept,  as  if  it  was  a  small  matter,  the  repeated  robberies 
of  this  house?  That  is,  ought  I  not  go  away,  to  show  the  people 
what  they  lose?  These,  and  all  sorts  of  questions  come  to  me; 
and  I  put  them  down,  not  for  you  to  answer,  for,  they  will  prob- 
ably be  answered  before  your  reply  could  come.  You  know 
that  I  am  not  at  all  superstitious ;  but,  a  little  omen  came  to  me 
on  last  Thursday,  on  landing  here :  All  the  way,  that  day,  the 
sky  was  clouded,  scarcely  any  sunshine.  Just  as  I  came  to  my 
landing,  the  sun  shone  out.  So,  I  think  that  there  will  be  light, 
some  day,  for  Belambla,  though,  just  how,  I  do  not  know. 
Kasa  is  professing  to  try  to  get  back  my  things ;  but,  I  am  losing 
all  confidence  in  him.  His  women  were  delighted  with  the 
dresses.  So,  I  say  nothing,  as  yet,  to  any  one  about  leaving. 
He  would  at  once  cease  any  effort  to  recover  my  losses.  On 
the  Friday  night  (the  next  day),  after  arrival  here,  one  of  the 
three  outhouses  burned  down,  the  kitchen.  ReTeno  was  sleeping 
in  it,  and  had  carelessly  left  the  fire  of  logs  burning  near  the  side 
of  the  hut.  (I  had  sent  the  stove  away  for  safety,  when  I  took 
Mr.  Reading  down-river.)  There  was  but  little  wind,  and  what 
there  was  blew  past  the  frame  of  my  dwelling,  not  toward 
it. 

"  In  the  meanwhile,  until  I  can  see  it  proper  to  decide  the 
question  of  leaving  or  staying,  I  am  building  a  small  kitchen 
behind  the  dwelling;  it  will  be  needed  by  a  native,  if  I  go  away. 
What  patience !  So  often  in  these  African  troubles,  things  de- 
cide themselves  just  by  waiting  (and  this  is  entirely  consistent 
with  watchful  observation  of  events  and  use  of  means).  But, 
the  process  of  waiting  is  wearing.  In  getting  Mr.  Reading 
down  and  out  of  the  river  [which  a  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Read- 
ing at  Gaboon,  at  the  same  time,  to  my  sister  at  Benita,  expressed 
the  hope  that  I  would  not  risk  him  by  attempting  to  do]   I  had 


1 68  MY  OGOWE 

to   try  the   '  waiting.'     And,   he   got   quite   angry  at   me   once, 
because  I  would  not  move  faster." 

The  diagram  that  appears  elsewhere  represents  my  little  collec- 
tion of  buildings,  at  that  time.  The  Ogowe.  at  that  part  of  its 
course,  ran  from  a  north-easterly  to  a  south-westerly  direction. 
My  house  faced  the  setting  sun. 

The  cold  which  I  had  caught,  on  the  night  of  the  fire,  in- 
creased ;  and.  by  Wednesday,  October  4.  I  was  feverish.  The 
fever  grew,  as  the  days  went  by.  I  would  not  go  to  bed ;  but. 
sat  wrapped  in  my  overcoat,  meeting  visitors,  and  superintending 
work.  But,  on  Friday,  October  6,  I  succumbed.  To  all  my 
other  troubles  was  added  a  threatened  attack  of  pneumonia.  For 
a  week.  T  could  do  nothing.  My  diary  records  which  T  entered, 
at  that  time,  are  chronologically  incorrect  from  October  6  to 
October  18.  T  made  them,  after  a  partial  recovery,  on  inquiry 
with  Kongolo  and  my  other  people,  as  to  the  sequence  of  events; 
the  events  I  myself  remembered.  But.  somewhere,  T  am  short 
of  a  day.  Part  of  the  time,  I  am  sure  I  must  have  been  uncon- 
scious, for,  I  do  not  know  how  time  elapsed.  My  cough  was 
hard.  My  employees  brought  me  doses  from  my  medicine- 
chest,  as  I  was  able,  from  time  to  time,  to  direct,  when  awake 
or  conscious.  I  remember  that,  desiring  warmth  and  air,  I  had 
my  bedding  brought  out  of  doors  and  placed  in  a  hammock, 
where  I  could  lie  wrapped  in  blankets  in  the  shade  of  a  tree,  but 
still  in  the  hot  African  air.  I  remember  that,  one  day,  when 
Kongolo  offered  me  food,  and  I  refused  it  (for.  I  was  eating 
nothing  under  that  fever  and  cough)  he.  anxious  in  his  loyalty, 
protested.  "You!  Dr.  Nassau!  you!  our  only  missionary!  and 
are  vou  going  to  die  for  not  eating?"  To  a  native  African, 
inability  to  eat  is  the  worst  sign  in  any  sickness.  I  remember 
also,  that  a  lame  female  cat.  which  had  been  brought  to  me  by 
Masomami,  because  he  thought  it  was  my  lost  one.  and  which 
I  had  fed  and  petted,  showed  its  gratitude  by  climbing  into  the 
hammock  with  me.     Only  the  affection  of  a  cat! 

About  the  9th,  T  was  so  faint  for  food,  and  yet  without  appe- 
tite, that  I  determined  to  arouse  it,  and  ordered  a  heroic  menu; 
a  tin  of  canned  oysters  was  opened,  stewed  with  a  large  quan- 
tity of  hot  chili  peppers,  and  eaten  with  a  roast  ripe  plantain. 
It  did  me  good ! 

About  the  9th  or  10th,  T  availed  myself  of  a  passing  canoe 
to  send  a  letter  to  Aguma.  Ondene  came  early  in  the  morning: 
I  do  not  know  what  for.      I  declined  to  receive  any  Bakele  vis- 


BELAMBLA  STATION  ABANDONED  169 

itors.  The  nth  of  October,  my  birthday  anniversary,  made  me 
feel  that  a  continuance  of  such  a  kind  of  life  would  soon  make 
an  old  man  of  me.  So  weak  and  listless,  and  no  appetite,  while 
my  cough  symptoms  were  improving.  So,  about  the  12th,  I 
determined  to  rise,  and  attempt  to  do  some  work.  A  Mpongwe 
trader  brought  me  a  note  from  Mr.  Travis,  confirming  the  report 
of  the  killing  and  drowning  of  five  Orungu,  in  their  assault  on 
Agent  Schulze.  They  were  reaping  as  they  had  sown.  Their 
assault  on  me  had  found  me  helpless.  But,  back  of  the  German 
were  his  rich  employer  Woermann  and  the  German  Empire ! 

My  attempt  at  energy  had  been  unwise;  and,  about  the  14th, 
I  was  down  again  with  my  cough.  Nevertheless,  on  the  Sun- 
day, I  attempted  to  conduct  the  usual  services.  I  was  too  weak 
to  make  myself  heard,  and  the  small  audience  slipped  away. 
Indeed,  at  Sunday-school,  some  lads  told  Kongolo  that  the  people 
feared  to  come.  Sickness  and  the  prospect  of  death  have  a 
terrifying  influence  on  the  native  Africans.  Several  of  my  own 
Galwa  employees  slipped  away,  to  enjoy  themselves  otherwise. 
5hvanaja  brought  one  of  my  stolen  utensils.  Even  she, 
friendly  woman,  after  recovering  it,  had  retained  it  awhile,  for 
use  in  her  kitchen !  For  a  moment,  I  did  the  good  woman  the 
injustice  of  suspecting,  that,  having  the  keys,  she  was  perhaps  the 
original  thief.  I  was  doubting  everybody.  But,  I  have  heard 
of  similar  acts  being  done  in  Christian  America. 

October  18  was  a  notable  day.  An  Akele  from  near  the. 
Ngunye  River  came  with  some  fine  plantains  to  sell,  and  with 
him  two  Fanwe  acquaintances  to  see  me !  They  were  from  the 
village  just  opposite  across  the  river;  and  they  had  been  afraid 
to  come  before,  because  of  my  Bakele!  There!  I  said  to  myself, 
that  may  be  the  beginning  of  many  Fanwe  coming  to  a  station 
neglected  by  Bakele !  I  had,  when  I  began  the  Belambla  work, 
expected  that  Fanwe  would  appear  on  the  river,  perhaps  in  the 
course  of  five  years.  They  had  actually  arrived  in  less  than 
one!  I  was  without  letters,  and  needed  supplies.  In  the  dis- 
turbed state  of  the  river,  I  did  not  think  it  safe  to  send  my  crew. 
At  no  time  was  I  afraid  for  myself.  And,  I  believed  that  my 
presence  would  be  a  sufficient  protection  for  the  crew.  I  was 
sure  that  people  who  would  rob  or  steal,  would  not  do  so  in  my 
presence.  There  was  still  some  outward  respect  for  the  white 
man.  So,  leaving  Kongolo  in  charge,  I  got  things  together  to 
go  down  to  Mr.  Travis  at  Aguma,  in  order  to  meet  the  expected 
Pioneer.  She  always  made  her  initial  journey,  in  the  rainy 
season,  as  soon  as  the  river  rose  in  September. 


i;o  MY  OGOWE 

On  the  way,  stopped  at  Ondene's.  He  was  alarmed  when  he 
was  told  that  Fafiwe  had  actually  been  visiting  at  my  house. 
While  eating  on  an  island  opposite  the  Ngunye  mouth,  was 
caught  in  a  heavy  rain;  and  reached  Mr.  Travis's  very  wet.  in 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  I  found  there  awaiting  me  a  box, 
brought  by  Mr.  Schulze  ten  days  before,  containing  a  large  and 
precious  list  of  letters. 

In  the  evening,  while  chatting  with  Clerk  Woodward.  I  pro- 
posed to  him  that,  on  a  certain  day,  he  and  I  should  go  bird- 
hunting.  He  looked  at  me  with  somewhat  of  surprise,  saying. 
"Do  you  hunt  on  Sunday?"  To  hunt  on  Sunday  was  not 
strange  for  himself;  but  he  seemed  to  think  it  inconsistent  in  the 
clergyman.  I  replied.  "Why!  that  day  will  not  be  Sunday:  it 
will  l)e  Saturday. "  He  disputed,  and  referred  to  the  shop  ac- 
count-book and  his  own  diary.  I  appealed  to  my  diary;  but, 
had  to  admit  that,  during  the  sickness  at  Belambla.  when  for  a 
week  I  made  no  entries  day  by  day,  I  may  have  dropped  a  day. 
But.  we  held  the  matter  sub  judicc,  until  the  Pioneer  should  ar- 
rive, agreeing  that  the  question  should  be  decided  by  the  cap- 
tain's log. 

The  Aguma  traders  were  hospitable,  their  table  free ;  but. 
their  sleeping  accommodations  limited.  So.  I  went  to  the  Galwa 
town,  Atangina  (the  Predestined)  of  Chief  Re-Xkombe,  oppo- 
site to  Kangwe  Hill,  for  lodging  at  nights.  The  people  there 
were  polite,  compared  with  the  Bakele,  not  noisy  or  troublesome; 
not  standing  in  my  light  watching  me  when  I  wrote ;  and  care- 
ful about  noises  in  my  presence.  T  had  pleasant  chats  with  them 
in  the  evening.  But.  on  Sunday  evening,  was  scandalized  by 
four  of  my  Gahvas  going  to  a  dance.  I  fined  them;  and  two 
of  them  left  my  service. 

On  October  20,  I  wrote  to  my  sister  at  Benita : 

"  I  came  down  here  yesterday,  hoping  to  meet  the  Pioneer. 
which.  I  understood,  was  to  be  here  on  the  19th.  T  had  several 
reasons;  needed  to  get  some  supplies  from  what  I  had  left  in 
storage,  at  this  trading-post ;  wanted  to  send  letters  by  the 
Pioneer;  had  a  hope  that  something  in  the  letters  I  might  expect 
from  the  Board  or  the  Mission,  would  help  me  to  decide  the 
question  about  removing  my  station  to  this  point;  it  was  time 
to  hear  from  the  Board  about  my  proposal,  temporarily  to  leave 
their  sen  ice  in  order  to  join  Mr.  Bruce  Walker  on  his  proposed 
journey  of  exploration;  if  T  decided  to  come  to  Kangwe.  T  would 
at  once  reveal  my  intentions  to  the  Gal  was.      Also.  I  was  weak 


BELAMBLA  STATION  ABANDONED  171 

from  my  long  attack  of  cough,  which  found  tender  ground  in 
my  throat  never  perfectly  clear  of  a  cold  in  the  previous  Novem- 
ber. And,  I  wanted  a  change.  I  will  go  back  to  my  station ; 
and,  if  I  remove  from  there  to  this  place,  I  may  have  some 
trouble  in  so  doing.  But,  I  hope  that  the  Lord  will  protect 
and  direct." 

In  the  mail.  I  found  an  excellent  letter  from  Secretary  Lowrie, 
under  date  of  June  20: 

"  It  does  trouble  me  not  a  little,  to  think  of  your  being  still 
all  alone  there.  ...  It  troubles  me  not  a  little  to  think  of  your 
sister  and  Miss  Jones  being  at  Benita  without  the  company  of 
any  gentleman.  In  neither  case  does  it  seem  right,  wise,  expe- 
dient, or  anything  else!  except  it  be  necessary.  But  we  must 
pray  and  hope  for  reinforcement  to  both  Benita  and  Ogowe." 

On  Monday,  October  23,  I  announced  to  the  Atangina  people 
that  I  would  come  and  build  at  Kangwe.  And,  the  next  day,  I 
started  back  up-river,  to  inform  the  Bakele  of  my  decision.  One 
of  my  eyes  was  very  much  swollen  and  painful  with  an  eye- 
worm.  But,  I  held  the  rudder  all  the  way,  arriving  at  Belambla, 
on  Wednesday,  the  25th.  where  I  found  things  in  good  order 
under  Kongolo's  care.  He  was  over  joyed  on  receiving  letters 
from  his  Benita  home,  which  had  come  in  my  mail. 

The  next  day,  I  announced  to  Kasa  that  I  would  leave.  I 
felt  a  little  anxious  as  to  how  he  would  take  it.  I  knew  that, 
according  to  native  idea  (which  white  traders,  up  to  that  time, 
had  been  compelled  to  submit  to)  I  and  my  house  and  goods,  in 
a  sense,  "  belonged  "  to  him.  /  might  possibly  be  allowed  to 
leave,  if  I  put  some  one  in  my  place.  But  house  and  goods 
must  remain.  Traders,  under  such  circumstances,  had  succeeded 
in  removing  their  goods  only  by  a  secret  flight  at  night.  Kasa 
seemed  quite  depressed ;  did  not  say  much ;  and  told  me  he  would 
come  again  to  tell  me  what  he  thought.  Two  days  later,  he 
came.  We  had  a  long  talk,  he  trying  to  change  my  determina- 
tion. \\ "hen  he  asked  whether  my  only  reason  for  going  was 
the  robbery.  I  admitted  that  a  great  reason  was  my  discovery  of 
the  fair  site  and  indispensable  spring  at  Kangwe.  He  finally 
assented  not  to  obstruct  me.  on  my  promise  that  Belambla  should 
be  retained  as  an  out-station,  with  a  native  teacher  always  there. 
Irrespective  of  the  fact  that  this  "  saved  his  face,"  it  fell  in  with 
my  own  intentions.      I.  at  no  time,  had  thought  of  entirely  clos- 


172  MY  OGOWE 

ing  Belambla.  I  intended  to  retain  a  native  teacher  there.  The 
interview  was  amicably  closed  by  my  presenting  Kasa  with  a 
trade-gun  (worth  about  $3)  as  a  parting  gift.  But,  on  Monday, 
the  30th,  he  came  to  say  I  must  delay  my  going,  as  he  wished 
me  to  listen  to  his  public  talk  about  my  stolen  goods.  I  was 
somewhat  amazed  at  this ;  for,  I  did  not  believe  that  his  "  talk  " 
would  amount  to  anything.  Had  he  been  sincere,  he  should 
have  spoken  and  acted  more  vigorously  two  months  before.  My 
doubts  were  justified,  when  he  came  next  day  with  fsfando.  He 
was  still  professing  to  be  endeavoring  to  recover  the  goods. 
(That  was  impossible,  after  the  lapse  of  two  months.)  I  read 
to  him  a  list  of  them,  to  the  cash  value  of  $300. 

I  never  recovered  any.  During  subsequent  years,  in  my 
journeys  on  the  river.  I  saw  small  articles,  pictures,  pamphlets, 
tools,  etc.,  etc.  But,  I  never  "  let  on  "  that  I  recognized  them. 
There  was  no  certainty  that  the  native,  on  the  wall  of  whose  hut 
the  article  was  hanging,  had  been  the  thief.  Quite  possibly  it 
had  been  given  to  him,  or  he  had  bought  it.  Of  one  article,  my 
handsome  $25  flute,  I  heard,  as  being  in  the  possession  of  a 
Goree  trader.  I  never  had  any  dealings  with  them ;  they  were 
Mohammedans  and  French  subjects  from  Senegal.  Had  I  pur- 
sued the  matter,  I  could  not  have  proved  that  he  was  the  thief : 
and,  I  could  have  recovered  the  flute,  only  on  an  expensive  and 
troublesome  entry  into  the  intricacies  of  French  law.  [Some 
years  later,  my  friend  Thos.  G.  Morton,  M.D.,  gave  me  the  valu- 
able one  I  now  have,  formerly  his  brother's.]  I  felt  sad  at 
leaving  the  station ;  I  had  put  so  much  of  prayer,  and  hope,  and 
care  on  it.  [Long  years  afterward,  under  the  Mission's  French 
Protestant  successors  in  the  Ogowe,  I  had,  in  1906,  a  most 
touching  farewell  service  there,  with  one  of  the  French  mission- 
aries and  some  Bakele  Christians;  among  them  was  Kimagwe.] 

On  Tuesday.  October  3T,  I  left  Kongolo  in  charge  of  the 
house  and  the  little  school,  where  he  would  hold  a  Sunday 
service.  As  his  assistants  on  the  premises.  I  gave  him  two  of 
my  young  men.     And,  I  bade  good-by  to  Belambla! 

I  did  not  stop  at  any  villages  on  the  way  down.  There  would 
have  been  only  the  endless  inquiry  of,  Why  did  I  leave  Bakele? 
And  the  empty  denial  of  any  share  in  the  robbery.  Came  up  in 
my  mind  the  constant  undercurrent  of  reasoning:  If  all  these 
professed  "  friends  "  were  so  sorry  about  the  outrage,  why  had 
not  some  of  them  revealed,  pursued,  and  punished  the  offenders? 
Had  thev  done  so,  I  probably  would  not  have  left  Belambla. 
But,  I  still  think  that  it  was  well  that  I  did.     Kangwe  was  a 


BELAMBLA  STATION  ABANDONED  173 

better  locality ;  and  the  Galwa  a  more  hopeful  people.  I  kept 
on  down  the  left  bank,  to  Lembarene  in  the  small  Inenga  tribe, 
before  crossing  to  Aguma.  (That  name,  "  Lembarene,"  has 
since  then  been  transferred  to  the  site  of  the  French  headquar- 
ters, three  miles  lower  down  on  the  right  bank  of  the  main 
stream.)  The  report  that  I  was  seeking  a  new  location  for  my 
station  had  preceded  me.  An  old  woman,  sister  of  the  former 
Galwa  King  Nkombe,  married  at  Inenga,  with  a  crowd  of  people 
begged  me  to  build  there.  But,  I  did  not  even  entertain  their 
suggestion.  There  was  no  desirable  site.  Their  plea,  that  they 
were  desirous  to  have  their  children  taught,  was,  I  believe,  true. 
Arrived  at  Aguma,  I  found  another  mail,  which  had  come  by 
the  Pioneer,  five  days  previously.  Mr.  Woodward  produced  the 
captain's  statement  that  my  chronology  of  days  was  wrong. 
There  was  the  loss  of  a  day  between  the  6th  and  the  18th  of 
October.  For  three  weeks  I  had  been  keeping  Sabbath  on  Sat- 
urday! Came  on  to  Atangina,  and  wras  welcomed  by  its 
"Chief'*  or  head-man,  Re-Nkombe  (Lord  of  the  Sun).  But, 
immediately,  his  selfish  interests  began  to  object  to  my  leaving 
his  side  of  the  river. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

WITH    RE-NKOMBE,    NOVEMBER,     l8/6 

THE  next  day,  Wednesday,  November  i,  I  went  to  Agurna, 
to  put  my  boxes  in  order.  While  there,  the  body  of  a 
Galwa,  who,  only  the  day  before,  had  gone  with  a  native 
trader,  was  brought  to  his  home.  He  had  died  of  excessive 
liquor  drinking.     The  rum  ruin  was  all  around  me! 

I  called  a  visit  of  ceremony  on  Galwa  King  Amale,  an  old 
man  of  no  force  of  character,  at  Adalinananga  town.  With 
much  assumed  dignity,  he  informed  me  that  he  would  come  to 
Atangina,  and  settle  about  the  locality  on  which  I  might  build ! 
When  I  returned  to  Atangina  that  evening,  Re-Nkombe  showed 
me  a  place,  on  which  he  desired  me  to  build,  near  him.  There 
were  no  villages  on  the  Kangwe  side,  and  he  said  that  he  feared 
the  Fan  we  would  come  and  molest  me.  I  assured  him  that 
doubtless  they  would  come,  some  day  (as  they  did,  two  years 
later);  that  I  was  not  afraid  of  them;  and  that  my  choice  of 
Kangwe  was  unchangeable.  And,  he  and  I  settled  the  matter, 
without  waiting  for  the  old  King.  Indeed,  Re-Nkombe,  only  an 
inferior  chief,  was  pleased  that  I  recognized  him  without  refer- 
ence to  the  "  King."  At  once.  I  hired  one  of  his  people. 
Mamweme.  The  next  day,  I  hired  another,  Kanizo.  In  the 
afternoon,  Re-Xkombe  called  me  to  go  to  Kangwe  Hill,  to 
select  the  site  for  my  temporary  bamboo  building.  We  went  ; 
and,  he  seemed  satisfied  to  yield  to  my  wishes,  though  he  re- 
gretted that  I  had  put  the  river  between  him  and  myself. 

I  still  think  that  I  had  acted  wisely  in  my  dealings  with  Kasa. 
considering  that  he  was  Kasa  and  an  Akclc.  But,  Re-Nkombe 
was  more  civilized,  and.  I  think,  a  man  of  less  duplicity.  And. 
1  at  once  determined  on  a  course  more  independent  than  I  had 
been  able  to  adopt  with  Kasa.  On  our  return  to  Atangina.  1 
gave  Re-Nkombe's  little  daughter,  Aworo,  two  yards  of  calico 
print  (an  ample  garment  for  a  child),  and  he  gave  me  a  chicken. 
Thus  the  interchange  of  "  friendship "  gifts  began.  After 
evening  prayers,  most  of  the  villagers  remained  to  hear  me  sing 
hymns. 

On    Friday,    November   3.    Re-Nkombe   told   me  that   he   was 

'74 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  175 

going  to  Agtima  on  an  errand ;  and,  as  I  was  also  going  there, 
we  agreed  to  go  together.  He  proposed,  on  the  way,  that  I 
should  stop  at  a  village,  Loango-ayili,  of  his  brother  Dango, 
and  have  a  settlement  of  the  sale  of  the  Kangwe  Hill  property. 
I  liked  all  this  promptness,  as  compared  with  the  long  delays  and 
excuses  of  Kasa  at  Belambla.  We  waited  at  Dango's,  and  sent 
for  the  two  Galwa  Chiefs  Amale  and  Magisi.  They  came ;  and 
after  a  short  discussion,  they  all  agreed  to  sell  me  the  entire  Hill, 
from  Audende  Creek  on  the  Hill's  upper  side,  down  to  a  place 
called  Ivenda-ntyango  on  its  lower  side,  including  an  indefinite 
amount  of  forest  in  a  curved  line  between  those  two  points. 
The  property  would  be  in  the  shape  of  half  an  ellipse,  the  long 
diameter  being  represented  by  the  river.  I  never  estimated  how 
many  acres  would  be  included  in  the  tract ;  probably,  at  least  one 
hundred.  The  land  was  not  occupied  by  any  villages ;  for,  the 
Galwas  were  timid  about  living  on  that  "  Fafiwe  side  "  of  the 
river;  the  steep  hillsides  were  not  available  for  plantations;  and, 
I  was  desirous  to  secure  the  large  and  otherwise  useless  tract 
that  would  prevent  the  future  attempts  of  natives  to  build  near 
me :  thus  to  escape  the  annoyances  I  had  been  subjected  to  at 
Belambla.  T  promptly  paid  to  Re-Xkombe  his  named  sum  of 
$20  (in  trade-goods)  and  he  divided  it  with  the  other  men. 

The  next  day,  I  went  with  my  five  young  men  to  clear  a  site 
for  a  temporary  hut  at  the  foot  of  Kangwe  Hill.  The  day,  Sat- 
urday. November  4.  marked  the  beginning  of  another  era  in  my 
Ogowe  life,  the  Kangwe  era.  The  site  was  on  a  little  level  at 
the  steep  foot  of  the  Hill,  and  on  the  edge  of  a  ravine,  down 
which  flowed  a  little  stream  from  the  spring  farther  up  the  range. 
On  the  side  of  the  stream  was  a  space  just  wide  enough  for  a 
boat-house  to  be  erected.  In  the  evening,  in  Atangina  village, 
there  came  news  of  tribal  war;  and  a  war-dance  so  occupied  the 
people's  attention,  that  the  presence  of  even  the  white  guest  was 
forgotten. 

But.  on  Sunday  morning,  my  services  were  well  attended, 
especially  as  there  came  a  Mpongwe  trader  of  some  prominence, 
Xgeza,  who  was  with  his  Mpongwe  attendants  awaiting  at 
Aguma  their  trade-supplies  from  Mr.  Travis.  I  often  met  this 
man  in  later  years.  He  had  been  educated  in  the  Baraka  School 
at  Libreville ;  he  held  a  good  position,  and  had  influence  that 
might  have  been  for  great  good.  But,  his  attitude  to  me  always 
seemed  to  be  that  of  one  who  thought  he  was  doing  a  favor  in 
attending  the  missionary's  religious  services.  He  was  civilized, 
and  prided  himself  on  his  Mpongwe  tribal  position.     Later,  he 


i76  MY  OGOWE 

united  with  the  Gaboon  church,  but  not  until  after  a  service  to 
Mammon  in  the  rum  traffic,  he  had  amassed  enough  money  to 
be  called  wealthy. 

It  was  the  middle  of  the  rainy  season.  The  average  height  of 
the  thermometer,  during  a  year,  is  85  °.  That  afternoon,  the 
mercury  fell  from  840  to  730.  As  jo°  is  the  annual  minimum, 
the  fall  of  ten  degrees  in  one  hour  was  a  very  unusual  reduction. 
It  was  felt  as  much  as  a  fall  of  200  or  300  in  one  day,  in  the 
United  States.  There  was  news  that  the  war-reports  of  Satur- 
day evening  were  true.  A  woman  had  been  shot  at  Loango- 
ayili  village  by  some  Bakele  enemies. 

Every  day  I  went  across  the  river  to  Kangwe  Hill,  to  work 
at  the  clearing  for  my  new  home.  The  evenings  were  spent  in 
Atangina.  where  I  affiliated  with  the  people.  They  sang  for  me 
their  native  songs,  and  I  responded  with  Benga  and  English 
hymns,  and  English  songs.  While  I  had  been  acquiring  the 
Dikele  dialect  at  Belambla,  I  made  no  effort  to  learn  Galwa 
(a  variety  of  Mpongwe).  But,  as  my  workmen  there  had  been 
most  of  them  Galwa;  and  my  visits  to  Libreville  had  thrown  me 
among  Mpongwe,  I  was  becoming  familiar  with  it.  So,  aban- 
doning the  Dikele,  I  set  myself  to  acquire  Mpongwe. 

While  superintending  the  work  of  clearing  and  building,  I 
often  sat  under  the  shade  of  the  oil-palms,  and  wrote  letters  to 
relatives  in  the  United  States,  to  churches  and  Sabbath  schools, 
or  to  officers  of  the  Board. 

On  November  10.  I  wrote  to  my  sister  at  Benita,  in  explana- 
tion of  my  leaving  Belambla : 

"  The  animus  of  this  entire  Orungu  trouble  is  that  Portugal 
(under  British  cruisers)  has  stopped  the  slave-trade  with  St. 
Thomas  Island,  and  the  Orungu  have  no  more  means  of  gain. 
While  they  had  the  slave-trade,  they  did  not  care  for  the  com- 
merce that  went  by  them  to  the  Galwa.  Xow,  their  jealousy  is 
aroused.  I  confess  that  it  is  hard  to  leave  Belambla.  and  begin 
over  again  here,  even  though  this  place  be  more  beautiful,  and 
the  Galwa  more  hopeful.  Perhaps.  I  have  only  myself  to  blame, 
as.  I  saw  this  place  two  years  ago.  and  passed  it  for  Belambla, 
for  the  sake  of  getting  farther  toward  the  Interior.  I  do  not 
remove  from  Akele  because  of  the  robbery;  other  considerations 
presented  by  Mr.  Reading  move  me.  .  .  .  But.  I  have  felt  less 
about  the  having  to  begin  to  build  over  again,  than  about  the 
thought  that  my  Akele  work  was  lost.  That  fear  is  lessening, 
under  the  hope  that  Kongolo  may  be  an  efficient  aid.  He  was  a 
miserable  blunderer  at  anything  with  tools;  and  I  ceased  to  give 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  177 

him  that  kind  of  work.  But  I  have  had  no  one,  who,  like  him, 
has  taken  care  of  me,  and  my  clothes,  etc.,  and  who  can  be  manly 
without  seeming  to  think  that  the  first  evidence  of  manliness 
was  to  be  disobedient  or  disrespectful.  He  seems  pleased  with 
the  idea  of  "  keeping  station."  ...  I  am  writing  this  on  a  book 
on  my  lap,  sitting  on  my  food-chest,  by  a  mountain  rill  that 
comes  down  this  ravine,  that  reminds  me  of  American  hills. 
These  hills  and  ravines  are  just  like  those  at  Senje  Falls  of  the 
Bonito  River." 

In  the  evenings,  on  my  *  return  from  work,  in  the  late  after- 
noon, the  Atangina  children  wanted  to  be  taught  to  read.  (So 
different  from  the  Bakele  children,  few  of  whom  had  come  with- 
out urging!)  Even  two  young  women  came,  named  Ovembwe 
and  Pando;  the  former  seemed  to  have  an  awakening  to  the 
truth  that  knowledge  might  be  power,  and  that  it  might  give  her 
more  skill  in  the  washing  and  ironing  which  she  claimed  she  was 
able  to  do.  I  had  hitherto  been  having  the  lads  living  with  me 
do  my  washing.  It  was  "  clone  "  after  a  sort,  even  though  they 
had  a  charcoal  iron  with  which  to  iron.  When  this  young 
"  wife  "  of  my  patron  Re-Nkombe  told  me  she  knew  how  to 
iron.  I  hired  her  to  do  it.  She  was  an  improvement  on  my  lads. 
She  had  learned  from  the  Mpongwe  women,  who.  as  "  tempo- 
rary wives."  I  found  folloAving  most  of  the  traders'  houses,  doing 
the  washing  and  sewing  of  the  house.  They  had  learned  at 
Libreville  from  our  Baraka  school-girls.  So,  in  this,  and  in 
other  indirect  ways,  I  was  helped  by  our  coast-schools.  There 
was  much  labor  at  those  schools,  to  which  there  appeared  no 
good  results ;  but.  it  did  find,  long  after,  or  in  a  score  of  indi- 
rect ways,  influence  for  good. 

Going  one  day  to  the  English  house.  I  met  a  very  large  canoe 
paddled  by  twenty  men,  belonging  to  a  prominent  Nkami  chief. 
Himself  was  in  the  canoe.  He  had  gone  to  the  house  to  get 
trade-goods  on  credit,  or  "  trust,"  as  the  system  was  called  then. 
But.  he  had  been  ordered  away  from  the  landing-place,  because 
there  was  lying  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe,  one  of  his  slaves, 
broken  out  with  small-pox.  There  he  had  been  sick  for  several 
days,  handling  and  being  handled,  and.  yet  his  master  had  not 
isolated  him !  He  was  properly  ordered  from  the  trading-place, 
where  there  is  always  a  concourse  of  people.  I  do  not  know 
what  his  master  did  with  him.  I  heard  that  he  left  him  in  the 
care  of  one  of  the  Galwa  villages.  I  wonder  that  the  disease 
did  not  spread.  It  had  been  very  destructive  in  Africa  at  times. 
Very  little  was  done,  in  the  Interior,  at  that  time,  for  small-pox 


178  MY  OGOWE 

patients,  besides  warm  and  cold  baths.  The  coast  tribes  had 
learned  to  isolate  them. 

On  Saturday,  November  n,  came  a  little  souvenir  of  the 
Belambla  robbery.  Mr.  Lubcke,  in  charge  of  the  German  trad- 
ing-house, sent  me  a  chromo,  "  The  Strawberry  Girl,"  which 
had  been  intended  as  one  of  the  modest  adornments  of  my 
African  house,  and  which  he  had  found  in  the  possession  of  one 
of  his  native  traders.  Its  history  was :  Just  before  leaving 
America,  from  my  furlough  in  1874,  I  had  subscril)ed  for  For- 
ney's weekly  Philadelphia  Press.  At  the  office,  I  was  given 
choice  of  two  chromos.  as  premiums,  a  "  Madonna."  or  a 
"  Strawberry  Girl."  I  admire  in  history,  the  Jewess  Mary,  the 
wife  of  Joseph,  who  was  "blessed  above  all  women,"  as  a 
woman ;  but,  I  did  not  wish  anything  to  do  with  Roman  Cath- 
olic Madonnas.  So,  as  I  had  seen  neither  picture,  I  chose  the 
"  Strawberry  Girl."  It  was  handed  to  me  sealed.  I  did  not 
open  it  at  that  time,  but  put  it  in  my  trunk  for  Africa.  In  the 
Ogowe,  I  did  not  open  it,  for  I  had  no  place  in  my  hut  on  which 
to  hang  it.  Still  unopened,  it  was  among  the  goods  stolen  at 
Belambla.  The  Akele  thief  had  sold  it  to  this  Mpongwe  trader 
of  the  German  house,  whose  agent,  accidentally  seeing  it.  had 
inquired  about  it,  seized  it.  and  restored  it  to  me  at  Atangina. 
That  trader  was  not  necessarily  charged  as  being  a  thief.  He 
may  have  come  into  possession  honestly.  But.  Mr.  Lubcke.  in 
kind  consideration  for  a  fellow  white  man.  had  not  allowed  his 
employee  to  retain  stolen  property,  having  first  kindly  framed 
it,  as  a  recompense  for  the  offense  of  his  trader.  T  hung  it  up 
in  my  room  in  the  Atangina  hut.  There,  the  little  woman's 
brown  cheeks,  red  lips,  and  golden  hair,  were  much  admired  by 
my  many  native  visitors.  To  my  great  regret,  it  was  assumed  to 
be  a  picture  of  my  wife!  I  suppose  that  T  was  partly  to  be 
blamed:  for.  when  they  had  asked  me  what  the  picture  was.  I 
had  only  replied.  "  oniwanto."  which,  in  Mpongwe.  means  both 
woman  and  wife.  Tn  none  of  the  other  dialects  of  which  \  knew 
(except  in  Benga)  was  there  a  distinct  word  for  "wife."  For 
7cifr.  they,  like  the  rustics  of  America  or  England,  say  woman. 
After  that.  I  took  pains  to  correct  their  error. 

Previous  to  entering  the  Ogowe.  T  had  spoken  only  Benga. 
and  my  correspondents  knew  that  any  native  word  1  used  was 
of  that  tribe.  But.  after  having  been  two  years  in  the  river. 
and  learning  also  both  Mpongwe  and  Dikele.  I  had  to  state  of 
which  tribe  I  was  speaking. 

Fights  in  that  country  came  from  small  things.     While  T  was 


WITH  RE-XKOMBE  179 

staying  in  Atangina,  Chief  Isagi,  of  Xkami,  came  to  visit  Re- 
Xkombe,  partly  for  friendship  and  partly  to  collect  a  debt.  The 
debt  was  paid  by  the  latter  giving  a  little  slave  boy,  who  had 
been  the  quickest  to  learn  the  alphabet  of  any  of  the  many  chil- 
dren who  had  gathered  around  me  in  the  evenings.  A  goat 
also  was  given,  for  friendship.  But,  unfortunately,  that  goat 
belonged  to  a  man  of  another  village ;  and,  Re-Nkombe,  to  make 
a  display  of  hospitality,  had  taken  it  without  asking  his  permis- 
sion. In  the  evening,  there  was  a  violent  quarrel  when  the 
owner  of  the  goat  came  to  Atangina,  in  search  of  it.  He  was 
very  angry,  and  struck  two  of  Re-Xkombe's  people  on  their  head 
with  a  stick. 

The  quarrel  over  the  goat  was  continued  next  morning,  Sun- 
day, the  1 2th.  The  animal  was  sent  for  and  brought  back. 
But,  Re-Xkombe  made  a  long  altercation  about  it,  and  would 
not  cease,  at  his  end  of  the  village,  even  while  I  was  holding 
service  at  the  other  end,  nor  even  though  Xgeza  and  his  fash- 
ionably-dressed attendants  had  honored  (?)  me  by  coming  to 
church.  It  was  a  very  rainy  day ;  and  I  felt  scandalized  by  Re- 
X'kombe.  In  the  afternoon,  I  was  reading  in  the  August  num- 
ber of  the  Foreign  Missionary,  which  had  come  in  my  last  mail. 
In  it  was  an  article  by  Rev.  C.  De  Heer.  of  Corisco  Island,  tell- 
ing of  the  death  of  a  good  Benga  Christian  woman.  Belika ;  she, 
and  another  B^nga  woman,  Bataka,  had  been  real  friends  to  me 
and  Mrs.  Xassau,  while  I  was  living  at  Benita.  In  the  evening. 
Re-X'kombe  surprised  me  by  taking  a  place  with  the  class  of  boys 
who  were  learning  the  alphabet.  He  was  conscious  that,  as 
my  host,  he  had  been  discourteous  during  the  day,  in  neglecting 
my  wishes  as  to  Sunday  disorder,  and  in  allowing  his  people  to 
be  disrespectful.  (So  different  from  Kasa!)  He  apologized, 
asking  me  to  name  anything,  and  he  would  give  it,  if  I  would  for- 
give him.  I  asked  only  that  he  and  his  people  should  listen  to 
the  words  of  my  Message. 

On  the  13th,  one  of  my  young  men,  Isagi's  boy  (the  one  whom 
I  had  been  so  pleased  with  just  two  months  previously)  whom 
T  had  relinked  for  some  offense,  sent  word  through  another, 
demanding  his  pay,  as  an  intimation  that  he  would  leave  my 
service.  I  took  no  notice  of  the  demand,  waiting  for  him  to 
come  himself  in  person.  And.  he  left,  without  taking  his  pay. 
This  was  a  typical  illustration  of  the  "  touchiness  "  of  Ogowe 
tribal  character,  as  -I  observed  it  in  my  dealings  with  them  as 
employees,  during  the  following  dozen  years  of  my  life  in  that 
river. 


180  MY  OGOWE 

In  the  evening,  his  father  passed  down-river,  but  did  not  stop 
to  ask  for  his  son's  wages.  He  was  a  proud,  haughty 
man.  As  all  payments  of  wages  were  made  in  goods,  not 
in  cash.  I  tried  to  gratify  my  people  by  getting  for  them 
whatever  articles  they  desired,  even  when,  in  my  judgment, 
their  wishes  were  unwise  or  wasteful.  But,  I  did  not  sym- 
pathize with  their  buying  shoes.  I  thought  them  unneces- 
sary in  that  warm  country.  They  had  never  known  of  any 
foot-coverings  until  they  saw  white  people  using  them.  My 
refusal,  at  first,  to  obtain  shoes  for  them,  I  found  afterwards, 
was  regarded  as  an  attempt  to  "  keep  them  down,"  i.  e..  to 
prevent  their  becoming  "  civilized."  So.  I  learned  to  yield  to 
them,  and  ceased  to  make  an  effort  to  have  them  spend  their 
wages  in  useful  things.  I  bought  the  shoes  for  them.  And, 
they  were  pleased  to  be  the  cynosures  of  eyes  and  ears,  as  they 
clattered,  in  ungainly  fashion,  into  the  room  where  I  held  church 
services.  They  naturally  had  a  graceful  step  and  carriage ;  but, 
the  coarsely  made,  shapeless,  trade-shoes  made  their  walk  a  hob- 
ble. Pembe-mpolo  (Large-Bread),  in  asking  me  to  get  him  a 
pair  of  shoes,  recognized  also  the  desirability  of  socks,  but 
claimed  that  the  price  of  the  socks  was  to  be  included  in  the  cost 
of  the  shoes,  arguing  that  socks  were  an  indispensable  part  of 
footwear,  and  therefore  part  and  parcel  with  the  shoe! 

JOURNEY    TO    NKAMI,    TO    BUY    A    BOAT, 

I  had.  for  travel  and  transportation  on  the  river,  only  canoes 
and  a  kongongo,  both  propelled  only  by  paddles.  I  desired  a 
boat,  in  which  I  could  teach  the  natives  the  use  of  oars.  The 
motion  by  oar  was  also  smoother  and  less  jerky  than  by  paddle. 
So.  I  started,  on  November  15,  down-river  to  my  Nkami  friend's 
village.  The  Nkami  and  Orungu  were  skillful  in  making  ko- 
ngongo and  boats  (both  of  them  dugouts  from  a  single  tree). 
Galwas  made  only  canoes.  I  spent  the  night  at  the  village 
Nandipo  ("  Fernando  Po  ")  of  my  Galwa  friend  Azaze.  below 
Oranga.  He  was  a  very  superstitious  man,  having  a  fetish- 
house  with  snake  and  other  skins  suspended  from  painted  carved 
posts  (suggestive  of  Alaskan  totems).  At  the  farther  end  of 
the  room  was  a  railed-off  dark  recess,  a  sacred  place,  which  I 
was  not  permitted  to  enter. 

I  had  frequently  to  rebuke  even  the  most  hospitable  of  my 
native  "  friends,"  for  their  asking  me  a  return  gift,  after  hav- 
ing made  me  one.  I  tried  to  teach  them  that  their  kindness 
would  not  be  forgotten  on  my  next  trip,  and  that,  irrespective 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  181 

of  their  gift,  I  would  not  have  gone  away  without  giving  some 
recognition  of  my  obligation  in  having  made  use  of  their  houses. 
But,  that  their  own  asking  for  a  parting  gift,  almost  immediately 
after  having  given  me  something,  compelled  me  either  to  flatly 
hand  back  their  gift,  or  to  regard  it  as  a.  sale  and  not  a  gift;  and 
therefore  not  a  sign  of  "  friendship."  Azaze  was  an  obliging- 
man;  but,  he  was  very  covetous. 

Next  day,  I  passed  on  to  Igenja,  at  Ombya-'gwana's ;  and  to 
Ngumbe;  and  on  to  Yambe,  where  I  expected  to  buy  a  boat. 
The  people's  demonstrativeness  of  joy  at  my  arrival  did  not 
please  me.  It  was  so  patently  obvious  that  they  wanted  me  to 
buy  their  various  foods  and  goods.  They  would  scarcely  listen, 
at  my  usual  evening  prayers,  to  my  offer  of  the  Gospel.  As  I 
opened  my  Bible,  at  random,  before  going  to  sleep  that  night,  it 
was  a  striking  coincidence  that  my  eye  fell  on  John  16,  I. 
"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  you  should  not  be 
offended." 

The  next  day,  Friday,  the  17th,  a  boat  was  offered  me  for 
purchase.  I  knew  that,  according  to  oriental  procedure,  the 
price  first  asked  is  double  of  what  the  seller  intends  finally  to 
accept.  I  offered  $30.  The  demand  was  made  successively  for 
$60,  $50  and  $40.  I  would  have  done  well  to  have  taken  it  at 
$40;  for,  it  was  a  neatly  made  boat.  Both  the  owner  and  I 
were  obstinate ;  and,  I  left,  regretting  that  I  had  refused.  But, 
one  of  my  new  rules  of  conduct  with  the  natives,  since  I  had  es- 
caped from  Kasa's  hands,  was,  not  to  yield  after  having  made  a 
refusal.  Stopped  in  a  ulako  (camp)  and  cooked  some  manatee 
meat  I  had  bought.  It  was  delicious.  On  to  Nombi,  Onanga's 
village,  to  complete  the  purchase  of  the  boat,  for  which  I  had 
engaged  on  a  previous  journey.  I  had  to  cut  short  the  usual 
public  evening  prayers;  for,  the  mosquitoes  were  so  numerous 
and  so  insistent.  A  boil,  on  one  of  my  shoulder-blades,  which 
was  beginning  when  I  started  from  Atangina,  was  becoming  very 
painful.  I  observed,  in  case  of  myself  and  in  other  white  men, 
missionaries  and  others,  that,  the  numerous  boils,  so  common 
on  foreigners,  were  apparently  outlets  of  evil,  which  otherwise 
made  dangerous  fever.  Those  of  us  who  suffered  most  from 
boils  were  less  likely  to  have  either  of  the  fatal  African  fevers. 

The  next  morning,  I  was  awakened  by  the  loud  humming  of 
wild  bees  in  a  large  tree,  laden  with  deliciously-scented  blossoms, 
near  where  I  had  slept.  I  hired  Onanga's  son  Onanga;  and, 
with  both  the  kongongo  and  the  new  boat,  started  on  return 
journey  up-river,  much  outraged  at  my  "  friend's  "  attempting 


182  MY  OGOWE 

to  steal,  just  as  we  were  pushing  off.  At  the  village  ftango, 
I  was  offered  for  purchase,  a  manis  (pangolin).  I  was  sur- 
prised at  the  animal's  strength  in  wrapping  its  tail  over  its  head 
and  body,  making  a  ball  through  whose  scales  no  dog  could  bite, 
and  that  well-resisted  a  spear.  There  I  met  an  instance  of  orunda 
or  taboo.  It  was,  that,  the  paddles  of  a  visiting  crew  should 
not  be  carried  up  into  the  village  street,  but,  should  be  left  at 
the  boat-landing.  While  it  was  my  principle  not  to  compel  the 
natives  to  lay  aside  any  of  the  superstitions  ( for,  they  were  part 
of  the  rites  of  their  religion)  desiring  rather  that  they  should  lay 
them  aside  under  christian  convictions,  I  always  declined  to  sub- 
mit to  them  myself.  If  that  village  would  not  allow  me  to  carry 
my  belongings  to  the  safe  house  where  I  should  sleep  over  night, 
and  where  I  would  deliver  my  Gospel  message,  and  where  they 
would  have  the  honor  of  entertaining  the  white  man,  and  where, 
inevitably,  he  would  spend  some  of  his  goods,  then,  I  would  re- 
turn to  my  boat,  and  go  elsewhere.  '1  he  orunda  was  tempo- 
rarily removed  in  my  favor. 

I  remained  over  the  Sunday,  November  19.  Handing  to  one 
of  my  young  men  my  sharpened  pocket-knife,  and  telling  him 
in  what  direction  and  how  deeply  to  cut,  his  unskilled  hand  suc- 
cessfully opened  the  abscess  on  my  shoulder-blade.  It  was  a 
great  relief.  Young  Onanga  imitated  his  father's  evil  trait,  by 
deserting,  and  stealing  a  Nango  canoe,  in  which  to  go  back  to  his 
village. 

Thus,  when  starting  again  on  Monday,  my  crews  were  small. 
I  placed  ReTeno  in  charge  of  the  kongongo,  and  I,  with  my 
shoulder  sore  from  the  opened  abscess,  at  the  rudder  of  the  boat, 
with  a  crew  of  only  four.  So,  progress  was  slow.  At  the 
olako  where  we  stopped  to  eat  on  the  edge  of  the  forest,  one  of 
the  crew  found  a  dead  fish.  They  enjoyed  it.  But,  its  odor 
spoiled  my  breakfast.  Another  employee.  Mbue-pe-nyeni,  had 
an  orunda,  which  required  that,  on  a  journey,  he  should  eat  alone 
and  out  of  sight  of  others.  The  crew  had  but  one  pot,  and  no 
drinking  can  or  cup  or  other  empty  vessel,  into  which  his  one- 
fourth  share  could  be  put,  in  order  that  he  should  go  off  into 
the  forest  alone.  He  therefore  had  to  wait  until  the  other  three 
had  eaten  their  united  shares,  and  then  he  could  take  the  pot 
away  by  himself.  As  the  shares  had  not  been  actually  formally 
divided,  I  think  that  the  other  three  were  not  careful  to  leave  him 
a  full  quarter.  Though  my  opened  abscess  was  painful,  I  held 
the  rudder  all  day,  in  order  that  the  crew  of  four  should  be 
paired  at  the  oars,  until  a  breeze  came.     Then  we  made  a  sail  of 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  183 

native  matting,  and  progressed  finely;  but,  not  as  rapidly  as  did 
the  kongongo  under  Re-Teno's  hands.  For  the  night,  we  stopped 
at  a  deserted  trading-house  on  the  bank,  by  a  path  that  led  back 
into  the  forest  to  King  Njagu's  town,  Ndogo.  Walked  at  once 
to  the  town,  and  found  a  fight  in  progress ;  one  young  man  dead, 
and  another  dangerously  wounded.  There  came  up  a  heavy 
rainstorm,  and  my  return  to  the  river-side  was  through  a  very 
dark  forest  path,  made  darker  by  the  storm.  I  was  thoroughly 
wet. 

The  next  day,  November  21,  was  a  long  hard  pull  up-stream. 
I  went  far  up  a  creek,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  from 
Ngumbe,  to  look  for  the  canoe  I  had  bought  at  Aguma,  in  which 
to  send  home  the  Nkami  employees  in  April,  1875.  I  found  it 
at  a  certain  village,  rotting  to  pieces.  I  remained  there  all  night 
with  multitudes  of  mosquitoes.  The  people  would  not  come  to 
my  services;  they  were  attending  an  ombivire  (spirit)  dance. 
The  following  morning,  Ayenwe  aroused  us  all  early,  in  a  desire 
to  escape  those  frightful  mosquitoes.  I  succeeded  in  hiring 
another  young  man,  Re-Yayo.  All  day.  we  were  on  the  lookout 
for  the  expected  Pioneer,  hoping  to  be  overtaken  by  it  and  being 
given  a  tow.  After  another  long,  hard  pull,  I  arrived,  with  a 
bad  headache,  at  Igenja,  in  Ombya-ogwana's  village.  The  next 
day,  Thursday,  I  hired  two  new  young  Galwas,  Mamba  and 
Abumba.  With  variations  in  length  of  time  and  employment 
with  me,  those  two  young  men  will  appear  frequently  in  the 
future  history  of  the  Ogowe  Mission  and  its  churches.  They 
both  became  active  Christians.  Abumba,  consistent  to  the  end 
of  his  life,  as  a  teacher,  evangelist,  and  elder.  And,  Mamba 
most  efficient  as  general  assistant,  and  leader  in  my  boating  and 
building,  and  for  many  years  faithful  as  an  elder.  No  other 
Galwa,  in  his  service  with  me  and  my  successors,  equaled  him 
in  truth,  honesty,  and  devotion  to  me. 

My  attention  was  attracted  to  a  large  flower  along  the  river 
banks,  which  looked  like  a  hibiscus.  It  opened  in  the  morning, 
a  pure  white ;  as  the  sun's  warm  rays  kissed  it  during  the  day, 
it  began  to  blush ;  and,  by  sunset,  it  was  a  bright  red.  Stopped 
at  several  villages,  to  buy  melanga  (the  rattan  building-material 
made  from  a  vine,  the  Calamus  palm). 

Met  a  canoe  of  fighting  men  from  Nandipo ;  and,  on  reaching 
that  village,  my  friend  Azaze  gave  me  some  fresh  kondo  fish. 
As  I  had  bought  manatee  at  another  village,  my  crew  was  well 
supplied ;  for,  I  gave  them  the  kondo.  Passed  the  Orungu 
villages,  though  there  were  signs  of  rain.     The  current  there  is 


1 84  MY  OGOWE 

swift;  but,  a  strong  wind  was  favorable;  we  put  up  sail,  and 
reached  for  the  night  the  deserted  Aromba  village.  While  I  did 
not  supply  my  people  with  tobacco,  I  did  not  forbid  its  use,  ex- 
cept during  work  hours,  and  in  my  presence  in  the  boat.  But. 
I  did  not  allow  the  use  of  haschisch  ( Indian  hemp).  I  suspected 
the  new  young  man,  Re-Yayo,  of  using  it.  The  following  day, 
Friday,  journeyed,  with  rains  threatening  from  a  heavily  overcast 
sky.  At  the  village  of  another  of  the  crew,  Saviyeti,  succeeded 
in  hiring  another  hand.  Kliva-ntyani  (Lake  of  Shame).  From 
there,  the  main  stream's  current  was  always  too  strong.  I  always 
availed  myself  of  the  Ozugavizya  cut-off  that  led  into  the  smaller 
or  Ajumba  branch.  And,  passed  the  night  at  Ntyuwa-guma 
village. 

Was  glad  to  reach  my  journey's  end  at  Atangina,  on  Saturday 
afternoon,  the  25th;  for,  the  incision  in  the  abscess,  made  just 
seven  days  before,  had  become  ulcerated  by  friction  of  my  cloth- 
ing, heat,  and  no  means  of  properly  cleansing  it  in  the  huts  and 
on  the  river.  Five  large  canoes,  loaded  with  war-painted  men, 
came  for  a  "  palaver  "  with  Re-Xkombe,  about  the  death  of  one 
of  the  men  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  fight  over  the  possession 
of  the  goat,  on  November  11. 

The  Sunday  was  a  physical  rest ;  but,  canoes  were  coming  and 
going;  and  some  time  elapsed  before  T  could  obtain  a  quiet  at- 
tention to  my  Sunday  services. 

Ground  had  been  cleared  for  the  building  of  my  temporary 
hut  at  the  foot  of  Kangwe  Hill.  Rut,  there  was  a  lull,  while 
I  had  to  await  the  collection  of  building  material,  the  mbingo 
(saplings)  for  the  outline  of  the  frame,  and  the  iti  (bamboo) 
slats  for  the  walls,  and  the  onipavo  (thatch)  for  the  roofing. 
Atangina  was  yet  noisy  on  Monday,  with  the  effort  at  settlement 
of  Saturday's  "  palaver."  Late  in  the  afternoon  it  was  finally 
ended  by  a  payment  of  goods.  And,  then  there  was  a  noisy 
fusillade  of  guns  in  testimony  of  the  close  of  the  quarrel,  and 
the  restoration  of  amicable  relations. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

While  waiting  for  those  materiels,  T  thought  it  well  to  visit 
Belambla.  I  was  to  go  on  Tuesday .  November  2&.  Suddenly, 
was  developed  a  "palaver"  against  myself.  Not  to  myself  as 
the  guilty  party;  but,  according  to  native  custom,  I  was  to  be 
held  responsible  for  the  acts  of  my  employees,  as  my  "  children." 
Re-Yayo  was  charged,  by  one  of  the  Atangina  men,  as  guilty  of 
adulterv  with  his  wife.     There  would  be  a  fine;  and,  I  was  ex- 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  185 

pected  to  pay  it.  The  charge  might  or  might  not  be  true;  it 
might  be  a  case  of  blackmail.  The  woman  may  deliberately 
have  been  used  by  her  husband  as  a  decoy.  Such  cases  were 
very  common.  Employees  of  white  men  were  easy  prey;  for, 
their  wages  were  sure.  I  declined  to  be  held  responsible  for 
Re-Yayo ;  and  gave  him  no  sympathy  or  protection.  Re-Nkombe 
acted  very  promptly  and  justly.  He  declared  that  I  should  not 
be  named  as  a  party  by  the  prosecutor;  and  he  rapidly  took 
charge  of  the  case  as  judge,  in  an  hour  settling  what  in  slow 
native  quarrel  would  have  occupied  a  whole  day.  ReYayo  was 
proved  guilty;  was  fined  $1 ;  and,  in  consideration  of  my  at  once 
paying  (out  of  his  wages)  he  was  released,  and  proceeded  with 
me  on  my  journey.  I  felt  sure,  from  the  smallness  of  the  fine, 
that  Re-Nkombe  must  have  believed  that  the  woman  and  her 
husband  were  as  guilty  as  Re-Yayo.  Of  my  vessels,  I  called  the 
canoe  Fides;  the  kongongo,  Spes;  and  the  boat,  Caritas.  At 
Aguma,  on  the  way,  I  met  the  white  quartermaster  of  Count 
De  Brazza's  exploring  expedition,  who  had  come  from  the  In- 
terior, for  supplies  for  the  Count.  How  I  longed  for  the  finan- 
cial backing  that  could  have  sent  me  into  that  Interior! 

During  the  afternoon,  I  passed  through  swarms  of  literally 
millions  of  yellow  butterflies,  prominent  at  that  season  of  the 
year.  They  were  flying  across  the  river,  from  its  left  or  (at 
that  part)  eastern  bank  to  the  western.  Passed  the  night  on 
Xenge-sika  Island. 

The  next  day,  I  stopped  at  villages  of  former  Bakele  friends; 
but,  they  all  happened  to  be  away.  Caritas  was  easily  pro- 
pelled with  eight  paddles,  as  I  had  not  yet  had  time  to  teach  all 
the  crew  the  use  of  oars.  At  Belambla,  Kongolo  and  his  two 
aides  gave  me  a  welcome.  They  reported  that  they  had  had  no 
trouble.  Kongolo  seemed  to  be  doing  well.  My  evening  ex- 
amination of  his  accounts  showed  them  to  be  tolerably  correct. 
And,  there  was  a  glad  hope  that  one  of  his  young  men,  Awora, 
was  serious  on  the  subject  of  personal  religion. 

The  next  day,  the  Bakele  thronged  to  morning  prayers ;  but, 
so  noisy,  that  I  knew  it  was  only  for  a  contest  as  to  who  should 
get  the  first  chance  to  sell  to  me  their  provisions.  My  leaving 
them  was  a  great  loss  to  their  daily  market.  King-  Onderie 
came  to  object  to  my  abandoning  Belambla;  and,  "King,"  as 
he  was,  joined  with  the  other  beggars,  in  asking  for  gifts.  I 
had  no  longer  any  diplomacy  or  patience  in  his  case.  I  re- 
minded him  that  I  had  warned  him  and  Kasa,  and  had  made  the 
return  of  my  stolen  goods,  and  punishment  of  the  thieves,  the 


1 86  MY  OGOWE 

condition  of  my  remaining;  and,  that,  as  king,  he  had  done 
nothing;  that  he  should  now  reap  as  he  had  sowed,  having  played 
on  my  patience  as  a  weakness,  ftwanaja  was,  as  always,  re- 
spectful and  lady-like.  For  the  first  hand,  Kongolo  gave  my 
sore  shoulder-blade,  which  was  in  bad  case,  careful  attention. 
He  was  a  civilized  young  man,  and  had  seen  such  treatment  at 
Benita.  Re-Teno,  the  only  civilized  member  of  my  crew,  and 
who  had  seen  such  work  at  Baraka,  had  not  been  at  all  kind  or 
considerate  of  my  sore. 

Some  tools  I  had  left  at  Belambla  were  no  longer  needed 
there;  those,  and  building  materiels  I  had  collected.  I  removed 
for  Kangwe. 

I  left  quietly,  the  next  day,  Friday,  December  I.  The  shal- 
lowness of  Akele  "  friendship  "  appeared  in,  that,  when  I  did  not 
need  to  buy,  they  had  no  occasion  to  say  "  good-by,"  as  I  left. 
Only  Nwanaja  was  on  hand.  I  gave  Ondefie  the  form  of  re- 
spect, to  stop  at  his  village  as  I  passed.  He  was  quite  humbled ; 
was  sorry  I  was  leaving;  and  gave  me  a  piece  of  goat-meat. 
Overtaken  by  rain,  I  stopped  at  an  Akele  village  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Ngunye,  and  ate  my  lunch  there.  In  one  of  their"  huts, 
I  saw  on  the  wall,  one  of  my  stolen  alphabet  cards.  I  did  not 
demand  it,  but  asked  for  it.  They  would  not  give  it  up.  They 
said  they  had  bought  it,  paying  a  gun  for  it!  That  was  lying. 
The  chart  was  worth  perhaps  5  cents ;  a  gun  cost  $3.  And,  at 
that  time  in  our  Mission,  we  had  not  begun  the  present  good 
practice  of  requiring  pupils  of  our  schools  to  pay  for  books,  etc. 
The  preposterous  falsehood  was  only  a  high  bid,  they  thinking  I 
would  pay  for  my  white-man's  "  book,"  which  was  knowledge, 
which  was  therefore  power. 

At  Atangina  again,  I  believed  that  Kangwe  would  be  a  good 
location  for  obtaining  food.  Canoes  from  down-river  did  not 
come  up  by  the  large  main  stream,  but  by  the  lesser  Ajumba 
branch ;  for,  the  current  of  the  latter  was  slight ;  and,  it  was 
slightest  on  my  Kangwe  side.  From  Atangina,  I  could  see 
Fanwe  canoes  passing  by  the  Hill,  on  their  way  to  Aguma,  with 
plantains  to  sell.  I  sent  a  messenger  to  pursue  them,  and  to 
ask  them  to  stop  and  sell  to  me.  Of  course,  they  began,  in  the 
oriental  manner,  by  asking  a  large  price,  $1  for  four  bunches. 
While  Galwas  would  have  been  pleased  to  ask  me  that  price, 
they  would  not  be  pleased  that  Fanwe  should  obtain  the  same. 
The  Galwas  would  have  liked  to  be  middlemen,  buying  from 
Fanwe,  and  then  selling  at  an  advance.  So,  in  their  own  inter- 
est, they  called  a  counsel  with  the  Fanwe  and  myself.      And,  it 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  187 

was    agreed    that    I    should    be    given    six    plantain    bunches 
for  $1. 

The  work  at  my  hut  proceeded  well.  But,  I  found  that  Galwa 
workmen,  though  better  and  more  skillful  than  Bakele,  were 
more  "  touchy  "  and  quarrelsome,  and  more  disposed  to  make 
complaints  and  demands.  I  gave  them  abundance  of  food,  of 
the  usual  vegetable  staffs  of  life,  plantains  and  cassava.  But, 
though  willing,  I  was  not  able  always  to  obtain  meat.  In  their 
own  villages,  it  was  a  frequent  occurrence  for  them  to  be  with- 
out meat  or  fish.  But,  living  with  a  white  man,  they  seemed 
to  think  that  they  should  have  flesh  daily.  They  had  an  ap- 
parent precedent,  in  the  fact  that  the  Liberian  coast  tribe,  Kru- 
men,  employed  at  the  coast  trading-houses,  were  given  a  daily 
ration  of  imported  salt  meat.  But,  the  labor  of  those  Kru-men, 
in  boats  through  surf,  and  in  handling  heavy  boxes  and  barrels 
of  cargo,  was  vastly  heavier  than  my  slight  house-building  or 
river-paddling. 

My  employees,  on  Saturday  evening,  December  9,  put  forward 
little  Mbue-pe-nyeni  as  spokesman,  to  say  that  they  wanted  credit 
on  their  "  books  "  for  the  days  on  which  they  had  had  no  meat ! 
It  was  not  a  pleasant  evening,  especially  as  I  was  not  feeling 
well  with  a  boil  on  my  upper  lip. 

And.  next  day.  Sunday,  even  Re-Xkombe  was  direspectfui 
in  his  refusal  to  attend  the  services,  saying  that  he  had  not 
eaten.  \Yhen  I  proceeded  without  his  presence,  suddenly,  sev- 
eral quarrels  sprang  up  near  the  house,  and  continued  during 
my  preaching.  The  coincidence  made  me  suspect  that  there  was 
some  connection  between  him  and  my  employees  and  the  quar- 
rels. Almost  always  such  annoyances  either  followed  feverish 
symptoms  on  my  part  (and  perhaps  were  caused  partly  by  some 
impatience  or  lack  of  tact  in  me)  or,  if  I  was  apparently  well, 
such  annoyances  as  a  cause  generally  worked  out  symptoms  of 
fever  in  me.  I  think  now,  that  one  point  in  my  method  of  dis- 
cipline was  unwise,  and  was  a  cause  of  trouble,  i.  e..  fines.  It 
was  right  and  wise  to  dock  wages  for  loss  of  time ;  but,  fines, 
for  disobedience,  accidental  breakages,  etc..  though  not  unjust, 
were,  I  now  think,  in  the  then  stage  of  civilization  of  the  work- 
men, unwise. 

On  December  18.  the  palaver  about  Re-Yayo  was  reopened 
by  the  old  man.  with  one  of  whose  women  he  had  committed 
adultery.  She  was  now  the  complainant,  charging  that  Re- 
Yayo  had  threatened  to  make  a  fetish-charm  to  kill  her,  in  re- 
venue for  her  having  accused  him  to  her  husband.     There  was 


1 88  MY  OGOWE 

a  fight  over  Re-Yayo.  I  had  no  pity  for  either  him  or  the 
woman  or  her  man.  There  was  no  injured  love  in  the  case; 
only  sordid  lust.  Re-Nkombe  settled  the  case  for  me,  with  the 
private  understanding  that  Re-Yayo  was  to  be  allowed  to  run 
away.  I  went  with  him  to  Aguma  to  get  a  sail  I  had  made  for 
the  boat,  and  returned  with  him  to  Atangina,  as  I  had  found 
nowhere  else  to  leave  him.  Re-Nkombe  acted  in  the  best  recog- 
nition of  oriental  "  guest-right,"  saying  that  as  his  house  and 
town  was  "  mine,"  my  employee,  though  a  criminal,  was  safe 
while  I  was  there  with  him.  But,  the  next  morning,  at  earliest 
dawn,  I  was  awakened  by  an  outcry  that  Re-Yayo  was  "  caught." 
I  lay  awake,  but  did  not  rise  until  full  daylight;  and  made  no 
sign ;  though,  in  my  anxiety  to  pursue  only  the  wisest  course 
in  a  case  that  would  be  established  as  a  precedent,  I  had  no  appe- 
tite for  my  breakfast.  I  did  not  care  a  thing  for  Re-Yayo  per- 
sonally; for,  he  had  been  a  troublesome  and  unsatisfactory 
workman,  and  he  deserved  punishment  for  his  other  sins.  But, 
he  was  my  employee,  a  part  of  my  household.  /  was  "  guest  " 
of  Re-Nkombe,  chief  of  the  village.  Universal  African  tribal 
custom  covered  a  guest  with  a  sanctity  of  right  and  safety  from 
injury  that  was  extended  to  all  of  that  guest's  retinue  and  be- 
longings the  while  he  remained  in  the  limits  as  a  sanctuary. 
The  seizure  of  Re-Yayo  was  therefore  a  conventional  insult  to 
myself.  Was  I  to  allow  it?  Should  I  make  a  protest,  even 
though  Re-Yayo  was  an  offender?  I  went  to  Re-Nkombe's 
house  to  confer  with  him,  and  to  claim  his  protection.  He  was 
away  at  his  plantation.  I  believed  that  an  immediate  demon- 
stration was  necessary.  I  determined  to  leave  the  village,  and 
confer  the  favor  (  ?)  of  my  presence,  and  the  daily  outflow  of 
pecuniary  benefits  in  the  purchase  of  food,  on  some  other  village 
that  would  better  regard  my  guest-right.  So,  I  commenced  to 
carry  my  boxes,  etc.,  to  the  waterside,  and  loaded  the  boat  for 
removal.  When  the  villagers  saw  that,  they  sent  swift  messen- 
gers to  Re-Nkombe,  who  soon  appeared.  Without  my  having 
made  any  appeal  to  him,  he  at  once  took  Re-Yayo  from  the 
stocks  in  which  he  had  been  fastened.  I  was  pleased  with  Re- 
Nkom1>e's  prompt  demonstration  of  friendliness,  returned  my 
goods  to  the  hut  in  which  I  had  been  living;  and,  taking  Re- 
Yayo,  I  went  to  my  day's  work  on  the  hillside,  the  villagers  as- 
suring me  that  the  seizure  would  not  be  repeated,  on  my  return. 
I  explained  to  him  that  I  had  been  defending,  not  him.  but  my- 
self;  and  warned  him.  that,  on  future  misconduct.  I  would  dis- 
miss  him,   and   leave   him   open   to   deserved   punishment.     My 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  189 

decided  stand,  and  Re-Nkombe's  prompt  action  did  much  to 
cement  our  friendship,  and  to  establish  my  position  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Galwa  tribe. 

By  December  20,  the  hut  was  almost  completed,  and  ready 
for  occupancy.  But,  I  would  not  remove  to  it  until  after  my 
return  from  Gaboon,  whither  it  was  time  to  make  ready  a 
journey,  for  the  semi-annual  meetings  (unless  the  Pioneer 
should  happen  to  arrive).  I  engaged  two  of  Re-Nkombe's 
young  men.  Oguma  and  Ambangila,  to  stay  on  my  Kangwe 
premises,  and  protect  the  hut,  while  I  should  be  away.  He  ob- 
jected to  his  men  being  left  in  charge;  not  that  he  was  not  will- 
ing to  be  of  assistance  to  me,  but,  he  doubted  whether  they 
would  be  faithful;  and  that,  then,  on  my  return  I  would  blame 
him,  as  I  had  blamed  Kasa.  I  assured  him  that  I  had  faith  in 
not  only  him,  but  them  also ;  and,  in  any  case,  would  blame  only 
them.  I  supplied  them  with  guns  and  ammunition,  for  defense 
against  assault.  But,  until  I  should  actually  start  down-river 
(for  I  was  first  to  make  my  monthly  visit  to  Belambla),  I  left 
at  the  hut,  four  of  my  own  men,  among  them  Re-Yayo,  who 
was  afraid  to  venture  back  to  Atangina. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

The  next  day,  however,  December  22,  he  was  charged  with  the 
theft  of  a  hatchet.  Wearied,  I  paid  him  off,  and  dismissed  him. 
And.  started  late  in  the  day,  on  my  journey  to  Belambla,  with 
an  Atangina  crew.  I  could  not  reach  my  usual  resting-place 
for  the  night,  at  Saviyeli's  house  on  the  "  Goree  "  Island.  So 
we  stopped  at  a  deserted  village  where  were  only  two  old  women. 
The  next  day,  I  stopped  for  breakfast  at  Manda's.  I  saw 
there  the  process  of  making  odika,  from  the  kernels  of  the  wild 
mango.  It  makes  a  rich  gravy,  which  I  had  often  eaten,  but 
never  had  actually  seen  the  process  of  making  it;  nor  had  before 
eaten  the  roasted  kernels. 

One  of  the  Atangina  crew,  Njodia,  was  afraid  to  go  on  with 
me,  because  of  a  palaver  at  Ondene's.  Notwithstanding  my 
recent  demonstration  of  protection  of  Re-Yayo.  Njodia  was 
afraid,  because  he  was  out  of  the  limits  of  his  tribe,  and  I  was 
not  residing  at  Ondene's,  as  I  had  been  at  Re-Nkombe's.  I 
really  believed  that  he  would  be  safe  in  my  boat ;  but,  I  did  not 
insist,  and  allowed  him  to  debark  at  Manda's.  Reached  Be- 
lambla shortly  after  dark;  and  was  pleasantly  received. 

Sunday,  December  24,  was  a  quiet  pleasant  day,  with  a  good 
attendance  of  Kasa's  people  at  services.     But,  my  Mpongwe  at- 


190  MY  OGOWK 

tendant.  Re-Teno,  who  never  had  been  satisfactory,  now  on  the 
eve  of  a  return  to  Libreville,  made  but  slight  pretense  of  respect 
or  even  honesty. 

Monday,  the  25th,  was  Christmas  Day;  but,  not  a  "merry" 
one.  Indeed,  most  of  my  Christmases  in  Africa  had  so  happened 
to  fall  on  days  when  I  was  alone  from  any  white  companionship, 
that  I  almost  ceased  to  notice  the  anniversary.  Thus,  I  lost 
much  of  the  traditional  interest  in  the  day.  I  was  busy  paying 
employees  their  month's  wages,  and  settling  accounts  with  Ko- 
ngolo.  In  this,  I  was  delayed  by  many  visitors  from  Kasa's. 
So  that,  my  start  down-river  was  a  late  one.  And,  it  was  in- 
terrupted by  diplomatic  stoppages  at  Ondene's  and  two  other 
villages ;  and  at  Manda's,  to  pick  up  Njodia ;  and  at  Sakwele's, 
for  the  first  hearty  meal  of  the  day,  which,  following  the  usage 
of  the  traders,  in  this  record,  I  speak  of,  as  "breakfast." 
(Their  program  was:  In  the  early  morning,  just  after  beginning 
work,  an  informal  cup  of  tea  and  biscuit ;  1 1  o'clock,  "  break- 
fast ";  informal  4  p.  m.  tea  and  toast;  and  8  p.  m.  hearty  "  din- 
ner." This  suited  a  cessation  of  work  in  the  hot  mid-day. 
And,  for  the  same  reason,  it  suited  me,  on  my  river  journeys.) 
Sending  my  boat  and  crew  on  to  Atangina,  I  had  my  Christmas 
supper  ("dinner")  at  night,  at  Aguma,  with  the  other  white 
men  of  the  river,  from  the  two  trading-houses,  Messrs.  Travis, 
Woodward,  Lubcke,  Detmaringer,  Schiff,  and  the  Senegal- 
Frenchman  Mane.  After  which,  Mr.  Travis  kindly  sent  me  to 
Atangina  in  his  boat. 

The  next  day,  the  26th.  was  a  busy  day  with  me  at  Atangina. 
at  Aguma.  and  at  Kangwe,  arranging  foods  for  those  I  would 
leave  in  charge  of  the  Hill,  and  for  my  own  expenses  down- 
river. 

JOURNEY    TO    GABOON. 

Finally,  on  Wednesday.  27th,  I  started,  going,  as  usual,  down 
the  Ajumba  branch  of  the  Ogowe,  which  emerges  by  one  of 
many  cross-streams,  in  the  main  branch,  through  the  Ozugavizya 
(reek.  Then,  at  Mbangwe,  1  was  told  that  the  Pioneer  had  just 
gone  up  the  main  stream.  I  had  just  missed  it!  Probably,  it 
had  for  me  goods  and  supplies,  and,  most  precious  of  all.  a 
mail!  Nevertheless.  I  went  on  my  way,  stopping  for  the  night 
with  my  friend  Azaze  at  Xandipo,  below  Oranga. 

The  next  day.  on  to  Tsagi's  town,  Xgumbe ;  and,  notwith- 
standing the  multitude  of  mosquitoes,   remained   there   for  the 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  191 

night.  Isagi  surprised  me,  by  restoring  to  me  a  chicken  I  had 
lost  there  on  my  previous  journey. 

The  following  clay,  on  to  Nango.  And,  the  next  day,  Satur- 
urday,  December  30,  on  to  Angala,  to  remain  over  Sunday.  It 
was  quite  possible  that  the  Pioneer  could  overtake  us  on  her 
return  down  river.  If  so,  the  captain  would  give  us  all  passage 
on  board.  All  of  Sunday  my  crew  were  hoping  that  the  vessel 
would  not  come  until  Monday.  For,  they  knew  from  my  strong 
Sabbath  principles,  that  I  never  traveled  on  that  day  in  my  own 
boat  (whose  movements  I  could  control)  and  feared  I  would 
refuse  to  start  on  the  steamer  on  the  Sunday. 

Monday,  January  1,  1877.  New  Year's  Day!  But,  I  made 
no  recognition  of  it.  Nor,  had  the  Pioneer  come.  Rowing 
was  slow ;  for,  from  Angala,  the  ocean  tide  is  met.  Emerged  at 
the  sea  by  4.30  p.  m.,  and  saw  Mr.  Schultze's  crowded  schooner, 
lying  at  the  village  of  Abun-awiri  (Abundance  of  witches). 
No  more  dread  of  Orungu  there !  At  once,  I  passed  out  into 
Nazareth  Bay  with  my  sail,  and  ran  all  night  under  the  moon- 
light with  a  light  favorable  land-wind,  on  the  70  miles'  stretch 
of  sea  to  Libreville. 

The  next  day,  January  2,  we  kept  on  our  way,  with  varying 
winds,  and  some  showers  of  rain.  The  dugout  boat  Caritas  ran 
beautifully  under  sail. 

At  sunset,  we  had  failed  to  round  the  points  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Gaboon  River,  and  anchored  about  8  p.  m.,  for  the  night  in  a 
quiet  cove.     I  slept  that  night  in  my  wet  clothes. 

And,  on  the  morning  of  the  3d,  under  moonlight,  and  with 
a  favorable  tide,  with  paddles,  we  rounded  the  last  point,  close 
in  shore.  Then,  with  sail,  under  a  fine  wind,  crossed  the  ten 
miles  of  the  estuary.  The  sun  rose  while  we  were  crossing.  Bv 
7.30  A.  M.,  I  was  at  Baraka.  The  mail  steamer,  Ethiopia  with 
my  friend.  Captain  Davis,  was  at  anchor.  A  large  mail  was 
awaiting  me.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had  made  the  run  be- 
tween the  Ogowe  mouth  and  the  Gaboon  in  an  open  boat. 

For  two  weeks,  we  held  our  mission  and  presbytery  meetings. 
My  sister  came  from  Benita  and  Mrs.  De  Heer  from  Corisco, 
by  the  Hudson.  We  made  visits  of  courtesy  on  the  French 
admiral's  frigate  in  the  harbor,  and  he  returned  them;  and  he 
kindly  allowed  his  surgeon  to  come  ashore,  to  extract  my  aching 
tooth.  I  wrote  my  annual  report,  and  many  letters  to  the  United 
States,  and  asked  the  Board  for  re-inforcements.  My  friends, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading  were  soon  to  take  a  furlough  to  America. 


192  MY  OGOWE 

The  Pioneer  had  come  from  the  Ogowe,   and  was  to  return 
again. 

JOURNEY    BACK    TO    OGOWE    BY    "  PIONEER." 

Thursday,  January  18:  My  sister  and  Mrs.  De  Heer  had 
left,  during  the  morning,  on  the  Hudson,  for  their  respective 
stations  at  Benita  and  Corisco.  And,  I  was  busy  loading  on  the 
Pioneer  my  boxes  of  goods  and  supplies,  and  eighty-five  boards 
for  a  prospective  house  on  Kangwe  hillside.  With  an  evening 
good-by  to  Rev.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bushnell,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Reading,  under  a  little  rain  I  went  aboard  the  vessel,  in  my 
Caritas,  with  my  five  crew,  and  Mbora,  a  new  assistant  instead  of 
the  recreant  Re-Teno. 

My  Ogowe  huts  had  been  almost  entirely  devoid  of  animal  pets, 
the  while  I  had  been  leading  so  wandering  a  life  during  the  pre- 
ceding two  years.  Now,  that  the  thought  of  a  home  at  Kangwe 
brought  into  my  life  a  more  settled  feeling,  I  took  with  me  a  cat 
safely  imprisoned  in  a  bag.  The  Captain,  De  Grouchy,  came 
on  board  at  night ;  and  some  bedding  was  spread  for  me  on  the 
eating-room  table.  There  were  no  "  state-rooms  "  or  even  berths 
outside  of  the  captain's  and  engineer's.  All  partitions  in  the 
hold  had  been  removed  to  give  clear  space  for  cargo.  There 
were  no  more  signs  of  Mrs.  Livingstone's  cabin.  The  crew,  and 
all  native  passengers  slept  on  the  open  deck,  taking  their  chances 
of  sun  and  rain.  As  the  Pioneer  rarely  traveled  by  night,  we  lay 
at  anchor,  waiting  for  the  day.  My  ever-sensitive  stomach  was 
nauseated  by  even  the  mild  heavings  of  Gaboon  estuary.  By 
sunrise  of  next  day,  we  were  under  way.  My  boat  was  in  tow ; 
to  keep  it  in  line  with  the  vessel.  I  had  to  put  two  of  my  crew 
into  it,  at  its  rudder.  On  rounding  Pongara  Point  to  push  out 
to  sea.  my  poor  cat,  frightened  at  its  surroundings,  and  seeing  its 
proximity  to  shore,  leaped  into  the  water,  in  an  attempt  to 
reach  land,  and  was  lost.  At  night  we  anchored  off  the  Naz- 
areth mouth  of  the  Ogowe. 

And,  by  daylight,  were  again  in  motion,  in  the  river.  Several 
canoes  were  in  sight.  One  of  them,  near  Abun-awiri,  was  a 
large  one.  and  its  crew  seemed  afraid  of  us.  How  different  from 
the  state  of  affairs  six  months  previously,  and  before  the  French 
Government  had  been  punishing  the  Orungu  pirates!  Angala 
was  reached  easily  in  the  afternoon.  The  French  gunboat 
Marabout  was  lying  there:  and  Captain  De  Grouchy  had  to  show 
his  papers.  Good !  France  had  awakened  to  her  rights  and 
duties  toward  both  natives  and  foreigners!     T  also  went  to  the 


MPOXGWF.  WOMAN  AXD  CTTTT.D 


t-aeing  page    193 


WITH  RE-NKOMBE  193 

Marabout,  as  its  captain  wished  to  see  me  about  the  affair  of  the 
Orungu  Ndambenje  (Aziza-njele)  with  me,  in  the  preceding 
August.  I  had  entered  no  complaint,  because,  in  the  final  pil- 
lage of  my  goods,  I  had  been  a  consenting  party.  But,  the  gov- 
ernment regarded  (truthfully)  that  consent  had  been  a  forced 
one  in  the  face  of  threatened  violence,  and  wished  to  capture 
him,  on  a  charge  of  highway  robbery.  They  doubtless  felt  that 
that  assault  would  not  have  been  made,  had  the  power  of  France 
been  more  in  evidence. 

Whenever  I  traveled  on  the  Ogowe,  I  carried  with  me  seeds, 
or  roots,  or  cuttings  of  edible  tropical  plants  not  indigenous  to 
Africa,  which  I  obtained  from  the  Libreville  Botanical  Garden, 
into  which  they  had  been  introduced  from  the  West  Indies.  I 
gave  a  bread-fruit  tree  to  King  Esongi.  So  I  did,  during  the 
years,  at  other  villages.  Most  of  the  bread-fruit,  avocado  pears, 
guavas,  and  other  fruits  now  abundant  in  the  Ogowe,  thus  came 
from  my  hand.  Steamer  went  on ;  stopping  for  the  night  at 
lSTombi,  opposite  to  JSJango. 

The  next  day,  the  21st,  was  Sunday.  There  was  no  oppor- 
tunity for  religious  services.  I  had  a  quiet  day  in  reading.  It 
was  pleasant  to  watch  one  of  the  Mpongwe  passengers,  a  mother, 
Nyilo's  wife:  she  was  so  patient,  watchful,  and  affectionate  to 
their  little  child.  Passed  Mr.  Schultze's  little  steam-launch  tow- 
ing his  laden  schooner.  Passed  Isagi's,  without  even  saluting 
him.  And,  just  as  we  were  about  to  anchor  near  Avanga,  the 
steamer  was,  for  a  short  time,  aground.  From  the  low  papyrus 
banks  came  clouds  of  mosquitoes. 

The  next  day,  as  we  were  passing  Igenja,  the  former  pilot  of 
the  Pioneer,  Ombya-ogwana,  shouted  for  the  captain  to  stop  and 
take  him  into  service.  But,  the  captain  had  a  pilot  from  Angala. 
My  Mamba  was  disappointed  that  the  vessel  passed  his  village 
without  an  opportunity  for  him  to  see  his  people.  Near  Azaze's, 
a  canoe  overtook  us,  containing  the  young  man  whom  I  had  en- 
gaged as  carpenter,  on  my  journey  down-river.  Keeping  on  up 
the  main  stream,  we  passed  the  mouth  of  Ozugavizya  Creek;  and 
anchored  almost  in  sight  of  the  German  trading-house,  at  Le- 
mbarene. 

And,  the  next  morning  the  23d,  I  was  ashore  by  my  own  boat : 
and  found  everything  safe  and  in  order  at  the  Hill.  Called  at 
Atangina.  to  see  Re-Nkombe,  and  returned  to  my  hut;  and.  at 
once  went  to  the  hilltop,  to  decide  on  the  exact  site  of  my 
permanent  dwelling.  Then,  went,  for  the  night,  to  Aguma,  to 
be  ready  to  bring  my  goods  from  the  Pioneer.     The  following 


i94  MY  OGOWE 

day,  the  24th,  there  was  a  tornado,  the  most  violent  I  had  seen. 
My  boat  was  caught  in  it  on  one  of  its  trips  to  and  from  the  Hill 
and  the  steamer.  But,  it  rode  the  waves  well ;  Ogowe  canoes  were 
swamped.  The  night  was  the  first  one  in  which  I  had  slept  at 
Kangwe.  I  had  the  evening  prayers,  seeking  a  blessing  on  this 
new  home  I  was  making. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

AT    THE    KANGWE    HUT,    JANUARY,    1877 

AGAIN  to  Aguma,  on  Thursday,  January  25,  for  my  lum- 
ber; and  sent  the  kongongo  Spes,  with  Ayenwe  and  a 
crew  of  five,  down-river  to  buy  food.  Another  tornado, 
which  I  barely  escaped  in  returning  to  the  Hill.  Found  that 
Aveya  and  his  little  brother  Onganga,  whom  I  had  left  at  the 
hut,  had  arranged  my  room  and  bedding  very  neatly. 

In  the  evening,  there  returned  Awangini,  and  a  new  little  boy. 
That  made  eight  people  in  my  employ  on  the  place,  besides  the 
crew  who  were  away  buying  food. 

I  kept  my  household  at  the  work  of  clearing  the  premises,  in 
almost  a  military  precision  of  routine.  This  was  necessary  for 
its  success ;  for,  I  realized  that  the  following  five  months  held  for 
me  a  heavy  task,  and  I  was  conscious  that  I  had  not  the  vigor  of 
either  mind  or  body,  with  which  I  had  attempted  the  Belambla 
effort  of  two  years  before. 

I  wrote  letters  very  full  to  my  children,  to  churches  and  Sun- 
day-schools and  other  friends;  many  of  these  appearing  in  The 
Presbyterian. 

Monday,  January  29 :  My  work  and  the  workers  were  adjust- 
ing themselves  comfortably.  Ayenwe  and  Aveya  were  good 
foremen  for  the  boat's  crew  and  building  squad;  and  Mbora  was 
a  good  cook ;  he  even  wished  me  to  allow  him  to  attempt  to  make 
bread.  Chief  Re-Nkombe  generally  kept  his  promises,  and  did 
not  attempt  to  be  as  exacting  as  Kasa  at  Belambla.  He  had  a 
sister,  Azizya.  who  during  my  entire  stay  at  Kangwe,  was  true 
and  helpful  to  me.  Finally  having  a  resting-place,  I  sent  to 
Aguma  for  my  dog  "  Brownie,"  whom  I  had  left  there  for  several 
months  during  the  Belambla  difficulties.  During  the  day,  out  of 
work  hours,  and  at  night,  some  of  the  employees  voluntarily  came 
to  learn  to  read  or  to  be  taught  other  lessons. 

And,  yet,  as  often  happened,  the  day  following  an  unusually 
pleasant  one,  was  marked  by  some  unpleasantness.  In  the  even- 
ing of  January  30,  I  called  my  household  together  for  an  in- 
formal chat,  and  asked  them  to  explain  why  it  was  that  just  after 
I   had  showed  them  some  special   favor,   they  often  made  me 

195 


196  MY  OGOWE 

trouble.  I  think  that  they  were  like  children,  with  the  thought- 
less waywardness  of  children,  though  some  of  them  in  age  were 
young  men.  Perhaps,  also,  the  cause  may  often  have  been  in  my- 
self, an  incipient  fever  making  me  unconsciously  exacting. 
For,  on  the  third  day,  I  would  be  lying  down  with  a  chill.  Then, 
it  was  all  plain;  the  natural  succession  of  a  day  of  unusually 
bright  spirits  (the  real  physiological  beginning  of  fever)  ;  next, 
a  day  of  depression  (the  advance)  ;  and  then  a  day  of  actual 
fever  (the  attack).  But,  I  rarely  went  to  bed  for  it.  I  lounged 
while  the  chill  was  on,  fasted,  swallowed  quinine,  drank  hot 
lime-ade ;  and,  when  the  chill  was  off,  wandered  about  the  prem- 
ises, wrapped  in  a  blanket,  to  see  whether  the  workmen  were 
making  mistakes.  I  had  two  young  men  who  could  handle 
tools ;  but,  I  had  to  watch  their  work  and  see  that  they  made  the 
doors  and  windows  straight  for  that  first  little  Kangwe  hut. 
Out  in  the  forest,  there  were  often  strange  sounds,  of  the 
origin  of  which  I  could  not  always  get  an  acceptable  explana- 
tion from  the  natives.  Perhaps,  some  were  voices  of  birds,  or 
insects ;  or,  the  wind  in  tree  branches ;  or,  echoes  of  cry  of  beasts, 
or  call  of  human  being.  Perhaps,  in  my  highly-wrought  mental 
and  depressed  physical  state  at  that  time,  I  did  really  hear  sounds 
that  were  not  audible  to  others,  or  to  myself  in  a  normal  state. 
But,  it  is  true  that,  in  my  lonely  walks  in  the  forest,  I  did  hear  a 
low  musical  note  that  sounded  like  a  distant  bell.  There  were 
no  bells  (at  that  time),  in  the  Ogowe.  On  January  31,1  wrote 
"  The  Bells  that  Ring  for  me." 

There  ring,  to  me,  sometimes,  sweet  bells, 

So  soft  and  low : 
But  never  a  word  their  echo  tells. 

If  weal  or  woe, 

I  can  not  know. 

I  hear  them  in  these  forest  aisles, 

So  soft  and  low. 
Alike  in  Grief  or  when  TTope  smiles, 

Their  light  waves  go 

In  music's  flow. 

Are  they  some  solemn  funeral  tolls, 

Tn  lands  away, 
Wafted  across  where  ocean  rolls? 

Or,  calls  to  pray 

On  Sabbath  day? 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  197 

Or,  are  they  echoed  marriage  bells, 

All  glad  and  gay, 
Whose  whispered  benison  thus  swells 

O'er  lives  to-day 

Made  one  for  aye? 

Or,  are  they  notes  of  bells  of  Care 

In  toiling  towns, 
Where  hardy  hands,  in  Life's  war,  dare 

Snatch  golden  crowns 

From  Fortune's  frowns? 

I  can  not  tell,  I  only  know 

That  sweet  low  tone, 
Whose  pulses  sudden  come  and  go, 

When  I'm  alone, 

Is  ever  one. 

Those  tones  change  not.     By  night  or  day, 

They,  soft  and  low, 
Unbidden  come,  nor,  longed-for,  stay ; 

But,  ringing  slow, 

Vibrating  go. 

Ring  on,  O  bells,  and  ring  for  me ! 

I  do  not  know 
Wliether  my  path  of  life  shall  be 

Of  weal  or  woe. 

Ring  soft  and  low ! 

Time  is  not  valued  by  the  native  African;  and  there  was  little 
sense  of  obligation  to  remain  at  a  job.  All  sorts  of  small  things 
were  allowed  to  interfere.  Saviyele's  wife  had  recently  be- 
come a  mother ;  he  had  to  go  to  attend  some  superstitious  rites 
to  be  performed  subsequent  to  childbirth.  A  distant  relative  of 
Aveya  died  at  Adalinananga,  and  he  must  needs  spend  a  day  at 
the  mourning.     Nevertheless,   work  was  progressing. 

As  a  mark  to  my  claim  on  the  extensive  premises,  I  decided  to 
build  one  of  the  huts  needed  for  the  men,  on  the  northern  side 
of  the  Hill,  at  its  foot,  and  exactly  opposite  to  Atangina.  An 
incidental  advantage  was,  that  my  people  there  could  see  food- 
. canoes  coming  up  the  river,  and  hailing  them  could  advise  them 
to  stop  at  my  place  on  the  southern  side.  In  clearing  the  forest, 
I  was  frequently  coming  on  to  new  animals,  insects,  or  reptiles. 
On  Thursday,  February  r.  I  saw  for  the  first  time,  what  I  sup- 


198  MY  OGOWE 

posed  was  an  electrical  fish.  On  my  way  over  the  Hill,  in  the 
morning  of  February  2,  to  the  work  on  the  north  side  hut  (which 
people  called  "  Igolino")  I  inspected  and  decided  on  the  precise 
spot  where  should  be  built  the  proposed  permanent  house,  not  on 
the  very  hilltop,  but  nearer  it  than  the  site  I  had  selected  when 
first  accompanied  by  Mr.  Reading  in  the  previous  August.  As 
the  clearing  progressed  on  that  hillside,  splendidly  extensive 
views  were  constantly  being  opened  up.  That  day,  at  "  Igolino," 
there  came  by  there  canoe  loads  of  plantains,  of  Fan  we  led  by 
Ajumba  people  from  Lake  Azingo.  Hailing  them,  directed 
them  to  go  on  to  my  hut,  whither  I  walked  rapidly  over  the  Hill. 
One  of  the  Ajumba  was  one  of  Anege's  young  men,  Ogula,  who, 
in  November  of  1874,  at  Azingo,  had  killed  a  hippopotamus; 
and  I  had  eaten  of  its  meat. 

In  a  country  where  Sunday  was  unknown,  I  was  more  strict 
in  my  observance  of  Sabbath  than  I  would  have  been  in  the 
United  States.  During  Saturday  night,  the  3d,  there  had  ar- 
rived from  down-river  two  relatives  of  one  of  my  workmen, 
Tivino,  with  chickens  and  plantains  for  sale,  I  wanted  them. 
But  my  people  knew  that  I  would  neither  buy  nor  bargain  about 
them  on  Sunday.  As  they  lay  in  the  canoe  at  my  landing  vis- 
ible to  all  passers-by,  and  especially  to  persons  coming  to  serv- 
ices, the  wiser  ones  of  my  people  advised  the  owners  that  I 
would  be  offended  if  strangers  should  report  that  they  had  seen 
food  for  sale  at  the  missionary's  door  on  Sunday!  So  the  plan- 
tains and  chickens  were  hidden  in  the  forest  until  Monday. 
Among  the  few7  who  came  to  the  services  were  my  good  friend 
Azizya,  Re-Xkombe's  sister,  and  three  other  women.  I  gave 
them  dinner  afterwards;  not,  at  all,  as  a  reward  for  coming;  but, 
to  emphasize,  in  a  country  that  looked  down  on  women,  my  tradi- 
tional respect  for  the  sex.  This,  and  other  attentions  to  other 
native  women  in  later  years  were  my  constant  demonstrations 
of  gratitude,  pity,  and  respect ;  but,  they  were  misunderstood  by 
some  men.  My  earliest  services  at  all  the  stations  that  I  suc- 
cessively located,  were  marked  by  Sunday-school  efforts,  teach- 
ing to  read,  and  illustrating  Scripture  with  pictures.  At  Libre- 
ville Mrs.  Reading  and  Miss  Dewsnap  had  given  me  a  large 
picture  of  the  Destruction  of  Pharaoh's  Army  at  the  Red  Sea. 
As  I  could  use  Mpongwe  only  smatteringly,  I  had  cook  Mbora 
explain  it ;  which  he  did  very  well. 

On  the  Monday,  I  was  awakened  at  daylight  by  the  outcries 
of  Tivino's  relatives,  who  discovered  that  their  hidden  plantains 
had  been  stolen.      During  the  night,  I  had  heard  his  voice,  as  he 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  199 

had  been  aroused  by  a  noise  at  the  water-side.  And  I  had 
arisen,  and  fired  my  gun  at  the  spot,  with  what  effect,  I  did  not 
know.  Perhaps  the  noise  was  that  of  the  departing  thieves.  I 
had  caused  it  to  be  known,  on  my  first  location  at  the  Hill,  that 
I  would  allow  no  night-prowling,  and  that  I  would  fire  without 
warning  at  any  sound.  Belated  visitors,  or  others  coming  in 
real  need  were  to  make  themselves  promptly  known  by  a  loud 
call,  such  as  no  secret  thief  would  make. 

The  wonderful  "  driver  ants  "  were  in  great  numbers  that 
day.     And,  I  found  what  I  suppose  was  the  rare  mygale  spider. 

On  February  6,  Mbora  succeeded  in  making  a  loaf  of  bread ; 
the  first  that  any  one  of  my  successive  cooks  had  made,  during 
the  two  and  a  half  years  that  I  had  been  in  the  Ogowe. 

Eliva-ntyani,  in  cutting  down  a  tree  (whose  base  made  chop- 
ping impossible  because  of  the  buttresses  thrown  out  by  many 
kinds  of  trees),  used  the  native  method  of  climbing,  of  which 
I  knew  but  had  not  seen.  With  a  rattan  vine  as  a  rope,  tied 
in  a  circle  about  the  tree,  and  himself  inside  the  circle,  and 
leaning  with  his  back  against  the  vine,  his  feet  braced  against 
the  tree-trunk,  and  his  hands  tugging  at  the  vine,  he  literally 
walked  up  the  tree  to  a  point  where  the  diameter  was  less. 
When  his  choppings  had  continued  so  far  that  the  tree  was 
beginning  to  crack,  in  its  readiness  to  fall  to  one  side,  he 
deftly,  rapidly  slid  down  to  the  ground  with  his  rope,  on  the 
other  side.  During  those  days,  I  amused  myself  with  the 
pendant  vines,  renewing  my  youth  by  some  fine  exercise  in 
swinging.  Some  down-river  Bakele.  from  Kumulekwe's  town, 
stopped  to  see  me.  They  were  quite  *  caustic  in  their  con- 
demnation of  the  up-river  Bakele,  saying  that  they  "  had  no 
head  "  in  behaving  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  me  to  leave  them. 
The  young  Ajumba  man,  Ogula,  came  to  work  with  me. 

Wednesday,  the  7th,  marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  step  in 
my  building.  Having  completed  my  own  temporary  hut,  and 
necessary  out-houses  by  the  ravine,  and  the  Igolino  hut  at  the 
foot  of  the  northern  side  of  the  Hill,  I  started  a  number  of  the 
employees  at  the  cutting  of  logs,  for  the  foundation-posts  of  the 
board-floored  house  to  be  built  near  the  hilltop.  The  forest  was 
crowded  with  trees,  but  not  all  of  them  available  for  that  pur- 
pose. Only  the  hardest  woods  could  resist  the  attacks  of  the 
white  ants. 


200  MY  OGOWE 


JOURNEY  TO  BELAMBLA. 

On  Thursday,  February  8,  leaving  four  of  my  people  to  care 
for  the  Kangwe  premises,  I  took  the  other  nine,  to  make  my 
monthly  inspection  of  Belambla.  Stopped  on  the  way  at 
Aguma,  to  breakfast  with  Mr.  Travis.  Leaving  near  noon,  the 
crew  pulled  remarkably  well;  and,  with  no  stops,  we  reached 
Sakwele's  Island  by  7  p.  m.  He  was  away;  but  his  wife 
Akanda  received  us. 

The  next  day,  in  passing  Ozege-katya,  we  bought  turtle-eggs 
of  an  Akele  who  hailed  us.  Ate  at  Avyake's.  He  was  holding 
a  palaver  about  one  of  his  women  who  had  been  killed  in  a 
quarrel  resulting  from  the  trader  Rogomu's  retaining  an  Akele 
canoe  which  he  found  floating  as  lost  property,  and  had  refused 
to  surrender  to  the  owner.  Kasa  was  at  his  village,  and  smiled 
as  I  passed.  Reaching  Belambla  by  4  p.  m.,  Kongolo  and  his 
assistants  were  very  glad  to  see  me.  I  had  brought  for  him. 
from  my  sister  Isabella  of  Benita,  some  little  articles  presented 
by  her,  a  belt,  thread,  etc.  His  joy  was  touching,  at  being  thus 
remembered,  as  he  repeatedly  ejaculated,  "Thank  you!  Miss 
Bella!"  In  the  evening,  five  of  the  young  men  told  me  that 
they  wished  to  be  Christians.  That  was  my  reward  for  my 
work  at  Belambla !  My  heart  was  full !  Lendaginya  ( the 
striker  whom  I  had  restored  to  my  service)  said  that  he  had 
thought  of  this  for  two  years ;  but,  had  put  it  off,  because  I  was 
living  away  from  his  Galwa  tribe.  And,  that  when  I  had  dis- 
missed him  for  his  offense  six  months  previously,  he  did  not 
wish  to  go  away  into  the  temptations  of  trade,  and  so  decided 
to  delay  no  longer  in  informing  me.  Manja  said  that  he  had 
engaged  with  me,  at  first,  only  "  for  the  sake  of  dollars  "  ;  but, 
that,  hearing  the  Truth  often,  "  it  had  pierced  his  ears,  and 
opened  his  heart."  The  Akele  Lakitharambyli,  said  that  he 
wished  to  turn  from  the  darkness  of  his  tribe.  I  went  to  bed 
with  a  glad  heart. 

The  next  day,  with  my  entire  crew,  I  crossed  the  river,  to 
make  friendships  with  the  Fahwe  on  that  side.  They  received 
us  well ;  politely  gave  presents  to  me  and  to  my  entire  company; 
and,  according  to  custom,  we  made  return  gifts.  Heard  of  a 
trade-palaver  near  Anyambe-jena's  village,  involving  some 
(loree  traders;  and.  Ondene  and  Kasa  had  gone  with  them,  to 
settle  the  affair.  Those  traders  were  Senegalese,  from  the 
(ioree  district  of  Cape  Verde.  They  were  Mohammedans,  and, 
as  French  subjects,  had  a  smattering  of  civilization,  on  which 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  201 

they  prided  themselves,  looking  with  contempt  on  the  Ogowe  na- 
tives. As  a  result  of  that  attitude  of  haughty  autocracy,  they 
often  became  involved  in  quarrels.  I  avoided  association  with 
them.  Our  only  common  grounds  of  sympathy  lay  in  the  two 
facts,  that,  though  they  traded  with  rum,  they  themselves  (as 
followers  of  Mahomet)  were  temperate;  and,  like  myself,  they 
had  no  love  for  Romanism  with  its  Mariolatry,  which,  in  Africa, 
the  priests  made  so  very  prominent,  that  the  Virgin  was  wor- 
shiped more  than  was  her  Divine  Son.  With  the  Moham- 
medans I  could  heartily  repeat  "  Allah  il  Allah  "  (there  is  no  god 
but  God),  the  first  half  of  their  creed.  My  crew  had  done  so 
exceptionally  well,  that  I  bought  a  goat  for  them  to  enjoy  at 
their  evening  meal.  Late  in  the  evening,  I  finished  my  inspec- 
tion, paid  wages,  squared  Kongolo's  accounts,  and  found  them 
•correct. 

On  the  Sunday,  February  11,  meeting  was  held;  and  I  taught 
at  intervals  all  day,  though  I  felt  feverish  and  wearied.  En- 
joyed singing  with  Kongolo  and  Mbora.  The  former  told  me 
that  he  desired  to  write  to  Mrs.  Bushnell,  of  the  Gaboon  Baraka 
school,  for  permission  to  marry  one  of  her  schoolgirls,  an 
Akele  of  the  Gaboon  River,  Jane  Preston  by  name.  I  do 
not  know  whether  he  did  so.  At  all  events,  nothing  resulted. 
This  revealed  a  problem  that  was  often  facing  us.  Our  native 
young  men  were  educated  beyond  their  tribal  young  women. 
They  sought  marriage  with  the  young  women  of  the  "  upper  " 
tribe,  trained  in  our  excellent  Baraka  school.  But,  it  was  im- 
possible. Strict  Mpongwe  law  forbade  their  women  marrying 
any  man,  however  personally  noble,  of  any  lower  tribe.  In 
this  case,  Jane  Preston  might  have  been  available,  as  the  Akele 
tribe  was  not  superior  to  Kongolo's  Kombe.  But,  she  was  liv- 
ing among  the  Mpongwe,  a  tribe  claiming  to  be  at  the  very  top 
of  native  society.  So,  that,  often  its  young  women,  finding  no 
satisfactory  suitor  among  their  Mpongwe  men,  and  forbidden 
to  marry  "  below "  them,  contracted  common-law  marriages 
with  men  "  above  "  them,  the  white  foreigners. 

On  the  Monday,  visited  again  the  Fanwe  village.  Stopped 
again  at  Avyake's,  and  found  that  he  had  just  returned  from 
a  "  war,"  in  which  he  had  shot  a  woman  in  revenge  for  the 
"  palaver "  of  Rogumu's  stray  canoe.  In  these  family  and 
tribal  fights  there  was  no  honorable  war ;  there  was  no  open 
attack  on  the  villages  where  the  men  were.  There  were  onlv 
sudden  ambushes  in  the  forest,  where  the  victims  were  the 
women    at    work    on    their    plantations.     I    held    a    service    at 


202  MY  OGOWE 

Avyake's,  and  spoke  on  the  Resurrection.  He  was  alarmed  at 
the  idea  of  meeting  the  resurrected  forms  of  those  he  had  killed. 
I  came  back,  with  a  long  circuit,  to  the  Inenga  village  of  La- 
mbarene ;  and,  reaching  my  little  hut  at  Kangwe,  after  five  days' 
absence,  was  enthusiastically  welcomed  by  dog  Brownie.  The 
dog  was  a  real  comfort  to  me.  Some  of  my  people  were  com- 
panionable ;  but,  they  were  not  dependant  on  me  for  their  happi- 
ness. The  dog  was;  and  his  eyes  and  tail  spoke,  with  almost 
human  speech,  his  love  and  gratitude.  When  I  went,  next  day, 
on  an  errand  across  the  river  to  Atangina,  he  would  not  be  left 
behind,  swam  after  us,  and  finally  had  to  be  taken  aboard. 

Rights  of  property  in  land  and  its  trees,  fruits  and  animals  (in 
other  than  planted  gardens)  were  exceedingly  difficult  to  be 
understood  by  those  natives.  The  old  experiences  of  trespass 
from  which  1  had  suffered  at  Corisco,  Benita,  and  Belambla, 
notwithstanding  my  very  special  explanations  at  the  signing 
of  the  deeds,  begun  to  repeat  themselves  at  Kangwe.  To  my 
surprise,  found  Air.  Travis'  workmen  cutting  building  materiel 
on  my  premises.  Of  course  he  had  not  sent  them  there.  They 
had  been  sent  out  together,  "  in  the  forest."  There  was  forest 
on  my  premises.  And,  they  thought  nothing  farther.  Proba- 
bly, also,  proximity  to  companionship  with  my  people,  and  a 
share  in  their  pipes  and  fires  may  have  been  a  consideration  why 
they  selected  my  forest.  An  Ajumba  canoe  came,  with  plan- 
tains for  sale.  With  it,  in  another  canoe,  was  my  friend  Anege, 
from  Lake  Azingo;  and  with  him  was  a  young  Mpongwe  man, 
who  said  that  he  had  seen  me  when  I  was  living  at  the  Maluku 
Girls'  School  on  Corisco  Island,  a  dozen  years  before.  What  a 
mixture  of  tribes,  Benga,  Mpongwe,  Ajumba,  Galwa,  Fanwe, 
etc. !  And,  how  little  we  knew  of  possible  influence  for  good  or 
evil  in  our  passing  meetings  with  members  of  tribes  other  than 
the  one  with  which  we  temporarily  were  living! 

My  interest  always  went  out  to  children.  I  did  not  like  that 
they  should  be  afraid  of  me.  Unfortunately,  many  unwise 
mothers  used  on  troublesome  children  a  threat  to  give  them  to 
the  white  man  to  be  eaten!  On  February  14,  one  of  Re- 
Nkombe's  women,  Ozenge,  with  her  child  Aworo,  made  me  a 
friendly  visit,  and  presented  a  chicken.  Little  Aworo  was  not 
afraid  of  me.  I  had  been  feeling  feverish,  tired,  and  with  a  head- 
ache. While  quinine  was  the  final  cure  for  fever,  I  often  broke 
a  slight  malarial  attack  by  a  large  use  of  cayenne  pepper,  either 
mixed  with  food,  or  drunk  with  warm  water.  In  the  evening, 
when  I  was  hearing  lessons  (all  of  them  voluntary  on  the  part  of 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  203 

my  people),  I  noticed  that  Aveya  was  very  diligent  in  reading 
his  Bible.  And,  I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  the  God  whose 
Word  he  was  reading.  He  replied  that  he  thought  of  giving 
his  heart  to  Him ;  but,  that  he  had  hesitated  to  speak  to  me  of  it. 

In  clearing  on  the  premises  space  sufficient  for  building,  I  had 
to  be  ruthless  in  the ,  destruction  of  valuable  trees.  Some  ma- 
hogany, ebony,  and  gum  copal  were  thus  cut  down.  I  pitied 
them ;  but,  I  valued  more  the  preservation  of  the  oil-palms. 

Other  women  came  when  they  had  an  errand,  of  things  to 
sell,  or  favors  to  ask,  or  to  gratify  curiosity.  Re-Nkombe's 
sister  Azizya  came,  at  times,  with  apparently  no  reason  other 
than  friendly  interest.  She  was  nobler  than  her  brother,  never 
asking  returns  for  benefits  I  derived  from  the  fact  of  that 
brother  being  my  "  patron." 

The  dog  Brownie  often  seemed  half-human.  He  attempted 
to  steal  a  taste  of  my  butter-dish ;  and  I  struck  him.  I  am  sure 
that  the  blow  did  not  hurt ;  but  the  manner  with  which  he  slunk 
away,  seemed  so  distinctly  less  the  pain  of  being  punished  than 
the  shame  of  detection.  On  Saturday  afternoon,  the  17th,  I 
went  preaching  in  the  streets  of  Eyenano  and  adjacent  villages, 
and  inviting  the  people  to  my  Sunday  services. 

On  Sunday,  early  in  the  morning.  I  was  aroused  by  a  "  bush- 
cat  "  (genet)  killing  a  chicken;  and  by  an  invasion  of  my  hut  by 
driver  ants ;  and.  of  my  little  pantry  by  honey-bees.  The  former 
were  seeking  rats.  mice,  and  other  vermin :  the  latter  had  found 
some  of  their  wild  honey  of  which  my  people  had  plundered 
them. 

The  Atangina  friends  brought  me  a  gift  of  eggs  and  corn. 
It  was  polite  in  them ;  and  there  was  no  wrong  in  my  accepting. 
But,  I  had  learned  that  I  needed  to  be  exceedingly  careful  in  the 
beginnings  at  my  settlements  about  establishing  precedents.  The 
fact  of  the  goods  being  carried  to  my  house  on  Sunday  could 
easily  be  misrepresented  that  I  was  buying  on  that  day. 

My  little  hut  had  but  few  treasures ;  but,  what  I  had  were 
prettily  arranged,  with  a  few  bright  souvenirs  from  distant 
friends.  One  of  the  women,  Mwenanga,  exclaimed  that  the 
sight  of  such  pretty  things  "  hurt  her  eyes."  They  remained  to 
afternoon  Sabbath  school.  Strange  questions  were  sometimes 
asked.  Teaching  them  of  the  Resurrection,  a  man  asked 
whether  wounds  would  reappear  in  the  future  body? 

By  February  20,  work  was  going  on  well  at  the  Igolino  hut. 
It  was  a  good  place  for  marketing.  All  canoes  coming  up-river 
passed   close   to  this    spot,    avoiding  the   swift   current   of   the 


2o4  MY  OGOWE 

Atangina  side.  Standing  there,  I  could  inspect  the  contents  of 
the  canoes,  and  make  necessary  purchases.  Prices  were  low, 
as  the  number  of  white  men  in  the  river  were  too  few  to  make 
competition.  I  bought  the  carcass  of  a  gazelle  for  three  francs; 
and  a  monkey  for  two  francs. 

There  was  much  change  in  the  number  and  persons  of  my  em- 
ployees. They  worked  well  for  a  while ;  and  then,  some  little 
thing  would  upset  them.  On  February  24,  I  had  rebuked 
Lendaginya  for  dilatoriness  in  bringing  my  monthly  mail.  He 
resented  it ;  I  was  about  to  dismiss  him ;  and  he  left.  Eliva- 
ntyani  also  secretly  deserted.  A  matter  of  surprise  to  me  was 
that  they  should  be  offended  at  my  rebuke,  while  they  would 
have  endured  a  blow  from  a  trader.  It  is  quite  possible  that,  at 
times,  I  was  under  nervous  tension,  and  may  have  rebuked  in  a 
tone  or  manner  sharper  than  I  would  have  done  in  health.  In 
good  health,  I  would  have  been  less  sensitive ;  and  possibly  even 
would  not  have  seen  occasion  for  rebuke. 

Monday,  February  26,  was  a  noted  day.  There  entered  my 
service  a  sturdy  young  Galwa,  Xguva,  a  cousin  of  Aveya,  not 
attractive  in  personal  appearance,  but  notable  for  his  subsequent 
character  as  a  Christian,  becoming  finally  a  ruling  elder  in  the 
first  Ogowe  church. 

Brownie's  persistence  in  following  me.  in  my  boat  journeys, 
became  a  nuisance.  I  therefore  ceased  to  yield  to  him,  as  I 
hitherto  had  done,  by  finally  taking  him  into  the  boat  when  he 
was  exhausted  with  swimming.  Going,  on  the  27th,  to 
Atangina,  to  get  the  remainder  of  the  ngouja  (thatch)  due  me 
from  Re-Xkombe,  I  was  followed,  as  usual,  by  the  dog.  But, 
I  refused  to  notice  him;  and  the  swift  current  carried  him  down 
t(»  the  small  island  sand-bar,  near  Tyango-ivenda  (the  extreme 
northern  end  of  my  premises).  There  he  was  safe,  but  help- 
less ;  for,  he  was  too  tired  to  again  enter  the  water,  and,  Atangina, 
where  I  was,  was  out  of  his  sight  behind  a  point  of  land.  When 
I  returned  to  the  building  at  the  Igolino  hut,  I  sent  two  men  in 
a  canoe  to  rescue  him.  They  met  a  canoe  of  Re-Nkombe's 
people,  who  having  seen  the  dog  in  its  plight,  and  knowing  it 
was  mine,  were  returning  it  to  me. 

1  began  to  clear  a  spot  at  the  mouth  of  the  ravine,  near  my 
own  hut,  for  a  boat-house.  I  had  a  canoe  and  a  native  boat, 
which  did  not  suffer  greatly  if  left  exposed  to  (he  weather. 
But,  I  was  expecting  a  boat  from  the  United  States,  and  wished 
to  have  a  home  ready  for  it.  Tivino  and  Saviyeli  were  among 
mv   best    workmen    at    that    time.     Along   with    those    constant 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  205 

building  operations  I  recreated  occasionally  with  nets,  which  an 
English  naturalist,  Rutherford,  had  sent  me,  for  catching  butter- 
flies. At  some  seasons,  they  were  in  very  great  abundance. 
And,  just  at  that  time,  there  was,  among  naturalists,  a  great  call 
for  a  specimen  of  an  enormous-sized  and  very  rare  species,  the 
Antimachus.  whose  habitat  was  supposed  to  be  quite  local  in 
equatorial  West  Africa.  In  my  years  there,  I  found  but  two 
specimens. 

On  March  3,  in  my  usual  Saturday  afternoon  village  preach- 
ing. I  came  to  a  village  where  was  visiting  the  Nkami  Chief, 
Isagi.  I  had  never  liked,  and  did  not  trust  him.  At  his  own 
town,  where  I  had  occasionally  stopped,  I  accepted  what  he  gave 
me,  according  to  custom,  I  being  his  "  guest."  But,  that  day. 
when  he  offered  me  a  present.  I  declined  it.  Not,  because  of  my 
dislike  for  him ;  but,  because  I  did  not  wish  to  seem  to  recognize 
him  as  the  village'  authority,  in  place  of  the  much  inferior  man 
who  was  the  actual  authority,  and  therefore  my  "  host."  Aveva 
was  so  long  in  responding,  when  I  summoned  the  crew  for  the 
return  home,  that  J  taught  him  a  lesson  of  promptness,  by  leav- 
ing him  behind :  and  he  had  to  swim,  to  overtake  my  canoe. 

To  the  Sunday  services,  next  day.  came  people  from  Adalina- 
nanga  and  Atangina.  Of  course,  they  needed  to  leave  for  the 
noon  meal  in  their  own  villages.  I  offered  them  a  lunch,  if  they 
would  remain  to  afternoon  Sabbath  school. 

In  the  evening,  my  people  asked  me  to  sing  for  them.  I  did 
so,  both  in  English  and  Mpongwe.  They  liked  the  tunes  of 
"  I  have  a  Father  in  the  promised  land,"  "  A  little  longer  here 
below,"  "Whither,  pilgrims,  are  you  going?"  and.  "O!  think 
of  a  home  over  there." 

The  days  were  busily  and  successfully  occupied  with  receiving 
visitors  from  different .  parts  of  the  river;  buying  supplies  of 
plantains,  wild  meat,  nuts,  ground-nuts,  and  building  materiel 
of  thatch  and  bamboo ;  superintending  the  completion  of  the 
boat-house,  firmly  supported  by  its  copal-tree  posts ;  making  a 
shed,  in  which  to  store  materiel ;  and  dragging  logs  to  be  squared 
for  the  frame  of  the  house  near  the  hilltop. 

At  noon  of  Saturday.  March  10,  quite  a  number  of  Re- 
Nkombe's  young  men  and  boys  came  to  visit  me.  I  took  the 
public  opportunity  to  announce  that  I  would  no  longer  employ 
Oguma,  one  of  their  townsmen,  because  of  his  having  misspent 
the  money  which  T  had  entrusted  to  his  care  when  T  went  to 
Gaboon  in  the  preceding  December.  (He  had  taken  good  care 
of  the  premises,  but  not  of  those  funds.) 


206  MY  OGOWE 

I  went  to  preach  at  King  Amale's  town.  Found  him  and  his 
family  occupying  the  deserted  German  trading-house  of  Mr. 
Schiff,  who  had  moved  out  on  to  the  main  stream  at  new  Lemba- 
rene.  I  enjoyed  the  services.  At  the  close,  Amale  offered  me 
the  usual  visitor's  present.  On  other  occasions,  I  would  have 
accepted  it.  But.  I  refused  it  that  day,  lest  people  should  think 
I  had  come  for  a  gift.  I  wished  my  Gospel  message  to  be 
known  as  free.  Dog  Brownie,  since  his  unpleasant  experience 
two  weeks  previously,  no  longer  attempted  to  follow  me  on  the 
river. 

I  went  to  bed,  about  10  p.m.  of  Wednesday,  the  14th;  but, 
lay  awake  until  11  p.  m.,  under  an  unusual  impression  of  coming 
evil.  Suddenly,  a  messenger  came  from  Mr.  Travis  at  Aguma. 
asking  for  an  opiate,  to  relieve  the  pain  of  Mr.  Lubcke,  who  had 
been  shot  by  the  Bakele  of  a  village  on  the  Ngunye,  who  ob- 
jected to  his  passing  them,  and  carrying  trade  to  their  rivals 
farther  up-river.  Quickly  dressing,  and  summoning  ten  of  my 
people  for  rapid  paddling.  I  hasted.  On  the  way,  I  met  Mr. 
Travis  coming  from  the  new  German  house.  He  informed  that 
Mr.  Lubcke  was  bleeding  profusely.  On  arrival  at  the  house,  I 
found  Mr.  Lubcke  conscious,  groaning,  with  a  gun-shot  wound 
in  his  left  shoulder,  two  over  the  stomach,  one  over  the  left  kid- 
ney, and  one  in  the  right  groin.  Streams  of  blood  had  been 
flowing  over  the  bedding  and  floor:  but,  bleeding  had  ceased. 
To  keep  up  his  strength,  liquor  had  been  given  him;  but.  too 
abundantly.  The  wound  in  the  groin  was  the  worst.  There 
was  suspicion  that  it  had  injured  the  urinary  bladder;  because, 
Mr.  Lubcke  was  in  intense  pain  with  desire  to  micturate,  but  un- 
able to  do  so.  In  his  intoxicated  state  he  refused  to  allow  me 
to  use  a  catheter.  With  small  hope,  his  own  white  assistant,  and 
Mr.  Travis,  and  I  united  to  send  him  over  the  200  miles  to  the 
French  hospital  at  Gaboon.  In  Mr.  Travis'  best  canoe,  and  with 
a  flying  force  of  two  dozen  picked  paddlers,  Mr.  Lubcke  was  to 
go  under  the  escort  of  the  civilized  Senegalese.  Mr.  Mane.  T 
watched  the  case  all  night;  during  which  time  T  wrote  a  letter 
to  Dr.  Bushnell  at  Baraka.  At  daylight,  T  returned  to  my  house. 
And.  later,  with  only  six  paddles  in  the  Spcs,  returned,  to  give 
my  boat-sail  for  possible  use  in  the  canoe  at  sea.  and  some  of  my 
best  food  supplies  that  contained  home  luxuries  which  the 
traders,  with  all  their  means,  did  not  have. 

Mr.  Lubcke  started  finally  at  11.30  a.  m.  of  the  15th.  He 
was  taken  the  r^o  miles  to  the  river  mouth,  and  then  the  sev- 
enty miles  of  sea  to  Libreville.      [With  continuous  paddling  of 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  207 

the  twenty-four  men.  and  the  aid  of  the  sail  at  sea,  a  most  un- 
precedented run  of  less  than  36  hours  was  made  to  the  hospital 
at  Libreville,  where  the  patient  recovered.  A  most  astonishing 
assertion  was  made  subsequently,  by  both  Mr.  Lubcke  and  Mr. 
Mane,  that,  in  the  canoe,  on  the  way  down-river,  the  intense 
desire  to  micturate  overcame  all  obstacles,  and  a  piece  of 
brass  rod,  one  of  the  slugs  fired  by  the  Bakele,  and  which  was 
supposed  to  have  entered  the  groin  and  into  the  urinary  bladder, 
was  voided  through  the  natural  outlet.  I  could  not  believe  it, 
and  suggested  that  the  slug  must  have  been  embedded  in  Mr. 
Lubcke's  clothing.  But,  he  asserted  that  he  felt  the  gradual 
passage  of  the  slug,  and  that  after  its  expulsion,  almost  all  pain 
ceased.] 

That  day,  the  15th,  of  course,  I  was  very  sleepy;  and,  the 
morning  being  rainy,  little  work  was  done  at  the  Igolino  hut. 
Later,  I  went  to  call  on  Re-Nkombe,  and  made  him  a  present. 
He  was  sitting  down  literally  in  the  dust,  mourning  for  the 
death  of  one  of  his  women,  Ozenge,  the  mother  of  little  Aworo. 
Mamwemi  returned.  And,  there  came  a  new  employee,  Igamba 
(word). 

In  the  wild  forest  that  I  was  clearing,  animals  new  to  me 
were  occasionally  found  by  my  employees.  On  Saturday,  the 
17th,  they  caught  four  young  creatures  that  were  quite  new  to 
me.  They  were  the  size  of  squirrels,  but,  their  face  of  a  differ- 
ent color,  and  with  large  ears  and  eyes.  I  suppose  that  they 
were  lemurs. 

The  1 8th  was  a  clear  pleasant  Sunday.  My  Lake  Azingo 
friend,  Anege,  on  his  journey,  happened  along,  just  at  Sunday- 
school  time.  Also  several  lads  from  Adalinananga.  LTnder  the 
beautiful  sunset,  I  sat  outdoors  singing  with  Mbora  and  Aveya. 
And,  after  evening  prayers,  I  sang  for  all  my  household.  They 
enjoyed  this,  especially  when  I  accompanied  myself  on  my 
guitar.  I  was  longing  for  a  mail  to  come.  I  had  read  and  re- 
read every  line  of  my  newspapers. 

As  so  often  occurred,  after  a  pleasant  Sunday,  the  following 
Monday  was  an  evil  one.  With  my  entire  force  of  workmen,  I 
had  gone  to  the  Igolino  hut.  The  quickest  mode  of  reaching 
that  spot,  instead  of  up  and  over  and  down  the  Hill,  was  by 
canoe  around  it.  All  the  employees  worked  poorly.  I  had  to 
rebuke  almost  every  one.  for  some  offense  or  other.  (Perhaps 
I  irritated  them,  and  they  became  reckless.)  In  returning,  in 
the  late  afternoon,  four  of  the  company,  instead  of  waiting  on 
their  usual  habit  of  allowing  me  to  land  first,  jumped  violently 


208  MY  OGOWE 

ashore,  and  almost  upset  the  canoe.  And.  in  the  evening,  they 
all  were  noisy.  I  determined  that  I  would  finish  that  Igolino 
next  day,  and  then  send  half  of  the  company  to  live  there:  and 
thus  leave  me  more  room  and  quiet  at  the  ravine  hut.  Savi- 
yeli  and  Mburu  returned,  with  plantains;  and  accompanied  by 
Romwango's  wife.     A  crowded  house,  and  a  noisy  night. 

T  had  often  to  impress  on  people,  my  rights  to  the  Hill  prop- 
erty (whose  boundaries  were  well  outlined)  and  objected  to 
their  hunting  animals,  gathering  fruits,  cutting  trees,  or  tres- 
passing in  other  ways.  Most  of  this  was  new  to  them.  Nobody 
owned  anything  in  the  wild  forest !  Anyone  could  take  any- 
thing from  there !  The  only  ground  that  natives  claimed  was 
that  of  their  actual  village,  and  of  their  plantations  distant  a 
half-mile  in  the  forest.  For  that  claim,  there  was  clear  right; 
for.  village  and  plantation  were  cleared,  planted,  and  occupied. 
(But.  if  they  ceased  to  occupy,  and  abandoned  them,  the  claim 
ceased.)  But.  they  made  no  claim  on  any  forest,  for.  it  was  not 
enclosed  or  outlined.  Imitating  m\  claims  for  my  forest  and 
trees,  a  man.  Xduta.  from  Atangina.  demanded  pay  for  sap- 
lings which  in)'  people  had  cut  in  the  forest  near  his  village.  T 
refused;  because  that  forest  was  not  marked  and  bounded,  as 
mine  was. 

We  all  went,  on  Tuesday,  the  20th.  to  the  Nkami  side  of  the 
Hill,  to  finish  the  Igolino  hut.  putting  in  its  doors  and  windows. 
T  think  that  the  presence  of  Romwango's  pleasant-looking  wife 
had  something  to  do  with  the  good  behavior  of  the  workmen. 

The  next  day.  T  gave  the  morning,  to  the  ten  of  my  household 
whom  I  had  assigned  to  the  Igolino.  for  them,  without  me,  to 
put  the  finishing  touches  on  that  dwelling,  while  I.  with  the  re- 
maining five,  transferred  the  many  articles  of  food,  tools,  etc.. 
etc..  that  had  crowded  my  bedroom  to  the  now  vacated  room  of 
those  ten.  I  felt  relieved  of  their  noise,  and  comfortable  that  I 
had  space  in  my  little  hut.  in  which  to  move. 

The  Igolino  being  finished.  T  went  that  very  afternoon,  to  the 
hilltop,  to  begin  clearing  the  site  T  had  chosen  for  my  framed- 
house.  Under  the  heavy  "  latter  '*  rains,  the  river  was  so  full 
that  it  was  backing  up  into  the  rivulet  that  ran  down  the  ravine, 
so  that  my  boat  and  canoes,  in  landing,  had  no  need  to  be 
dragged  ashore;  they  floated  into  the  ravine,  to  the  ed^e  of  the 
boat-shed. 

A  constant  difficulty  in  my  household,  was  the  food  question. 
In  their  own  villages,  meal  times  were  irregular,  and  often,  food 
scarce;  and  they  were   familiar  with  hunger.     But,  there,  their 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  209 

work  was  very  irregular.  With  me,  their  work  was  regular, 
and  harder  than  what  was  in  their  own  villages;  and,  I  recog- 
nized that  they  should  have  more  to  eat.  It  was  rare  that  I 
failed  to  give  them  a  good  ration,  though  it  cost  me  constant 
forethought  to  keep  a  supply  on  hand,  there  being  nothing  like 
a  market-place.  I  obtained  foods  from  only  chance  passing 
canoes,  or  by  sending  to  villages  sometimes  a  dozen  miles  away. 
The  point  of  difficulty  was  that  I  could  not  always  furnish  meat 
at  every  meal  every  day.  I  was  quite  willing  to  do  so;  but,  it 
was  impossible  to  obtain  fresh  meat  every  day,  and  very  difficult 
to  keep  on  hand  dried  meats.  Kindly,  I  sometimes  gave  them  a 
feast,  when  I  could  get  a  goat,  or  leg  of  some  wild  animal.  So, 
I  felt  that  they  were  exacting  and  unappreciative,  in  their  com- 
plaints, when  sometimes  they  had  their  plantains  without  meat. 
It  w^as  unjust  in  them  ;  for,  both  they  and  I  knew  that  often,  in 
their  own  homes,  they  had  no  meat  at  all.  These  troubles  de- 
pressed me.  Sometimes  I  began  to  think  that  I  spoiled  my  em- 
ployees by  pampering  them.  Then,  again,  they  would  be  so 
kind  and  helpful  and  affectionate,  that  in  my  heart  I  forgave 
them,  with  a  paternal  feeling.  They  were  only  overgrown  chil- 
dren. 

I  almost  always  had  a  goat  on  hand,  for  a  possible  necessity 
for  flesh.  At  that  time.  I  had  a  female  with  a  little  kid.  I  had 
allowed  the  latter  to  take  all  of  its  mother's  milk.  But.  one  day. 
I  decided  to  make  it  share  with  me.  It  was  the  first  fresh  milk 
I  had  had  during  my  more  than  two  years  in  the  Ogowe ! 

On  Thursday.  March  29,  a  canoe  passed  up-river,  which  T 
recognized  as  the  one.  in  which  Mr.  Mane  had  taken  the  wounded 
Mr.  Lubcke  to  Gaboon.  Anxious  to  hear  news,  I  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  follow  it  to  Aguma.  Word  was  returned  that  Mr. 
Lubcke  would  probably  recover!  And.  that  the  German  agent. 
Mr.  Schultze  with  his  little  steamer  was  on  his  way  with  a  mail. 
Two  days  later,  thinking  that  Mr.  Schultze  must  be  near,  in  my 
longing  for  a  mail.  I  stopped  work,  and  went  to  Aguma.  and  re- 
mained for  supper.  About  sunset,  we  heard  that  Mr.  Schultze 
had  arrived  at  his  house  in  the  main  branch.  After  supper,  I  in 
my  canoe.  Mr.  Woodward  with  Mr.  Travis  in  his  gig.  went  to 
the  German  house.  There  was  there  also  a  French  officer,  who 
had  come  on  a  punitive  expedition,  to  punish  the  Akele  village 
that  had  fired  on  Mr.  Lubcke.  My  mail  had  come  from  a  num- 
ber of  persons;  but.  nothing  from  either  of  my  sons.  Returned, 
late  at  night,  and  sat  up  until  past  midnight  reading  letters  and 
newspapers. 


210  MY  OGOWE 

About  midnight  of  Sunday.  April  i.  T  had  to  leave  my  bed. 
from  an  invasion  of  a  driver-ant  army.  I  got  very  little  sleep 
the  remainder  of  that  night. 

So.  I  rose  fagged  in  the  morning  of  Monday.  But,  on  invi- 
tation from  the  German  house,  I  went  to  their  11  a.  m,  "break- 
fast." Mr.  Schultze  and  the  French  officer  were  absent  up  the 
Ngunye,  on  their  raid  against  the  Bakele.  They  returned  late ; 
their  expedition  a  failure.  Breakfast,  having  been  delayed  for 
them,  was  unsatisfactory;  and  I  was  very  sleepy.  And,  the 
next  day,  I  was  feverish.  Loss  of  sleep,  two  consecutive  nights, 
was  an  evil. 

On  Saturday,  the  7th,  went  on  my  regular  weekly  preaching 
in  the  villages.  At  Eyenano,  had  a  large  attendance  of  men, 
women,  and  children.  Then,  went  on  to  Aguma.  to  hear  details 
of  the  French  fiasco  up  the  Ngunye.  While  there.  I  saw  a  very 
demonstrative  sign  of  mourning.  One  of  Mr.  Travis'  Orungu 
traders,  Ndambenje,  a  very  proud  young  man,  who  always  wore 
fine  clothing,  was  making  up  his  accounts  with  Mr.  Travis,  when 
some  one  brought  the  former  word  of  the  death  of  a  relative. 
He  dropped  his  accounts,  rushed  out  of  the  room,  screaming, 
and  tore  his  handsome  shirt  to  pieces. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  nth,  I  heard  two  reports 
of  guns,  which  I  thought  must  be  cannon  of  the  Pioneer.  My 
people  thought  not.  But,  next  morning,  just  as  they  were  dis- 
persing at  8  a.  m.  to  their  work,  the  vessel  was  seen  entering  the 
river  at  Aguma.  She  had  reached  the  main-stream  mouth  of 
the  cross  creek  on  the  day  before.  At  once.  I  went  to  Aguma. 
and  remained  to  the  11  a.  m.  breakfast.  Such  good  news!  My 
gig,  the  X cl I x- Howard,  had  arrived  by  the  Pioneer.  Also,  sup- 
plies of  provisions  from  Rev.  Dr.  Bushnell  at  Libreville:  a  bundle 
of  papers  from  Miss  Dewsnap  at  Baraka :  bed-clothing  from  my 
sister  at  Benita,  and  her  February  letters,  telling  of  her  severe 
illness:  a  paper  l>ox  of  presents  from  Mrs.  William  Patten, 
guardian  of  my  son  Charles;  a  box  of  a  variety  of  good  things 
from  Trenton,  from  my  parents  and  sisters.  The  donors  of  such 
gifts  can  never  know,  even  though  the  grateful  recipients  tell  in 
best  words  their  gratitude,  what  blessings  they  confer.  The 
value  of  the  things  given  are  far  and  beyond  any  pecuniary  rate. 
One  must  live  in  the  isolation  I  was  occupying,  in  order  fully  to 
know  the  gladness  of  the  joy  such  favors  brought,  as  evidences 
of  love. 

The  boat,  Nelly-Howard,  was  a  wonderful  donation.  For 
twelve  years  it  played  a  most  active  part  in  my  Ogowe  work. 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  211 

A  Princeton  University  classmate,  Samuel  R.  Forman,  M.D., 
elder  and  Sabbath  school  superintendent  in  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  interested  himself  and  his 
church  to  obtain  for  me  a  boat  of  the  very  best  materiels  and 
construction.  As  it  would  cost  some  $300,  Dr.  Forman  inter- 
ested other  churches,  viz.,  of  Freehold,  N.  J.,  under  the  pastorate 
of  another  Princeton  classmate,  Rev.  Dr.  Frank  Chandler;  also, 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Peekskill,  N.  Y.,  under  elder 
and  Sabbath  school  superintendent  S.  R.  Knapp,  Esqr.,  another 
classmate ;  and,  Mr.  J.  E.  Harran,  of  the  Philadelphia  North 
Presbyterian  Church,  the  church  of  some  of  my  Philadelphia 
relatives;  and  Mrs.  William  Patten,  and  other  friends  in  Phila- 
delphia of  the  Spring  Garden  Presbyterian  Church;  and  Calvin 
YVadhams,  another  classmate,  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath 
school  of  the  Memorial  Church,  of  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.  Corre- 
spondence as  to  the  size,  etc.,  of  the  boat  was  instituted  in  June, 
1876.  by  Mr.  F.  S.  Emmons,  secretary  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Jersey  City  Sabbath  School  Missionary  Association, 
and  his  assistant,  Mr.  Buswell,  of  which  association  I  was  made 
a  life  member.  The  construction  was  given  to  a  certain  firm  of 
boat-builders  in  Jersey  City,  Fennels  &  Sopher.  The  boat  was 
a  steamer  captain's  gig,  thirty  feet  long  and  about  five  feet  in  its 
widest  middle,  tapering  to  a  sharp  bow.  The  materiels  were 
cedar  (not  pine)  thus  intended  that  it  should  not  soon  decay. 
Knowing  how  iron  rusts,  the  nails  were  all  of  copper ;  the  row- 
locks and  trimmings,  brass.  The  timbers  were  very  light,  to 
diminish  weight.  The  oars  were  six,  fifteen  feet  in  length,  not 
paired,  but  alternate,  so  that  each  rower  should  put  his  strength 
of  both  hands  on  the  one  oar.  The  rudder  was  guided  by  tiller- 
ropes;  and,  in  the  stern-sheets,  there  was  comfortable  space  for 
three  to  sit  on  each  side.  The  area  at  the  stern  could  be  covered 
by  extra  boards,  making  a  platform  on  which  bedding  could  be 
comfortably  spread.  There  was  a  frame  and  canvas  cover  over 
this  at  night  so  that  the  enclosed  space  was  private  and  safe  from 
rain,  as  in  a  tent.  And  a  long  awning  the  entire  length  of  the 
boat,  to  protect  from  sun  by  day.  The  boat  was  very  lightly 
built,  and  was  not  intended  to  carry  freight.  It  was  planned 
only  for  my  rapidity  and  comfort  in  journeys.  (But.  necessity, 
later,  made  it  carry  often  very  heavy  freightage.)  I  named  it 
for  Dr.  Forman's  two  little  children,  Nelly  and  Howard,  Nelly- 
Howard.  The  boat  and  those  two  names  played  a  prominent 
part  in  the  subsequent  years  of  my  Ogowe  life. 


212  MY  OGOWE 


JOURNEY    UP    THE    NGUNYE. 

My  attention  had  been  drawn  to  the  river  Ngunye  by  the 
attack  on  the  German  trader's  boats,  and  by  the  failure  of  the 
French  authorities  to  make  any  adequate  punishment.  But 
Africa  is  a  land  of  rapid  change.  Commerce  could  not  delay. 
Other  traders  had  pressed  on  up  the  river,  beyond  the  villages 
that  had  tried  to  prevent  the  German  ;  and,  no  opposition  was 
made.  The  English  house  had  their  M  pong  we  trader  Ngeza 
there,  and  the  Pioneer  was  going  to  bring  away  his  rubber.  I 
was  invited  to  take  passage,  and  see  the  river. 

I  did  so.  on  the  morning  of  Friday,  April  13.  As  I  was  late 
in  starting  from  Kangwe,  I  was  met  by  Mr.  Travis'  gig.  which 
he  kindly  sent  for  me.  I  was  glad  to  rest  on  the  deck  of  the 
evenly  moving  Pioneer;  for,  I  was  tired  and  sleepy  with  reaction 
from  my  excitement  of  examining  the  gifts  from  America,  and 
reading  of  the  papers  and  letters.  We  passed,  in  entire  safety, 
and  with  no  demonstration  of  any  kind,  the  Akele  villages  that 
had  so  excited  the  river  by  its  attack  on  Mr.  Lubcke.  As  the 
steamer  advanced,  we  left  the  low  shores  behind,  and  had  a  view 
of  the  hills  to  the  south,  whence  the  Ngunye  came.  To  my 
agreeable  surprise,  there  were  no  mosquitoes.  Though  the  na- 
tives on  the  route  had  made  no  hostile  demonstration,  the  cap- 
tain was  very  careful  in  his  orders  at  night  against  any  canoes 
being-  allowed  to  have  communication  with  us. 

The  next  morning,  all,  captain,  crew,  and  passengers  were 
early  out  of  hammock  or  cot.  The  air  was  misty,  preventing 
any  view  of  the  adjacent  scenery.  Continuing  the  journey, 
villages  were  passed  of  the  Ivili  tribe:  a  tribe  that  is  more  numer- 
ous on  the  coast  and  farther  south  of  Loango.  We  readied 
Xgeza's  trading-house  in  the  afternoon  about  3  o'clock.  Mr. 
Woodward  kindly  tried  to  get  me  a  canoe  and  crew  to  take  me 
some  eight  miles  farther,  that  1  might  see  the  Samba  Falls  (the 
"  Eugenie  "  Falls  of  I)n  Chaillu).  But,  there  were  none:  every- 
body was  busy  weighing  rubber. 

The  next  day.  Sunday,  the  work  of  weighing  and  buying  rub- 
ber continued.  Xgeza,  though  the  house  was  his.  and  the  rubber 
his  (subordinate  to  the  firm  of  IT.  &  C.)  was  the  only  native, 
who.  as  a  Christian,  declined  to  take  part  in  that  work.  I  went 
ashore  to  the  Ivili  village  of  Agamba.  and  held  a  meeting. 
Images  are  not  common  in  fetish-worship;  but.  1  saw  some  in 
the    fetish-house.      Spent    the    afternoon,    quietly    reading.      At 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  213 

night,  there  was  a  heavy  rain ;  for,  April  and  May  are  the  latter 
rainy-season  months. 

On  the  Monday,  I  rose  early;  and,  by  6.30  a.  m.,  due  to  Mr. 
Woodward's  successful  arrangements,  was  off  in  a  light  canoe 
and  five  hired  paddlers  besides  my  own  three  men.  After  two- 
and-a-half  hours'  pull,  we  reached  the  falls.  Above  them,  the 
river  is  only  about  350  feet  wide,  with  a  little  island  in  the  edge 
of  the  fall  in  its  position  reminding  one  of  Goat  Island  at 
Niagara.  At  the  fall  itself,  the  river  contracts  to  150  feet  in 
width.  The  plunge  of  the  water  is  only  about  ten  or  twelve 
feet,  with  rapids  below,  having  a  descent  of  about  five  feet  in 
200  feet.  The  rocks  were  hard  quartz.  I  doubted  whether 
those  were  Du  Chaillu's  "  Eugenie."'  The  river  had  a  series  of 
cataracts ;  I  think  that  the  Eugenie  Falls  are  farther  up  the 
stream. 

Returned  by  11  a.  m.,  bringing  with  me  souvenir  flowers  and 
stones.  I  enjoyed  the  view  of  the  falls  very  much,  and  would 
have  lingered  there.  But,  I  hastened  my  return ;  for,  the  Pioneer 
had  expected  to  start  her  return  journey  at  noon.  But,  being 
delayed  by  her  trading,  the  start  was  deferred.  I  spent  the 
afternoon  in  writing  to  a  friend  in  the  United  States,  an  account 
of  the  "  Eugenie  "  Falls.  And,  in  the  evening,  the  captain  and 
Mr.  Woodward  being  in  a  witty  humor,  we  had  a  good  deal  of 
"  chaffing  "  back  and  forth,  in  which  I  joined.  This  unusual 
recreation  was  a  medicine  to  me,  arousing  me  from  the  depress- 
ing routine  my  isolation  at  Kangwe  had  induced. 

On  Tuesday  early,  the  start  down-river  was  made,  with  a 
safe  run  in  narrow  channels  for  five  hours.  Then,  the  vessel 
went  hard  aground.  Six  hours'  hard  work  finally  floated  the 
vessel.  We  all  felt  very  much  relieved.  We  were  in  an  exposed 
position  had  there  been  any  disposition  of  the  Bakele  to  attack  us. 
Discharging  the  cargo  had  allowed  the  vessel  to  float ;  but  to 
leave  those  goods  ashore  all  night  would  expose  them  to  theft 
and  to  rain.  Travel  at  night  was  impossible  in  the  narrow  chan- 
nels. The  risk  of  theft  was  safely  made;  and,  fortunately,  there 
was  only  a  slight  rain. 

On  Wednesday  early,  the  discharged  cargo  was  taken  on 
board.  And.  by  10  a.  m.  we  were  back  at  Aguma,  after  six 
days'  absence.  My  people  heard  the  Pioneers  whistle,  and  they 
came  for  me  with  a  gratifying  welcome.  I  was  equally  glad  to 
find  that  nothing  had  gone  amiss  during  my  absence.  Kongolo 
arrived  from  Belambla,  with  the  news  that  Kasa  was  dead,  killed 
by  an  elephant. 


2i4  MY  OGOWR 


JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

It  was  proper  that  I  should  promptly  go  to  the  out-station  to 
see  what  might  be  the  conditions  after  Kasa's  death. 

Gahva  employees  were  less  tractable  than  Benga  or  Kombe 
with  whom  I  had  dealt.  Almost  every  journey  was  preceded  by 
some  complaints  or  demands  or  refusals.  Two  of  my  men. 
Igamba  and  Ambangila,  refused  to  go  with  me.  Perhaps  they 
were  afraid  of  some  quarrel  or  debts  they  may  have  contracted 
among  the  Bakele.  I  gave  them  the  choice  of  obedience  or  dis- 
missal. And.  Saviyeli  complained,  because,  instead  of  giving 
him  a  seat  in  the  fine  Xelly-Howard,  I  had  appointed  him  among 
the  crew  of  a  small  canoe  I  was  taking  with  me.  Stopped  at 
Aguma,  for  a  supply  of  goods.  The  Pioneer  was  preparing  to 
return  to  Gaboon.  I  sent  a  mail  by  her.  The  X ell y- Howard 
moved  very  rapidly,  as  it  had  practically  no  load.  The  crew 
pulled  well,  though  the  handling  of  the  long  single  oars  was 
something  new  to  them.  At  sundown,  we  reached  Sakweli's, 
for  the  night.  The  next  day,  Saviyeli  repeated  his  complaints. 
An  Akele  chief,  seeing  the  handsome  new  boat,  mistook  it  for  a 
man-of-war's  man's  captain's  gig.  and  came,  to  inquire  whether 
it  was  on  an  errand  to  fight  with  Bakele.  Stopped  to  eat  at 
Avyake's.  Did  not  enjoy  the  hour.  He  attempted  to  make  a 
defense  of  his  violent  treatment  of  the  trader  Rogomu ;  his  peo- 
ple were  running  a  hard  bargain  over  the  food  I  wished  to  pur- 
chase; and,  my  own  people  were  slow  in  cooking.  But.  I  made 
up  for  the  lost  time,  by  the  very  rapid  movements  of  the  boat. 
People,  at  villages  we  passed,  shouted  in  admiration,  and  little 
canoes  attempted  to  race  with  us. 

I  passed  Kasa's.  On  arrival  at  my  house,  the  usual  crowd  of 
Bakele  did  not  come  to  salute  me.  They  feared  I  had  come  to 
avenge  my  plundered  house!  There  »came  only  the  man 
Semegwe  and  two  boys,  Bideli  and  Mutyi,  and  two  Mpongwe 
traders. 

The  next  day,  the  only  Akele,  who  came  to  see  me  was 
Semegwe.  The  two  Mpongwes  came  again,  and  I  took  counsel 
with  them  whom  we  should  recognize  as  Kasa's  successor. 
Then.  I  went  to  Kasa's  town,  to  see  his  people.  However  in- 
sincere the  demonstrations  of  grief  for  his  death  may  have  been, 
it  was  all  very  pathetic  and  touching.  T  had  been  his  "  friend." 
As  such,  they  were  pleased  that  I  had  shown  him  the  respect 
of  coming  to  the  mourning.  But,  mingling  with  their  gratifica- 
tion at  this,  was  a  very  evident  fear  of  me,  as  to  what  I  might  do 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  215 

about  the  robbery.  I  certainly  had  no  evil  intention.  That  fear 
was  the  outcome  of  their  own  sense  of  guilt.  But,  it  was  touch- 
ingly  mollified,  by  the  action  of  two  little  girls,  Mula  and  Konga, 
whom  I  had  petted.  They  came  to  me,  without  hesitation,  to  be 
petted  as  usual.  I  could  see  a  pleased  light  spread  over  the  faces 
of  the  company,  as  I  put  my  arms  around  the  two  children. 

At  mournings,  not  much  is  expected  to  be  said.  Grief  ex- 
pressed itself  either  in  dull  silence,  or  yells  of  wailing.  After 
sitting  silent,  I  said,  adopting  native  custom,  that  I  had  come  to 
see  my  friend  Kasa,  that  I  did  not  see  him,  and  wished  to  know 
where  he  was.  Then,  the  wails  ceased,  while  a  man  told  me  how 
Kasa  had  gone  hunting  elephants ;  had  wounded  one ;  it  turned 
and  charged  at  him ;  he  fired  again,  but  the  gun  only  flashed  in 
the  pan ;  and  the  elephant  had  gored  him  with  its  tusks,  one 
through  his  thigh,  and  one  through  an  arm-pit;  and  then  had 
flung  him  aside.  His  slaves  had  brought  his  body  to  town,  and 
he  had  died  on  the  next  day.  But,  before  he  died,  he  had  ac- 
cused twelve  of  his  wives  and  other  slaves  of  having  bewitched 
his  gun ! 

Those  accusations  were  evidently  based  on  memory  of  some 
disobedience  or  other  offenses.  The  twelve  had  been  immedi- 
ately seized ;  and,  at  his  death,  three  of  them  had  already  been 
put  to  death.  Observing  that  his  wives,  with  whom  I  had  been 
friendly,  were  not  present,  I  asked  for  them.  There  was  some 
delay  which  I  did  not  understand.  When  they  came,  I  regretted 
that  I  had  insisted.  For,  as  part  of  the  proof  of  grief  in  mourn- 
ing, not  only  are  all  ornaments  removed,  but,  in  the  case  of  these 
widows,  they  had  been  divested  of  every  vestige  of  clothing. 
They  had  been  sitting  naked  in  a  hut  by  themselves.  When  they 
were  told  that  they  must  come  to  see  Kasa's  friend,  who  had 
asked  for  them,  they  yielded.  They  slipped  into  the  room,  and 
huddled  down  in  a  corner,  one  of  them  with  a  plate  in  her  hands 
as  the  only  protection  to  her  body.  Among  themselves,  this 
nakedness  was  endured  as  the  custom  of  their  country.  But  I 
had  always  treated  them  with  such  courtesy  and  respect,  that 
they  recognized  my  code  of  shame.  I  told  them  that  I  had  not 
known  their  condition  when  I  sent  for  them.  Then  I  turned  to 
the  company,  and  made  a  vigorous  demand  that  I  did  not  believe 
that  my  dead  friend  wanted  any  more  people  killed,  and  that,  if 
they  valued  my  friendship,  I  insisted  that  the  other  nine  prison- 
ers should  be  released,  and  no  farther  murder  made.  I  do  not 
know  how  mixed  may  have  been  their  motives ;  but,  they  seemed 
pleased.     And,  the  lives  of  those  nine  were  saved.     I  was  so 


2 1 6  MY  OGOWE 

glad  for  this.  that,  in  a  reaction  from  the  sad  and  dreadful  feel- 
ings of  the  day.  on  return  to  my  own  house,  and  among  my  own 
crew,  whom  I  felt  under  an  obligation  to  amuse.  I  gave  them 
firecrackers  to  play  with  in  the  evening.  Those  were  a  great 
rarity.  They  could  not  be  obtained  in  that  part  of  Africa.  T 
always  brought  a  supply  from  my  furloughs  in  America,  and 
kept  them  hidden  for  only  important  occasions.  But,  the  ex- 
citements of  the  day  had  been  too  much  for  me ;  and.  during  the 
night,  I  had  some  fever. 

On  Sunday,  I  awoke  with  perspiration,  which  I  always  re- 
garded as  a  good  sign.  And,  for  the  first  time  in  Africa,  I  put 
on  a  red  woolen  shirt.  I  had  feared  it  would  be  uncomfortable: 
but,  it  was  not.  I  conducted  the  morning  services  to  a  good 
attendance  of  Bakele  and  Mpongwe.  Semegwe  again  came  to 
see  me.  Perhaps  he  was  seeking  recognition  in  Kasa's  position. 
I  held  also  a  good  Sabbath  school.  And.  at  its  close  was  taken 
down  with  a  hard  chill.  I  treated  myself  with  hot  drinks,  and 
hot-water  bottles  to  my  back.  The  young  men  were  very 
thoughtful  and  attentive.  Cook  Mbora's  interest  took  almost 
the  form  of  a  rebuke.  "  You  should  not  get  sick!  "  And  Kongo- 
lo  begged  me  not  to  get  sick  while  I  was  his  visitor!  As  if  he 
would  be  blamed  for  not  taking  better  care  of  me! 

The  next  day.  fever  was  gone ;  but,  T  felt  very  light-headed. 
However,  I  was  able  to  examine  Kongolo's  accounts;  and  found 
them  $6  short.  A  trader.  Ambura,  came  to  see  me.  We  con- 
ferred about  Kasa's  successor ;  and  chose  Jongane.  Also.  T 
added  the  name  of  Semegwe.  as  patron  of  my  out-station.  In 
the  afternoon.  Kasa's  mother  and  sister  and  head-wife  and 
Jongane  came:  and  I  announced  to  them  my  decision.  And. 
then,  I  went  across  the  river  to  the  Fariwe  village,  to  buy  plan- 
tains; for,  at  Kasa's,  there  was  nothing  to  be  bought.  Towns 
of  mourning  are  overrun  with  guests,  and  their  food  supply  runs 
low. 

The  following  day,  Tuesday,  the  24th.  Disingwe  and  others 
came  to  see  me.  And  then  I  packed,  and  left.  On  the  way, 
stopped  to  salute,  at  Ondene's.  Mvangane's.  Avvake's.  and 
Manda's  where  T  delayed  to  eat.  The  boat  was  everywhere  ad- 
mired. Stopped  at  Anyambe-jena's.  Tie  presented  me  with  a 
fowl:  and  immediately  asked  for  a  gift.  Of  course.  T  knew, 
that  any  present  from  a  native  was  expected  to  be  recognized  by 
a  gift  later  on.  But,  the  making  of  a  request  for  an  immediate 
return  was  impolite  on  part  of  the  donor,  and  so  offensive  to  me, 
that   I  alwavs  did.  as  T  did  that  dav  to  him.  i.  e.,  T  handed  back 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  .    217 

the  fowl,  declining  to  take  it  in  any  other  way  than  purchase. 
The  purchase  price  was  always  less  than  what  I  would  have 
given  as  gift,  if  he  had  suppressed  his  cupidity. 

My  crew,  though  unaccustomed  to  handling  long  oars,  were 
so  delighted  with  the  boat's  progress  that  they  kept  steadily  at 
the  oars  all  the  twenty  miles  to  Kangwe.  There  again  the 
fever-chill  seized  me.  And,  I  could  do  nothing  for  two  days, 
except  that  I  sent  by  the  trader  Dose,  to  Kongolo,  a  box  of 
bread-fruit  tree-sets,  for  him  to  plant  at  Belambla.  [They  are 
growing  there  to-day.] 

On  Monday,  April  30,  I  was  again  busy  with  the  workmen 
trying  to  drag  uphill  a  very  heavy  log,  for  a  sill  of  the  new 
house  that  was  to  be  built.  But.  they  could  not  move  it.  Two 
days  later.  I  sent  to  Adalinananga  for  people  to  come  and  help. 
There  came,  the  next  day.  some  half-dozen  weak  ones ;  and  the 
log  barely  moved.  I  paid  them  off ;  and  they  were  to  return 
next  day  with  more  people.  I  did  not  believe  they  would  come. 
So,  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Travis  asking  for  the  loan  of  his  powerful 
Kru-men.  On  Friday,  May  4.  to  my  surprise,  more  than  twenty 
Galwas  were  on  hand ;  and  a  note  from  Air.  Travis  that  he  would 
come.  With  his  men,  I  would  not  need  the  Galwas.  But,  I 
took  them,  lest  they  would  fail  to  come,  if  I  should  need  them  in 
the  future.  My  logging  became  a  picnic.  Messrs.  Travis  and 
\Yoodward,  with  a  German,  came  in  their  two  gigs  with  four- 
teen Kru-men.  all  on  hand  by  9.30  a.  m.  Fifty  pairs  of  hands 
at  the  log  was  play.  The  men  danced  and  sang.  The  log  was 
soon  at  the  top ;  and  the  men  asked  for  more  worlds  to  conquer ! 
A  second  big  log  was  soon  set.  Then  we  had  our  11  a.m. 
breakfast,  cook  Mbora  having  made  a  fine  showing.  After  the 
meal,  a  third  log  was  dragged,  to  crown  the  day's  work.  My 
kind  trader  friends  had  helped  me,  by  doing  in  three  hours  what 
my  slow-work  people  would  have  taken  a  week  to  do.  Every- 
body felt  so  happy,  that,  when  my  visitors  were  gone,  I  gave 
my  household  the  remainder  of  the  day  as  holiday,  and  some 
firecrackers  in  the  evening. 

And.  vet,  as  often  happened  after  a  kindness,  three  days  later, 
four  of  my  people  left  dissatisfied! 

On  May  8,  my  materiel  had  so  increased,  that  I  marked  the 
outlines  of  the  new  house. 

Friends  in  the  United  States,  had  remembered  me  with  some 
books  and  magazines.  On  the  10th.  I  was  reading  George 
Eliot's  "  Felix  Holt."  I  felt  and  recognized  her  literary  power, 
but    was   disappointed   as   to   the   moral   effect   of   her   religions 


218  MY  OGOWE 

views.  I  was  pleased  to  find  my  feelings  exactly  expressed  in  a 
critique,  on  which  my  eye  happened  to  fall  that  same  day,  in  a 
copy  of  Scribner's  Magazine,  for  October,  1874. 

On  Saturday,  the  12th,  I  went  to  Atangina,  on  the  usual 
weekly  preaching.  Re-Nkombe  wished  to  give  me  a  goat.  But, 
I  refused  to  receive  it,  on  the  ground  that  my  visit  that  day  was 
not  that  of  a  social  friend,  but  as  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

Brownie,  though  he  had  ceased  to  follow  me  in  the  water, 
on  my  excursions,  would  watch  the  boat's  direction,  and,  when- 
ever possible,  would  follow  ashore.  That  day,  knowing  that 
Atangina  was  opposite  to  the  lower  side  of  the  Hill,  he  ran  over 
the  Hill,  to  watch  us ;  and  then,  when  he  saw  us  returning,  he 
ran  back  over  the  Hill,  to  meet  us  at  the  boat-shed. 

The  goat  which  I  had  refused  to  accept  from  Re-Nkombe,  at 
my  preaching  services  at  his  town,  I  accepted  as  a  gift  on  Tues- 
day, the  15th,  when  he  paid  the  last  instalment  on  his  debt  of 
building  materiel  which  he  owed  me. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  18th,  while  dressing. 
I  heard  the  puffing  of  Mr.  Schultze's  little  steamer,  Onuu/u, 
towing  his  little  schooner  up  my  Ajumba  stream.  I  went  out, 
and  had  my  flag  waved  as  a  salute.  The  crew  hailed  me,  and  I 
sent  off  a  canoe,  which  brought  word  that  there  was  mail  and 
freight  for  me.  I  sent  the  kongongo  Spes  to  follow  to  the  Ger- 
man house,  while  I  went  with  the  remainder  of  my  employees 
to  the  daily  job  at  logs  on  the  hilltop.  When  Spes  returned,  I 
sat  down  in  the  afternoon  to  read  my  accumulated  mail ;  letters 
from  fellow  missionaries,  from  European  and  American  friends, 
from  relatives  and  my  children.  In  the  evening,  I  shared  my 
joy,  by  reading  some  of  the  letters  to  my  household. 

The  traders,  though  most  of  them  had  little  sympathy  with 
our  mission  work,  had  the  fellow  feelings  of  humanity  for  me. 
They  knew  that,  in  an  emergency,  I  would  stand  by  them.  And, 
they  obligingly  brought  for  me  my  mails  and  supplies  from 
Gaboon. 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  19th,  in  going  on  my  weekly 
preaching  service  to  the  villages,  I  passed  on  to  the  German 
house,  to  make  a  call  of  thanks  on  Mr.  Schultze.  In  his  position, 
he  had  frequent  opportunities  of  collecting  specimens  in  natural 
history,  and  other  curios.  He  had  that  day  a  very  singular 
little  antelope;  I  could  not  recognize  what  was  its  species. 

I  think  that  the  Galwas  were  the  most  excitable  and  quarrel- 
some of  any  of  the  tribes  with  which  I  had  dealt.  On  Monday. 
the  2 1  st,  cook  Mbora  and  Tivino  had  a  fight.     Their  contest  was 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  219 

fierce;  it  was  daring,  in  my  presence;  and,  it  was  disrespectful, 
in  that  they  would  not  cease  at  my  command.  I  knew  nothing 
about  the  merits  of  their  contention,  or  which  was  in  the  wrong. 
I  could  not  allow  the  disorder ;  and  I  proceeded  to  chastise  them, 
young  men  though  they  were.  (This,  a  very  rare  act  with  me, 
was  a  common  one  among  the  traders. )  My  unusual  act  caused 
an  excitement ;  the  resultant  trouble  took  away  my  appetite,  and 
I  refused  to  eat,  when  the  noon  meal  was  set  before  me.  Not  to 
eat  is,  by  the  natives,  considered  a  sign  of  either  sickness  or  great 
grief.  Three  of  my  best  employees,  Aveya,  Ogula,  and  Ayenwe, 
made  an  unusual  demonstration  of  oriental  respect.  They 
came  kneeling,  and  begged  me  to  eat.  And,  Mbora  gave  me 
very  great  attention  during  the  remainder  of  the  day.  Two 
days  later,  Tivino  took  a  vacation. 

On  Thursday,  the  24th,  heard  that  the  Pioneer  had  arrived. 
I  went  to  Aguma,  and  found  another  mail.  Also,  Mr.  Jobet, 
agent  of  H.  &  C,  had  come  on  a  visit  of  inspection.  There  was 
also  a  French  doctor,  on  a  visit.  How  the  number  of  white 
men  in  the  river  fyad  increased  from  the  five  of  three  years 
before ! 

From  time  to  time,  I  found  new  fruits  and  vegetables.  On 
May  25,  I  had  at  dinner  a  good  chicken-salad,  the  vegetable 
being  "  palm-cabbage,"  the  heart  of  the  top  of  a  palm-tree. 
This,  with  a  dried-currant  pie,  and  the  best  loaf  of  bread  that 
Mbora  had  yet  made  for  me,  furnished  an  unusually  good  feast. 
But,  my  household  had  not  had  meat  for  two  weeks.  It  was 
impossible  to  obtain  any.  This  they  knew ;  and,  they  tried  J:o  be 
patient,  and  did  not  rebel.  A  day  later,  I  was  able  to  purchase 
them  a  goat.  The  work  on  the  Hillside  went  well.  I  was  setting 
the  posts  for  the  foundation.  One  very  heavy  post  fell,  and  in- 
jured Brownie's  left  hind  leg. 

By  June  1,  the  foundation  posts  were  all  in  position,  and  the 
first  sill  was  raised  to  its  place.  The  site  not  being  on  the  level 
of  the  actual  hilltop,  but  on  its  slope,  the  "  front  "of  the  house 
was  some  eight  feet  high  and  without  steps;  so  that  the  real 
entrance  was  from  the  "  rear,"  where  the  floor  was  only  two 
feet  from  the  ground.  Natives  were  very  timid  about  handling 
wild  animals.  I  took  up  a  chameleon  in  my  hand.  My  people 
were  alarmed. 

On  Saturday,  June  2,  for  the  usual  village  service,  I  went  to 
Eyenano,  to  Sonye's  village;  there  was  the  largest  assemblage 
I  had  yet  had  in  my  Kangwe  visitings,  mostly  women  and  chil- 
dren.    At  Benita,  I  had  fluent  use  of  Benga,  and  needed  no  in- 


220  MY  OGOWE 

terpreter.  During  my  two  years  at  Belambla,  I  had  depended 
on  an  interpreter  for  Dikele;  for,  my  attention  was  distracted 
from  study  of  that  dialect,  by  hearing  much  Mpongwe  among 
the  Galwa  employees.  During  the  one  year  at  Kangwe,  I  had 
confined  myself  to  a  Mpongwe  interpreter.  But,  that  day, 
aroused  by  the  sight  of  the  crowd  before  me,  I  spoke  freely, 
without  interpreter;  my  first  unaided  public  address  in  Mpongwe. 

On  Sunday,  the  3d,  while  I  was  sitting  in  the  hut,  preparing 
for  the  morning  services,  a  large  snake  suddenly  appeared  from 
one  corner  of  the  room,  gliding  across  the  clay  floor.  The  door 
was  closed  which  led  to  the  other,  the  public  room  of  the  hut; 
and  the  reptile  seemed  uncertain,  how  to  get  out,  as  it  circled 
around  me.  I  jumped  out  of  the  open  window.  The  snake  fol- 
lowed ;  and  my  employees  emerged  from  their  hut,  at  my  shout. 
We  struck  it ;  but.  it  escaped.  It  probably  had  entered  the  hut, 
in  search  of  rats  which  were  apt  to  infest  the  thatch  roof.  Next 
day.  the  snake  was  found  dead. 

I  am  sure  that  those  who  send  books  and  magazines,  etc.,  to 
foreign  missionaries  in  countries  where  there  are  no  books  to  be 
obtained,  do  not  appreciate  how  much  they  are  enjoyed.  Some 
one  had  sent  to  me  an  almanac  and  two  calendars.  How  I  did 
enjoy  their  daily  use! 

I  had  constantly  heard  owls  at  night,  but  had  not,  during  all 
my  African  days,  until  June  5,  seen  a  living  one,  by  daytime. 
One  was  brought  to  me  for  purchase.  Also,  a  snake,  a  horned 
viper  the  Cerastes  horrida  (Echidna  Gabonica). 

On  Sunday,  June  10,  there  came  to  services,  a  young  man, 
Nyani-nyango  (Little  bird)  who  called  himself  "John."  He 
said  that  he  had  lived  with  Rev.  C.  De  Heer  at  Elongo  on 
Corisco  Island.  Something  about  his  manner  made  me  doubt 
him.  A  woman  gratefully  gave  me  seven  eggs,  because,  when 
she  and  her  husband  had  come,  in  a  heavy  rain  two  months  be- 
fore, to  sell  me  some  thatch,  T  had  sheltered  them,  and  had  made 
her  a  gift  of  soap.  The  cool  weather  was  decided  dry  season 
temperature  (  J  une-September) . 

On  Monday,  the  nth.  I  finished  placing  the  sixth  and  last  sill 
of  the  house,  and  began  the  sleepers  for  one  of  the  gables.  T 
gathered  specimens  of  wood,  to  send  to  a  friend  in  the  United 
States,  as  my  felling  of  trees  for  the  new  house  revealed  to  me 
a  variety  of  woods. 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  221 


JOURNEY  TO  BELAMBLA. 


Kongolo  wished  to  return  to  his  country  of  Benita.  So,  it 
was  necessary  for  me  to  go  to  Belambla,  and  put  some  one  in 
his  place.  The  only  one  of  my  people  who  had  any  education 
(given  in  my  Benita  home,  eight  years  previously)  beyond  read- 
ing, and  the  only  professing  Christian  was  cook  Mbora,  of  the 
Nkami  tribe.  Him  I  directed  to  take  Kongolo's  place  (though 
I  would  be  losing  a  good  cook)  for  I  felt  it  important  that 
Belambla  should  not  be  closed.  Saviyeli  and  others  failed  to 
keep  a  promise  to  return  from  a  vacation  at  their  homes  in  time 
for  the  journey.  So,  on  June  14,  I  took  an  unskilled  crew  from 
Atangina.  Nevertheless,  they  rowed  well.  And,  I  had  a 
pleasant  day.     What  a  comfort  the  Nelly-Hozvard  was  to  me! 

I  had  stopped  at  Aguma  for  breakfast.  There  was  there  a 
Mpongwe  trader,  Ndeg-oma  (Friend  of  a  person)  with  his 
large  canoe  and  crew ;  and  Nkami  Chief  Isagi  and  his  people. 
Reached  the  Nenge-sika  Island  by  7  p.  m.  Of  course,  it  was 
dark ;  but  I  knew  that  the  welcome  of  the  place  was  sure. 
(When  intending  to  stop  at  a  strange  place  for  night,  I  always 
arrived  by  daylight.)  After  I  had  gone  to  bed,  Ndeg-oma  also 
arrived,  with  a  great  deal  of  noise. 

The  next  morning,  Friday,  the  15th.  the  covetous  Anyambe- 
jena  came  from  his  adjacent  village,  to  beg  for  gifts;  and  Bakele 
came  with  fowls  to  sell  at  prices  too  high  for  me  to  buy.  I 
really  think  that  the  handsome  boat,  superior  to  anything  in  the 
river,  gave  them  the  idea  that  I  had  wealth.  I  passed  Avyake?s 
without  stopping:  and  went  to  Myangane's  for  breakfast,  and 
held  services.  But,  the  people  were  very  disrespectful  and  noisy. 
Ondene  had  removed  his  town  to  another  locality.  Was  wel- 
comed at  Belambla.  The  first  news  announced  to  me  was  the 
good  news  that  the  new  chief,  of  my  selection,  Jongane.  had  not 
allowed  any  witchcraft  murders.  Ondene  and  his  women  came 
to  see  me.     Also,  three  of  Kasa's  widows. 

The  first  trees  I  had  carefully  planted  were  doing  well;  even 
the  two  coconuts  which  I  had  hastily  thrust  into  the  ground, 
in  the  preceding  September.  The  premises  were  in  good  condi- 
tion kept  by  Kongolo :  the  people  spoke  well  of  him.  I  took 
Mbora.  as  his  expected  successor,  around  the  outlines  of  the 
grounds,  to  show  him  what  was  mission  property. 

Next  day,  Saturday,  the  16th,  I  examined  Kongolo's  accounts, 
and  found  them  exactly  correct.  In  the  afternoon.  I  visited  the 
Fanwe   village    across   the   river;   and   was   well   received;   two 


222  MY  OGOWK 

women  gave  me  a  present  of  plantains.  Returning  in  the  even- 
ing, I  gave  out  to  Mbora,  a  two  months'  supply  of  goods  for  his 
expenses.  It  was  a  beautiful  half-full  moonlight  night;  only, 
the  mosquitoes  were  numerous! 

After  a  pleasant  Sunday.  I  left  Belambla  on  Monday.  June 
1 8.  Kongolo  making  his  good-bys  to  the  people;  and  Chief 
Jongane  and  his  wives  coming  for  gifts.  I  did  not  stop  any- 
where on  the  way  down-river.  In  passing  the  mouth  of  the 
Xgunye,  being  in  a  happy  mood,  and  seeing  some  hippopotami, 
and  remembering  how  they  often  had  alarmed  me  by  pursuing 
my  kongongo,  I,  for  variety,  amused  myself  by  pursuing  them. 
And,  I  was  back  at  Kangwe  before  evening. 

JOURNEY  TO  GABOON. 

The  semi-annual  journey  was  arranged  for  Thursday.  June 
21.  People  came  from  Atangina,  to  say  good-by  and  to  beg  for 
gifts.  Their  good-will  visit  was  so  obviously  selfish,  that  I  gave 
them  nothing.  I  constantly  recognized  the  propriety  of  giving 
for  favors  received ;  but,  I  saw  no  reason  in  this  case  why  I 
should  give. 

I  started  about  noon  with  the  two  boats,  having  as  passengers 
Ombya-ogwana  and  his  wife,  visitors  from  Igenja.  At  Aveya's 
village  Ginigo,  by  5  p.  M.  There  I  met  his  "little  sister  Aziza, 
who,  in  later  years,  became  an  important  assistant  in  my  family. 

Xext  day.  we  were  late  in  starting.  As  I  had  been  given  hos- 
pitality, I  gave  gifts  in  return  to  the  women.  At  the  Oranga 
exit  of  Lake  Onanga,  stopped  to  buy  fish.  The  people  were 
noisy  and  clamorous.  An  old  man  wanted  to  delay,  and  con- 
tract a  "  friendship."  That  meant  I  would  have  to  pay  for  the 
friendship:  so.  I  hasted  on  to  Mbanga's  village  to  eat  the  noon 
meal ;  and.  on  to  friend  Azaze's :  and  to  Igenja  for  the  night. 
Mamba's  mother  received  us  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy. 
Angeka's  little  sister,  at  the  usual  evening  service,  wished  that 
there  was  a  girls'  school  to  which  she  could  go. 

The  next  day.  I  found  that  two  of  my  best  crew,  planning  for 
a  speculation  of  their  own  on  Gaboon  prices,  had.  without  asking 
my  permission,  crowded  the  boat  with  a  lot  of  fowls  they  were 
taking  for  sale.  I  ordered  the  fowls  out.  This  was  a  frequent 
occurrence  on  my  journeys.  The  boat  was  for  my  con- 
venience and  c<»mfnrt.  Some  of  the  space  I  had  to"  use  in 
boxes  of  goods  for  buying  food  for  the  crew.  They  also,  each 
of  the  six.  were  allowed  to  take  a  small  box.  the  size  of  a  suit- 
case, of  changes  of  clothing,  etc.      But,  bevond  that,  they  often 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  223 

attempted  to  fill  in  other  luggage  of  their  own,  even  to  the  point 
of  discomfort  to  myself,  and  increase  of  weight  of  the  boat.  Re- 
Teno,  head  of  the  Ivili  town  at  Ashuka,  came  to  inquire  why  I 
did  not  visit  him.  Ashuka  did  not  coincide  in  time  with  my  hour 
for  eating.  When  on  a  preaching  tour,  I  stopped  at  all  villages. 
On  other  journeys,  I  had  to  pass  by  those  that  did  not  fit  into 
my  day's  schedule  of  hours.  The  dry  season  wind  was  strong  in 
our  faces,  and  made  waves,  that,  though  small,  did  really  ob- 
struct our  progress.  Stopped,  late  in  the  evening,  in  the  forest, 
to  eat ;  and,  went  on  at  night,  to  Ngumbe,  the  town  of  Chief 
Isagi,  having  made  about  fifty-eight  miles  that  day.  And  re- 
mained over  Sunday. 

Slow  progress  was  made  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  to  Angala. 
There,  the  German  and  French  traders  had  comfortable  houses, 
in  which  I  was  entertained,  and  in  one  of  whose  boat-houses,  I 
stored  the  Nelly-Howard,  as  I  did  not  regard  it  fit  for  a  sea 
journey;  the  smaller  and  native-made  boat,  Charity,  was  of  a 
shape  better  fitted  for  the  sea  use. 

King  Esongi,  who  formerly  had  been  extremely  friendly,  re- 
fused to  loan  me  a  certain  article,  for  which  I  asked,  as  an 
anchor.  (More  and  more.  I  found  that,  in  such  unpleasant  acts 
from  people  who  were  ordinarily  pleasant,  there  was  some  hid- 
den superstitious  reason.) 

Started  for  the  sea  late  in  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the 
27th.  Stopped  at  a  swampy  place  in  the  mangroves,  in  the  aft- 
ernoon, and  bade  the  crew  eat  a  hearty  meal ;  for  I  could  have 
no  cooking  in  the  boat  the  next  day  for  them ;  and,  as  for  my- 
self, I  would  be  eating  nothing  on  the  sea,  because  of  nausea. 
Emerged  into  Xazareth  Bay,  at  5  p.  m.,  and,  with  a  favorable 
wind,  sped  across  it,  and  out  to  sea.  Then,  I  took  the  rudder, 
while  the  crew  gorged  themselves  with  their  last  meal.  Oc- 
casionally, the  lookout  being  neglectful,  we  got  into  breakers. 
Kongolo  and  Aveya,  who  were  accustomed  to  the  sea,  took  turns 
all  night  in  holding  the  rudder,  while  I  dozed  at  intervals.  There 
was  a  fine,  strong,  favorable  wind,  and  moonlight,  by  which  to 
see  the  way. 

By  the  Thursday  morning,  we  were  still  going  rapidly,  with 
all  the  wind  our  sail  could  bear.  By  noon,  the  water  became 
rough,  and  I  feared  the  points  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gaboon; 
but,  we  rounded  them  comfortably.  The  wind  then  became  light, 
as  we  crossed  the  estuary:  and  landed  by  4  p.  m.  near  the  Eng- 
lish house  of  H.  &  C.  Mr.  Travis,  belonging  to  that  house  in  the 
Ogowe,  was  there,  and  met  us  on  the  beach,  and  welcomed  us. 


224  MY  OGOWE 

The  Baraka  schoolgirls,  and  Mr.  Reading's  four  schoolboys 
greeted  us  warmly.  I  was  lodged  at  Mrs.  Bushnell's;  and  found 
a  loving  mail  awaiting  me  from  America. 

On  Sunday,  July  i,  there  was  Communion  in  the  Baraka 
church.  I  preached  for  Dr.  Bushnell.  Three  infants  were  bap- 
tized. Dogs  in  the  church  interfered  with  the  solemnity  of  the 
occasion.  The  man.  Xgeza.  trader  in  the  Ogowe,  who  had  been 
excommunicated  for  his  trading  in  rum,  was  restored.  In  the 
evening  there  was  a  pleasant  monthly  concert  on  missions. 

The  semi-annual  meetings  of  presbytery  and  mission  were  to 
be  held  at  Benita.  Dr.  Bushnell  and  I  took  passage  on  the  cutter 
Hudson,  in  the  morning  of  Monday,  the  2(1.  anchoring  by  7  p. 
m.,  at  Elongro  Station,  Corisco  Island,  to  take  on  board  Rev.  C. 
De  Heer.  The  journey  was  continued  all  night.  And,  by  8 
a.  M.  of  the  3d,  we  were  at  Bolondo.  (Greeted  by  my  sister  and 
Miss  Dewsnap.  My  sister  was  not  looking  well.  At  presbytery 
meeting  in  the  evening,  two  candidates  for  the  ministry  were  ex- 
amined. Frank  Myongo  and  D.  L.  Petiye.  [The  former  is  to- 
day the  Rev.  F.  S.  Myongo ;  Petiye  reached  licensure,  and  then 
turned  aside.]  People  from  the  Upwanjo  villages,  near  my 
old  station,  Mbade.  came  to  complain  about  the  cattle  there  tres- 
passing on  their  gardens.  The  cattle  were  not  mine.  T  had  in- 
deed introduced  them  for  their  milk  for  my  child  in  r868.  agree- 
ing with  Upwanjo  that  T  should  pay  damages.  And.  Mr. 
Menkel  living  at  Mbade.  had  continued  to  keep  the  animals  with- 
out paying  for  damages.  A  dav-school  was  continued  to  be  held 
there  under  a  native  teacher  Uhemba ;  and  the  church  was  still 
there,  under  my  protege  licentiate  Itongolo,  with  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya, 
of  Mbangwe  on  Corisco  Bay.  as  moderator  of  session.  He 
found  it  inconvenient  to  make  the  quarterly  journey,  and  pro- 
posed removing  to  Benita. 

The  Hudson  left  on  the  night  of  the  4th,  with  Messrs.  De  I  leer 
and  Bushnell;  and  it  was  to  return  promptly  for  me.  It  being 
the  Fourth  of  July.  T  attempted  a  patriotic  demonstration  with  a 
few  of  my  well-kept  firecrackers.  One  of  them  landed  on  the 
thatch  roof  of  the  dwelling-house:  and,  for  a  short  time,  there 
was  a  fire  alarm.  There  were  many  things  to  occupy  me,  while 
waiting  for  the  return  of  the  Hudson.  1  was  stated  clerk  of 
presbytery,  and  had  to  write  up  the  minutes.  There  were 
visits  from  my  former  Kombe  friends.  There  were  sacred 
graves  at  the  cemetery  that  1  visited  and  put  in  order.  There 
was  help  I  could  give  the  two  ladies  against  rapacious  claims 
on  some  of  their  pupils,  by  selfish  men.      There  was  the  boxing 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  225 

of  some  baggage  of  my  sister,  who  was  going  with  me  to  Libre- 
ville. The  Hudson  was  a  very  slow  sailer.  And,  Mr.  Menkel 
was  notably  unreliable  in  fulfillment  of  engagements;  he  had  also 
a  distressing  temper,  that  flew  into  violent  anger,  on  the  slightest 
provocation,  or  even  on  a  suspicion.  His  outbursts  were  directed 
mostly  against  myself,  as  I  was  the  one  who  oftenest  traveled 
with  him.  (This  unfortunate  trait  grew  with  him,  to  the  end  of 
his  life.) 

I  occupied  the  Benita  pulpit  for  three  Sundays.  Finally,  the 
Hudson  came.  And.  with  my  sister,  we  started  southward  on 
the  vessel,  at  midnight  of  July  22.  It  was  very  heavily  laden,  and 
had  an  unusual  list  of  passengers  and  crew  (twenty- four). 
Traveling  day  and  night,  we  reached  Corisco  Island  by  4  p.  m. 
of  Tuesday,  the  24th,  Mr.  De  Heer's  boat  came  off  to  us.  and 
landed  my  sister,  who  was  very  weak  and  sick. 

The  next  day  we  rested  at  Elongo  Station.  And.  on  Thurs- 
day, the  26th,  resumed  the  journey ;  and  landed  at  Libreville  by 
4  P.  M.  of  Saturday  the  28th.  My  sister  seemed  refreshed,  and 
was  able  to  walk  from  the  beach  to  Baraka.  Six  days  for  a  voy- 
age of  ninety  miles!  The  Hudson,  in  its  painful  slowness,  had 
constantly  to  tack,  being  unable  to  face  the  prevailing  winds, 
s.  w.  and  s.  e.,  which  were  stronger  during  dry  season  (June- 
September)  than  in  any  other  months  of  the  year. 

JOURNEY   BACK   TO   THE  OGOWE. 

On  Wednesday,  August  1,  with  a  big  load  of  supplies,  and 
my  two  crews.  I  started  on  the  Hudson,  to  reach  the  Ogowe 
mouth,  having  in  tow  my  native  boat,  Caritas.  The  run  was  only 
seventy  miles.  But.  it  became  distressing:  what  we  gained  on 
one  tack,  we  lost  on  the  next.  Day  and  night,  Wednesday, 
Thursday.  Friday,  Saturday  and  Sunday !  I  was  so  weary  with 
the  seasickness ;  and  food  was  becoming  short  for  my  large  num- 
ber of  people.  Sunday  night,  we  anchored,  being  near  Sanga- 
tanga.  and  waited  for  the  opposing  wind  to  die  down.  As 
there  was  little  prospect  of  that.  I  determined  to  abandon  the 
vessel,  and  take  to  my  boat.  I  believed  that  my  double  crew, 
with  paddles,  could  certainly  reach  the  mouth  and  ascend  the 
thirty  miles  up-river  to  Angala,  where  1  had  left  the  Xclly- 
Hozcard,  with  which  I  would  return  for  the  remainder  of  my 
goods,  by  the  time  that  the  slow  Hudson  should  finally  reach 
Xazareth  Bay. 

So,  at  2  a.  m.  of  Monday  August  6.  I  loaded  the  Caritas;  and. 
with  ten  of  my  people,  left  the  vessel's  side:  rowed  all  day,  and 


226  MY  OGOWE 

all  the  next  night,  stopping  occasionally  for  food  and  rest;  and 
reached  Angala  at  5  a.  m.  of  the  7th.  There  I  found  lying  the 
German  schooner  Wm.  Johnson,  with  its  captain  Miller  and  Mr. 
Lubcke,  and  his  little  steamer.  They  gave  me  a  comfortable 
lunch.  And,  after  my  crews  had  rested,  I  took  a  portion  of 
them  that  same  day.  in  the  Nelly-Hozcard  down-river.  Emerged 
at  the  mouth  about  4  p.  m..  and  found  that  my  calculations  were 
correct.  The  Hudson  had  arrived  only  a  few  hours  before! 
The  next  morning,  Wednesday  August  8,  by  daylight,  I  loaded 
the  boat.  The  Hudson  immediately  left,  to  return  to  Libreville ; 
and.  I  for  Angala  again;  which  I  reached  about  4  p.  m. 

I  had  brought  with  me  several  young  men,  church  members, 
from  Benita.  They  were  educated,  and  would  be  helpful ;  they 
spoke  English  freely,  and  would  be  companionable ;  they  were 
Christians,  and  could  assist  me  in  religious  services.  They  and 
I  spoke  Benga ;  and,  also,  they  had  some  smattering  of  Mpongwe. 
of  which  I  had  not  yet  acquired  enough  to  easily  conduct  a  preach- 
ing service.  I  was  exceedingly  hurt  that  evening,  when  T  asked 
one  of  them,  Charles  Makanga.  to  assist  me  in  the  meeting.  He 
positively  refused  to  take  any  part.  I  never  got  over  the  pain- 
ful impression.  It  interfered  in  my  subsequent  relations  with 
him;  he  soon  returned  to  Benita.  And.  though  he  was  subse- 
quently honored  and  valued  in  the  church  there,  and  T  met  him 
occasionally  in  presbytery.  I  could  not  forget  how  he  utterly 
failed  me  in  a  time  of  need. 

T  was  hospitably  entertained  on  board  the  Wm.  Johnson, 
looked  over  pictures  in  German  newspajxrs,  and  slept  on  the 
vessel.  With  a  company  of  twelve  in  my  two  boats.  I  left 
Angala  on  Thursday.  August  9;  on  the  way.  buying  plenty  of 
farinya,  plantains,  fish,  and  turtles,  from  Chief  Onanga  at 
Xombi.     And.  slept  in  the  boat  that  night  at  Xango. 

On  the  Eriday.  for  the  first  time,  used  the  Nclly-Hozvard's  sail, 
during  the  afternoon.  Stopped  early  at  the  deserted  trading- 
house,  near  King  Xjagu's  town  of  Xdogo;  and  again  slept  in 
the  boat. 

The  next  day.  T  allowed  the  Caritas  to  go  on  ahead  to 
Xgumbe.  while  1  stopped  at  Yambc.  to  see  my  friend  Mwanji- 
nkombe.  And.  we  spent  the  night  at  Xgumbe.  the  half-way 
post  from  the  river's  mouth  to  Kangwe.  On  the  Sunday,  f  I 
held  services,  both  morning  and  evening;  only  a  few  came. 
Tsagi  himself  was  a  great  heathen.  Tn  a  small  hut  in  the  town, 
he  had  a  large  idol.      Much  of  the  clay  I  spent  in  the  boat,  reading. 

The  next  day.  we  proceeded,  stopping  on  the  way  at  Avanga 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  227 

Island,  where  I  met  one  of  Mr.  Travis'  Nkami  workmen ;  to 
Ashuka,  and  bought  udika  and  fish ;  to  the  Ivili  town  of  the  head- 
man Re-Teno,  where  they  had  plenty  of  elephant  meat.  And,  by 
sundown,  to  Igenja.  The  mother  of  Ntyindiorema  was  fran- 
tically glad  to  see  him  again.  The  next  day  I  claimed  the  goat 
which  Ombya-ogwana  had  given,  on  my  way  down-river  two 
months  before.  Then,  exchanges  of  gifts,  with  the  mothers 
of  my  best  employees,  Mamba,  Abumba,  and  Angeka.  And, 
then  resumed  the  journey,  on  the  way  stopping  at  the  village  of 
Awora's  father ;  and  at  friend  Azaze's,  to  salute  him,  but,  found 
that  there  was  smallpox  there.  On  to  Oranga,  and  bought  a 
quantity  of  plantains.  Thence,  to  a  camp  in  the  forest  near 
Aromba.  The  scene  was  romantic,  with  the  shadows  of  night 
and  the  light  of  blazing  fires  of  my  crews  cooking  their  food. 
Such  scenes  appealed  to  my  spirit  of  adventure,  and  gratified  the 
soldier  idea  which  I  had  always  carried  with  me. 

The  next  day.  Wednesday,  a  canoe  of  Nkami  people  joined 
us.  The  three  crafts  made  company,  and  stimulated  each  other 
in  their  speed.  Stopped  at  Ginigo  for  our  noon  meal.  The  joy 
of  the  mothers  of  Onganga  and  Mpenge  was  almost  pathetic. 
People  came  from  Wombalya  to  sell  fruits  and  plantains. 
There  were  increasing  reports  of  smallpox.  On,  into  the  Ozu- 
gavizya  Creek,  with  the  difficult  working  around  its  sand- 
banks. Lest  there  might  be  smallpox  at  Ntyuwa-guma,  T  did 
not  go  to  it.  but,  stopped  in  the  forest  near  by.  for  the  night. 

The  next  day.  August  16.  emerged  into  the  Kangwe  branch 
of  the  river,  and  enjoyed  a  fine  distant  view  of  the  Hill.  There 
were  vociferous  salutations  as  we  passed  Atangina.  And.  at 
Kangwe  by  10  a.  m.  The  young  men,  whom  I  had  left  in  charge, 
welcomed  us  witli  shouts  and  a  discharge  of  guns.  I  found 
everything  safe  and  well,  and  Ayenwe  gave  me  a  correct  ac- 
count of  the  goods  I  had  left  with  him.  I  gave  rewards  to  him 
and  the  six  others  I  had  left  as  his  assistants,  for  their  faithful 
service.  But,  one  of  them,  Ogula,  was  jealous  of  Ayenwe,  be- 
cause I  had  given  the  latter  more ! 

Re-Nkombe  came  next  day,  to  welcome  me.  with  a  quantity 
of  ground-nuts  and  a  sheep.  To  commemorate  the  occasion,  I 
planted  a  number  of  coco-nuts.  [They  are  growing  there  to- 
day!] 

On  Sunday,  the  19th,  being  without  an  interpreter.  I  held  only 
a  short  morning  service ;  for.  as  yet,  I  felt  that  I  had  not  ac- 
quired Mpongwe  sufficiently.  I  knew  it,  for  ordinary  daily  con- 
versation with  my  people,  but  not  for  preaching.     At  afternoon 


228  MY  OGOWE 

Sabbath  school,  I  had  the  Kombe  young  men  as  teachers ; 
"  Samuel  "  (Mbara)  and  carpenter  Metyeba,  for  those  who  were 
beginning  the  alphabet;  Ingumu  (who  had  been  with  me  at 
Kasa's),  for  two  who  under  my  care  had  learned  to  read;  and, 
Charles  Makanga  with  a  class  in  the  catechism.  My  frequent 
enjoyment  in  the  evenings,  especially  on  Sundays,  was  singing. 

I  was  busy  the  following  days,  pushing  the  work  on  the  new 
house.  But,  on  the  26th,  Ompwenge  had  symptoms  which  I 
thought  might  be  of  smallpox.  So.  that  he  might  be  cared  for 
by  his  own  family,  I  sent  him  in  a  canoe  with  two  of  his  own 
towns-people,  Angeka  and  Bayio,  to  his  home  at  Igenja. 

While  T  always  gave  gifts  for  kindness  done  or  services  ren- 
dered, T  was  much  annoyed,  and  sometimes  angered,  at  people, 
whom  T  did  not  even  know,  coming  as  beggars. 

About  that  time  came  into  my  acquaintance  a  young  Mpongwe 
man.  with  whom  T  had  much  to  do,  in  my  subsequent  Ogowe 
years,  viz.  "  Samuel  Marshall,"  or  Laseni,  a  very  intelligent  man, 
a  former  pupil  in  our  Baraka  school,  and,  at  one  time  a  member 
of  the  church.  He  was  trading  for  TT.  &  C.  in  the  Ogowe.  Of 
course,  his  trading  with  rum.  even  if  he  did  not  drink  it.  broke 
his  church  membership. 

T  was  studying  Mpongwe  very  diligently:  for.  in  my  imperfect 
knowledge  of  it.  I  found  myself  making  mistakes.  On  the  28th, 
my  good  friend.  Azizya,  Re-Xkombe's  sister,  came  to  sell  me 
yams.  In  paying  her.  I  understood  her  to  say  that  I  "  cheated  " 
her.  Tn  my  indignation.  T  gave  back  some  ngwese  she  had  pre- 
sented me.  refused  to  buy  from  her  at  all,  and  dismissed  her. 
Tn  the  evening,  in  the  usual  around-the-fire  conversation  with  my 
household,  T  found  that  1  had  mistaken  the  meaning  of  A/.izva's 
word.  I  was  very  sorry  at  my  mistake,  and  for  the  very  in- 
justice to  a  woman  who  had  been  (and  continued  tn  be)  a  help- 
ful friend.      1  rectified  it  to  her  on  another  day. 

On  Friday  the  31st.  Angeka  and  Bayio  returned,  accompanied 
by  Awora.  They  had  left  Ompwenge  sick,  but  not  with  small- 
pox. 

For  the  usual  Saturday  afternoon  village  itineration,  on  Sep- 
tember r.  I  went  to  the  town  of  Chief  Magisi,  near  Aguma.  al- 
though I  was  told  there  was  smallpox  there.  T  had  met  with 
it  so  often,  that  I  began  to  feel  myself  immune,  especially  in  the 
errand  on  which  1  was  going.  On  such  errands,  one  might  take 
up  a  serpent,  unharmed. 

On  Sunday,  1  spoke  in  Mpongwe.  without  an  interpreter,  hut 
with  much  hesitation.     After  the  service,  Sambunaga  came  to 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  229 

say  that  my  words  had  "  brought  light  to  his  heart,"  and  he  de- 
sired to  be  enrolled  as  an  inquirer.  After  that  there  was  no 
more  need  of  an  interpreter.  I  was  hasting  to  get  the  new 
house  under  its  thatch  roof;  for,  I  was  alarmed  by  occasional 
distant  thunder;  and  the  rains  would  be  expected  by  the  last  of 
the  month. 

The  Saturday  itineration  of  the  8th  was  to  Sonye's  village  in 
Eyenano.  And,  thence  to  the  German  house,  to  call  on  Mr. 
Lubcke.  He  was  absent,  but,  he  had  a  guest,  a  German  scien- 
tist, who  had  come  to  hunt  gorillas.     That  interested  me. 

On  Sunday  the  9th,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  I  had 
"  acquired "  Mpongwe ;  for,  I  spoke  in  it  with  much  more 
freedom  than  hitherto. 

The  next,  the  10th,  was  a  busy  day  on  the  roof  of  the  new 
house.  But,  all  the  while  I  was  thinking  of  the  little  boat  at  sea 
in  Corisco  Bay  on  the  night  of  September  10,  1870. 

After  the  village  service  on  the  15th,  I  went  to  Aguma. 
There,  I  met  Mr.  Woodward,  who  had  returned  from  the 
Ngunye.  He  had  ascended,  beyond  the  Samba  Falls,  to  the 
Ashira  country,  where  Du  Chaillu  had  traveled  (entering  from 
the  coast).  Mr.  Woodward  told  me  that  the  "  Eugenie  Falls" 
were  not  a  distinct  cataract,  but  were  spread  over  a  distance  of 
thirty  or  forty  miles,  including  a  number  of  cascades. 

In  the  village  service  of  the  22d.  I  went  to  Pinja's.  But.  two 
men  were  there  so  drunk  and  disorderly,  that  I  stopped  speak- 
ing and  abruptly  left  the  village. 

Aveya  had  been  with  me  since  my  first  entry  into  the  Ogowe. 
and  was  a  valuable  workman.  But.  he  had  become  so  irregular, 
making  visits  to  his  home  on  slight  pretects.  that,  when  he  re- 
turned on  Thursday  the  27th.  my  patience  was  exhausted,  and  I 
told  him  I  would  no  longer  employ  him.  He  replied  that,  rather 
than  that  he  should  leave  me,  I  should  throw  him  into  the 
river.  I  allowed  him  to  remain,  to  work  out  a  debt  of  a  dollar 
he  owed  me.  Besides  my  Sunday  religious  services,  I  regularly 
began  and  closed  each  day  with  public  prayers  with  my  house- 
hold, but  gave  no  instruction  in  connection  therewith.  On  that 
day  I  instituted  a  weekly  Thursday  night  prayer  meeting,  giving 
a  Bible  lesson.  The  first  lesson  was  on  2  Kings  6,  8 ;  Elisha  at 
Dothan.  At  night,  the  rainy  season  began !  Such  splendid 
rain,  and  magnificent  thunder,  and  brilliant  lightning! 

On  Friday  morning,  the  28th.  I  heard  that  my  canoe  was  lost 
from  the  Igolino  (Nkami)  hut.  Shortly  afterwards,  I  heard 
that  a  woman  at  Atangina  had  it.     When  we  began  the    day's 


230  MY  OGOWE 

work  on  my  house,  Anyigei  of  Atangina,  brought  word  that 
Ambangila,  the  woman's  husband,  hesitated  to  give  up  the  canoe. 
This  man  I  knew  as  an  unpleasant,  bold  fellow.  I  thought :  — 
If  the  canoe  was  stolen,  Re-Nkombc  could  not  fail  to  recognize 
it  as  mine,  and  should  at  once  have  sent  it  to  me.  If  it  had  been 
picked  up.  as  a  derelict,  1  knew  the  native  custom  that  allowed  it 
to  be  held  for  a  reward.  But.  it  seemed  to  me,  that,  under  my 
professed  relations  with  Re-Nkombe,  he  should  have  at  once  sent 
to  me,  knowing  that  a  reward  would  be  given.  At  noon,  T  sent 
word  to  him,  asking  why  my  property  was  being  detained.  In- 
stead of  promptly  forwarding  the  canoe,  he  replied  that  he 
would  come  next  day  to  talk  about  it.  This  seemed  to  show  a 
disposition  to  assent  to  my  canoe's  capture.  In  the  afternoon, 
Ambangila  stopped  at  the  Igolino  hut,  and  threatened  tight. 
-  While  we  were  at  work  at  the  house,  next  morning,  the  29th,  he, 
accompanied  by  Oguma.  came  professedly  very  friendly  to  me, 
and  said  that  the  canoe  was  detained  only  in  anger  at  my  people, 
who,  he  stated,  had  said  that  he  had  "  stolen  "  it.  I  declined  to 
talk  with  him  at  that  busy  time;  but,  told  him  that  I  would  listen 
to  what  he  had  to  say,  at  our  noon  rest  hour.  At  which  time,  he 
did  not  return.  The  affair  began  to  look  badly.  But,  I  took 
the  high  position,  that  they  were  not  ignorant  Bakele;  they  knew 
what  was  right;  they  knew  my  right;  and.  if  they  chose  to  take 
the  position  of  thieves,  they  might  keep  the  canoe;  I  would  not 
beg  for  it.  I  could  boycott  their  town.  I  went,  on  my  usual  Sat- 
urday afternoon  preaching,  to  the  Eyenano  villages,  and  had  a 
good  meeting.  For  a  wonder,  those  two  young  men  were  there, 
very  attentive,  and  helpful  in  keeping  others  quiet !  Then,  I 
went  on  errands;  to  see  Mr.  Lubcke;  and  to  Aguma.  And,  on 
my  return  to  Kangwe,  Ambangila  came  and  made  his  talk;  and 
finally  said  that  he  would  give  up  the  canoe.  On  Sunday,  the 
30th.  I  felt  depressed  at  what  was  beginning  to  be  a  very  unjust 
and  insulting  trouble.  But,  I  succeeded  in  putting  away  the 
thought  of  it;  and,  for  the  first  time  in  my  use  of  Mpongwe,  I 
felt  free  enough  to  write  a  skeleton  of  what  T  intended  to  say. 
There  were  twenty-seven  people  present;  and  a  large  Sabbath 
school  in  the  afternoon.  There  was  a  small  tornado  wind  in  the 
evening;  the  first  of  the  season.  T  felt  somewhat  anxious  as  to 
my  new  house  on  the  hillside,  whether,  in  its  incomplete  state,  it 
would  bear  the  strain. 

The  work  and  anxieties  were  making  me  feverish.  And,  an 
ulcer  on  my  leg  was  growing  worse.  No  canoe  came  on  the  Mon- 
day, October  1.      I   felt  that  the  Atangina  people  were  using  me 


AT  THE  KANGWE  HUT  231 

badly.  So,  I  refused  to  give  employment  or  make  purchases 
from  any  of  that  town.  For  several  days,  I  confined  myself  to 
the  completion  of  the  house,  when  not  interfered  with  by  the 
frequent  rains.  I  was  getting  it  ready  for  the  expected  coming 
of  my  sister.  That  she  might  have  fresh  milk,  I  had  bought  a 
goat.  One  of  those  rainy  nights,  it  bore  two  kids ;  in  the  morn- 
ing, one  was  dead,  and  the  other  died  soon,  from  exposure.  I 
could  not  hope  that  the  goat  would  remain  in  milk  without  her 
kids. 

I  had  been  pushing  work  on  the  hill  house,  to  have  it  ready 
for  the  expected  arrival  of  my  sister.  When  I  had  left  her  at 
Libreville  in  August,  it  was  probable  that  she  would  transfer  her 
teaching  work  from  Benita  to  the  Ogowe.  The  conditions  at 
Benita  had  become  very  trying  to  her.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  De  Heer 
were  expected  to  remove  from  Corsico  Island  to  take  charge  of 
Benita;  and  the  island  thenceforward  was  passed  into  the  care  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya,  who,  for  that  purpose  removed  from  Mbangwe 
on  the  Bay.  With  me,  my  sister  knew  that  she  would  have  less 
restriction.  And,  I  was  glad  at  the  prospect  of  a  lady  to  pre- 
side over  my  house. 

On  the  next  Saturday,  October  6,  I  went  in  my  boat  to 
Atangina,  to  hold  the  usual  village  meeting.  At  its  close,  Re- 
Nkombe  wished  to  talk  "  palaver "  about  the  canoe.  But  I 
refused  to  speak  of  it,  as  I  had  come  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
preaching.  He  wanted  to  be  very  friendly;  as  if  the  matter  of 
the  canoe  was  nothing  between  us. 

The  following  day,  Sunday,  there  was  a  good  service,  notwith- 
standing a  rainy  time.  I  was  made  glad  by  Piere  and  Ake- 
ndenge  saying  that  when  they  had  come  to  work  with  me,  it  was 
not  simply  for  pay,  but  that  "  they  wanted  to  turn  their  hearts  to 
Our  Father."  At  Sabbath  school,  the  little  room  was  crowded. 
A  number  of  people  came  as  far  as  from  Ada.linana.nga. 

On  the  following  Friday,  the  12th,  Re-Nkombe  came  to  sell  me 
thatch  (which  I  needed  badly)  and  one  of  his  people,  Igamba, 
wanted  to  be  allowed  to  return  to  work.  I  rebuked  Re-Nkombe, 
as  if  he  was  a  thief.  It  had  been  his  duty  to  see  law  and  order 
kept,  about  my  canoe,  which,  at  that  late  day,  I  did  not  hesitate 
to  say  was  being  stolen.  Next  morning,  Saturday  13,  he  and 
Ambangila  brought  it.  In  my  indignation  at  its  long  detention, 
I  refused  to  receive  it,  and  told  them  that  they  could  keep  it,  and 
it  be  theirs.  They  begged  me  to  take  it.  saying  that  they  were 
returning  stolen  property.  So,  I  took  it,  and  offered  to  Amba- 
ngila a  dollar,  the  usual  reward.     He  then  refused  it,  saying  that 


23-'  MY  OGOWE 

lie  was  returning'  the  canoe,  as  a  friend.  So,  I  tore  up  the  dollar, 
saying  that  I  saw  no  friendship  in  the  whole  matter.  On  that 
afternoon,  I  went  to  Aguma  on  an  errand.  And,  lo!  while 
there,  the  Pioneer  arrived,  with  my  sister  under  escort  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Bushnell!  T  was  busy  landing  her  goods  at  Kangwe  until 
late  at  night.  On  the  Sunday,  Dr.  Bushnell  preached  in  the  new 
house.  Many  people  were  present,  to  see  the  first  white  woman 
who  had  entered  the  Ogowe.  On  the  Monday.  I  went  with  Dr. 
Bushnell,  to  call  at  the  German  house;  and  we  took  the  1 1  a.  m. 
breakfast  at  the  English  house.  And,  was  busy  all  the  after- 
noon, carrying  boxes  and  baggage  up  the  Kangwe  Hill.  Im- 
pressed, doubtless,  by  all  this  increased  importance  of  his 
Kangwe  white  "  friend,"  Re-Xkombe  came  in  the  afternoon,  pre- 
senting me  with  a  goat,  and  asking  pardon  for  the  canoe  trouble. 
I  would  not  accept  the  goat,  lest  he  should  think  that  I  had  can- 
celed his  wrong.  But,  I  told  him  that  I  considered  the  matter 
settled.  We  remained  friends;  but.  I  gave  him  a  different  status 
from  what  I  had  formerly  accorded  him. 

On  Tuesday,  October  16,  I  took  Dr.  Bushnell  up  the  river,  to 
the  Inenga  tribe,  to  visit  King  Ra-Xoki.  As  Dr.  Bushnell  was 
most  fluent  in  the  use  of  Mpongwe,  he  and  the  king  had  an  in- 
teresting chat.  Returning,  we  ate  supper  at  Aguma.  And,  I  left 
Dr.  Bushnell  there  for  the  night,  that  he  be  ready  for  an  early 
start  back  to  Gaboon  on  the  Pioneer  earlv  next  morning. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE,  OCTOBER,   1877-JANUARY,   l88o 

MY  removal  from  the  hut  to  my  house  on  the  hillside  on 
October  25,  was  marked  by  a  visit  from  King  Ra-Noki 
and  his  retinue,  who   came  to  call  on  sister  and  myself, 
bringing  quite  a  present  of  fowls  and  plantains. 

And,  at  the  following  Saturday  afternoon  meetings  in  Ata- 
ngina  and  a  Fan  we  village,  sister  went  with  me,  and  was  quite  an 
object  of  attention. 

On  the  following  Tuesday,  I  took  her  on  a  return  visit  to  King 
Ra-Xoki  at  Inenga.  We  had  a  very  interesting  time.  The  next 
day.  I  was  called  to  the  German  house  (called  "Otanga"),  to 
prescribe  for  Mr.  Detmering,  who  was  sick.  On  that  day,  I 
again  missed  my  canoe,  and  supposed  it  to  be  stolen.  On  suc- 
cessive days,  I  missed  both  my  dogs.  Brownie  and  Bravo,  but 
did  not  know  whether  they  were  stolen,  or  killed  by  a  leopard ; 
probably  the  latter.  For,  early  in  November,  leopards  became 
numerous  and  destructive.  They  killed  both  of  my  goats. 
Lest  my  sheep  should  go  in  that  way,  I  killed  it  myself,  for  a 
feast,  to  which  I  invited  Messrs.  Travis  and  Woodward.  Under 
my  sister's  supervision,  I  was  able  to  make  an  ample  spread, 
which,  I  think,  my  visitors  enjoyed. 

In  my  sister's  coming  to  the  Ogowe.  some  of  her  Benita  pupils 
followed  her,  to  continue  their  studies  under  her  instruction. 
The  five  who  had  come  with  me,  for  work,  rejoined  her  class. 
And,  on  November  9,  came  the  Pioneer,  bringing  candidate  Ko- 
ngolo  back  to  the  Ogowe,  for  that  purpose.  This  added  to 
our  civilized  company  on  the  Hill.  Also,  there  came  into  the 
river  a  newly  married  Mpongwe  couple,  who,  I  hoped  would  be  a 
help  to  the  civilization  and  Christianity  of  the  Ogowe,  the  man 
Laseni  ("  Samuel  Marshall  ")  and  his  wife,  Ngwa-njanga 
(  "  Alida  Booth  ").  They  were  both  well-educated  ;  and  she  was 
still  a  church  member.  [But.  their  lives  became  marred.  He 
divorced  her;  and  she  sank  disgracefully.  For  years,  he  never 
returned  to  the  church,  though  he  always  held  himself  as  an  hon- 
orable, polite  man.  They  are  both  living:  and.  at  this  present 
writing,  are  again  attending  church.] 

233 


234  MY  OGOWE 

I  observed,  in  visiting  the  villages,  a  singular  custom,  viz.,  that 
of  cutting  the  toes  of  chickens,  as  private  marks  of  owner- 
ship. 

I  was  much  encouraged  by  the  progress  of  educational  work. 
My  building  operations  and  frequent  journeys  had  prevented  my 
attempting  anything  in  that  line,  except  informal  efforts  in  even- 
ings. But,  as  my  sister  gave  her  whole  time  to  that  one  work, 
her  pupils  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  they  were  daily 
growing  in  knowledge. 

On  a  visit  to  my  friend  Wombeni  at  Ajumba,  on  November 
21,  I  brought  back  a  little  girl  Awora.  sister  of  Ogula,  as  a 
nucleus  of  a  girls'  school. 

JOURNEY  TO  BELAMBLA. 

As  sister  wished  to  see  Belambla,  the  site  of  so  many  of  my 
hopes  and  of  much  of  my  disappointments.  1  took  her,  on  Novem- 
ber 28,  on  an  excursion  thither,  which,  while,  like  all  my  jour- 
neys, would  have  a  religious  object.  I  intended  to  make  attractive 
to  her  as  an  outing.  It  was  a  favorable  part  of  the  season, 
whose  rains  were  become  less  frequent.  Our  meal  in  the 
forest  was  made  picnic-like.  And,  on  the  stop  for  the  night  at 
Anyambe-jena's,  she  was  given  his  largest  hut.  She  was  a  great 
object  for  the  curiosity  of  the  people.  So  great  that  they  could 
not  keep  quiet  at  services  that  evening  nor  next  morning.  On 
the  way  to  Belambla  was  met  a  Moating  corpse.  'The  sight,  not 
rare  to  me,  was  a  shock  to  her.  I  knew  that  in  some  parts  of 
the  river,  the  dead,  if  with  but  few  relatives,  and  especially 
slaves,  were  not  buried,  but  cast  into  the  river.  Arrived  at  Be- 
lambla. my  friend  Disingwe  welcomed  me;  and  women,  of 
course,  came  to  see  the  white  woman.  Her  taste  suggested  im- 
provements ;  and  we  spent  the  next  day  in  digging  up  stumps, 
and  in  planing  some  boards  for  the  porch  of  the  house  that  had 
not  been  entirely  completed  at  the  time  of  the  robbery.  Now 
that  1  was  away  from  the  place,  and  had  no  need  for  retaining 
its  extensive  premises,  it  was  unavoidable  that  people  would 
come  to  occupy  parts  of  it.  I  heard  that  the  man  Walinja,  of 
whom  I  did  not  approve,  was  about  to  settle  on  a  certain  part.  If 
1  could  not  prevent  the  land  being  occupied.  T  wished  at  least  to 
choose  who  the  settler  should  be.  T  called  Disingwe,  and  gave 
him  permission,  and  forbade  Walinja.  (The  latter,  however 
chose  another  spot,  also  on  the  premises;  and  there  was  no  au- 
thority to  whom  to  appeal  to  prevent  him.)  The  excursion 
proved  too  much    for  my  sister's  strength.     When   we  reached 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  235 

Kangwe  on  December  1,  she  had  a  headache  too  bad  for  her 
to  walk  up  its  steep  side;  and  was  carried  in  a  hammock. 

The  desire  for  education  had  so  grown,  that  all  the  employees 
were  on  half -day  work,  the  other  half  being  spent  in  school,,  ex- 
cepting by  two  who  were  assistants  to  my  carpenters  Ingumu 
and  Metyeba  (who,  of  course,  I  kept  busy  all  day).  All  this 
was  very  gratifying  to  me.  The  only  lazy  and  troublesome  one 
was  Mbara. 

So  helpful  was  the  companionship  of  my  sister,  that  I  began 
to  neglect  to  make  daily  entries  in  my  diary.  When  formerly  I 
had  been  alone,  it  was  a  companion  to  me. 

It  was  strange  that,  neglectful  as  the  people  were  of  cases  of 
smallpox,  the  disease  was  not  more  prevalent.  Going  with  sis- 
ter on  December  8,  on  my  Saturday  visitation,  to  Atangina,  I 
found  a  man,  a  guest  from  the  interior  Okanda  tribe,  lying  in  the 
public  street  sick,  covered  with  the  eruption. 

I  had  often  maintained  that  any  painting'  should  be  so  realistic 
that  one  could  know  what  it  represented,  even  if  the  title  was  not 
written  on  it.  I  had  an  interesting  test  on  this  subject.  A  pic- 
ture was  sent  me  from  the  United  States,  entitled,  "  The  Forced 
Prayer."  A  child  was  kneeling  by  his  parent,  in  the  attitude  of 
prayer,  but  his  face  was  unhappy.  I  showed  the  picture  to  sev- 
eral of  the  school.  As  they  could  not  read  English,  the  printed 
title  did  not  inform  them,  and  I  asked  them  what  they  thought 
the  picture  represented.  They  promptly  said  that  the  child  was 
praying.  "  But,"  I  said,  "  look  closely  at  the  boy ;  are  you  sure 
he  is  praying?  "  "  Yes,"  they  said,  "  but,  he  does  not  wish  to." 
I  was  exceedingly  pleased.  Those  lads  had  no  education  as 
"  artists  " ;  but,  they  understood  nature.  I  considered  their 
judgment  quite  a  compliment  to  the  author  of  the  picture. 

JOURNEY  TO   BELAMBLA. 

I  was  making  preparations  for  the  semi-annual  journey,  by 
boat,  to  Gaboon,  for  the  meetings  of  mission  and  presbytery. 
Previous  to  that,  however,  I  was  to  go  to  Belambla  on  December 
21,  to  see  that  it  would  be  all  safe  during  my  long  absence  at  the 
coast.  The  boat- journey  up-river  was  pleasant.  But,  the  visit 
was  made  very  uncomfortable  by  finding  that  the  man  Walinja 
had  taken  part  of  the  premises,  and  built  his  village  there. 
Three  men.  my  professed  friends,  Jongane,  Disingwe,  and 
Ondene,  to  whom  I  appealed  as  authorities  to  compel  him  to 
leave,  only  weakly  upheld  me.     I  believed  that,  like  Kasa,  they 


236  MY  OGOWE 

were  deceiving  me.  I  felt  more  than  ever  justified  in  having 
left  the  Bakele.  as  an  unworthy  people;  and  intimated  to  them, 
that,  as  I  had  gone  away  because  of  their  stealing  my  goods,  if 
they  continued  to  steal  my  land,  1  might  remove  even  my  house. 

1  did  not  feel  at  all  like  "  Christmas."  on  December  25,  and, 
with  very  little  satisfaction,  left  the  few  people  who  came  to  say 
good-by.  I  hasted  down-river  to  meet  the  Pioneer,  which,  on  the 
way.  I  heard  was  at  Aguma.  Arrived  there,  T  found  that  Mr. 
Sinclair,  who  had  been  in  charge  of  the  Aguma  house  when  I 
first  entered  the  river  in  1874,  and  who  had  been  on  his  fur- 
lough in  Scotland,  had  returned,  again  in  charge.  I  was  kindly 
invited  to  remain  for  evening  dinner,  with  the  other  white  men 
who  had  gathered  to  welcome  Mr.  Sinclair,  but,  I  hasted  to 
Kangwe  to  reach  my  mail,  which  had  already  been  sent  thither. 

Everything  was  in  good  order;  and  Metyeba  had  done  well 
bis  carpenter  work  on  the  porch.  My  expectation  had  been  to 
go  by  boat  to  the  mouth  of  the  river;  and,  as  usual,  the  Hudson 
had  been  notified  to  meet  me  there  on  a  certain  date.  But,  the 
unexpected  coming  of  the  Pioneer  gave  a  safe  and  quicker  route 
for  my  sister.  So.  the  next  day.  T  hurried  with  the  monthly  pay- 
ments to  my  people,  and  arrangements  for  care  of  the  premises 
during  my  absence,  and  packing  of  boxes,  etc..  of  our  luggage. 
And.  on  Thursday.  December  27.  we  all  were  up  early,  going 
rapidly  with  the  loaded  boat  to  Aguma  so  as  not  to  detain  the 
Pioneer,  at  whatever  hour  she  would  be  ready. 

JOURNEY  TO  GABOON  BY  "  PIONEER." 

The  journey  down-river  by  steamer  was  certainly  more  com- 
fortable, as  well  as  more  rapid,  than  by  boat.  We  were  pleas- 
antly hailed  as  we  passed  various  villages.  Ginigo,  and  Xgnmbe; 
and  anchored  for  the  night  near  Oriwa-ombe's.  The  village  street 
was  under  water;  for.  the  river  was  higher  than  it  had  been 
known  for  four  years.  That  day,  as  we  were  passing  Igenja, 
the  captain  had  kindly  slowed  to  take  on  board  three  of  my  people 
who  bad  been  awaiting  me  there,  as  a  crew:  for.  I  had  my  boat 
in  tow.  to  be  left  at  the  river  mouth,  for  my  return. 

As  the  steamer  stopped  at  Angala  for  wood,  my  sister  went 
ashore,  to  see  the  place.  That  night,  we  anchored  at  sea,  some 
ten  miles  from  the  river  mouth. 

Xext  morning,  we  saw  the  Hudson,  at  anchor,  far  ahead. 
The  captain  steamed  toward  her;  and  I  called  to  Mr.  Menkel,  to 
turn  back  to  Libreville.  We  arrived  there  that  Saturday  after- 
noon: and,  on  going  to  Baraka.  were  met  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Bush- 


OX  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  237 

nell,  De  Heer,  and  Murphy,  and  a  Mr.  Jackson.  Mr.  Murphy 
had  been  my  successor  in  1871  at  Benita;  had  returned  to  the 
United  States,  and  resigned  from  the  Mission  in  1874.  And, 
now,  for  a  special  emergency  that  Dr.  Bushnell  might  take  a  fur- 
lough, had  offered  to  come  back  to  the  Mission  on  a  two  years' 
contract,  at  Gaboon  station.  Mr.  Jackson  was  from  Detroit, 
sent  as  American  consul,  to  the  Kongo. 

The  opening  session  of  mission  meeting  was  held  on  Mon- 
day, December  31.  In  the  afternoon,  I  went  to  the  Plateau,  to 
ask  the  French  doctor  for  treatment  of  an  ulcer  on  my  leg  that 
had  remained  unhealed  for  many  weeks. 

The  New  Year's  Day  of  1878  was  not  a  happy  one;  for,  I 
was  sitting,  nursing  my  leg.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  the  French 
commandant,  accompanied  by  the  doctor,  came  to  pay  a  call  of 
official  courtesy  on  our  Mission. 

January  2,  was  an  exciting  day.  The  man  Schorsch,  who,  in 
1875  nad  been  recalled  by  the  Board  from  membership  in  our 
Mission,  had  gone  to  the  United  States.  There,  he  had  aroused 
sympathy  among  some  friends  of  missions.  He  was  only  a 
mono-maniac:  sane  on  all  topics  except  that  of  his  ownership  of 
the  African  mission.  His  assumed  extreme  humility,  and  his 
tale  of  "  wrongs  "  (  ?)  to  which  he  had  been  subjected  by  his 
mission  associates,  had  induced  those  unwise  sympathisers  to  send 
him  back  to  Africa,  as  an  independent  missionary!  He  was 
now  in  Libreville.  In  our  meeting,  we  discussed  what  we 
should  do  to  keep  him  from  us.  as  we  heard  that  he  was  already 
making  his  crazy  claims.  We  drew  up  a  petition  to  the  French 
commandant,  asking  for  his  interference  against  Schorsch's  mak- 
ing attempts  to  come  on  our  premises.  While  we  were  thus 
consulting.  Schorsch  came  to  the  front  door.  I  objected  to 
his  entering :  but,  he  forced  his  way  in.  I  had  the  most  reasons 
in  objecting:  for,  my  sister  at  Benita.  and  myself  in  the  Ogowe 
were  the  two  members  of  the  Mission  who  had  suffered  most 
from  him.  He  went  away.  And  then  sent  up  to  the  house,  a 
portion  of  his  baggage,  which  I  ordered  the  bearer  not  to  bring 
into  the  house.  Presently,  two  more  carriers  came  with 
another  box :  which  also  I  ordered  them  not  to  place  in  the 
house,  but  to  take  back  to  Schorsch.  who  was  staying  at  Mr. 
Wolber's.  the  agent  of  the  German  house.  Presently,  Schorsch 
himself  again  came,  and  demanded  why  I  so  ordered.  I  told 
him  that  he  had  no  right  in  our  Mission,  to  house,  or  bed.  or 
board.  He  shook  his  fist  in  my  face,  and  said  that  he  had 
more  right  than  I ;  that  he  was  moderator  of  presbytery,  and 


238  MY  OGOW'E 

would  show  me  his  power.  (This  was  his  crazy  idea;  he  had  no 
office  nor  any  connection  with  the  Mission,  though  still,  formally, 
a  member  of  presbytery.)  He  then  ordered  his  carriers  to  bring 
his  box  into  the  house.  I  called  to  Mr.  Murphy  for  assistance, 
who  threatened  the  men  with  the  police  if  they  attempted  to 
enter.  So.  Schorsch  and  his  men  left.  The  men  returned  to 
Mr.  Wolber's ;  but  Schorsch  went  to  Dr.  BushnelFs.  where  Mr. 
Murphy  followed,  and  ordered  him  to  leave  the'  premises.  He 
left.  In  the  afternoon,  Messrs.  Bushnell,  De  Heer,  Murphy  and 
I  all  went  to  the  Plateau,  and  presented  our  petition  to  the  com- 
mandant, who  assured  us  that  Mr.  Schorsch  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  come  on  our  premises.  The  next  day,  Schorsch  sent  us 
a  letter  containing  a  copy  of  the  prohibition  which  the  comman- 
dant had  sent  to  him,  and  asked  us  to  reconsider  it.  He  de- 
nounced our  petition,  and  threatened  us  with  personal  injury  if 
we  did  not  yield.  We  returned  his  letter  without  a  reply.  Tn 
the  evening,  the  commandant  came,  and  showed  to  us  an  insult- 
ing letter  he  had  received  from  Schorsch.  He  said  that  if  Mr. 
Schorsch  persisted  in  his  strange  conduct,  lie  would  have  him  ar- 
rested and  deported. 

On  January  5,  I  had  my  photograph  taken  by  a  Sierra  Leone 
native,  Joaque.  Mr.  Schorsch  had  attempted  to  go  to  Corisco, 
in  Mr.  De  Heer's  boat. 

On  Sunday,  the  nth,  T  was  sick  in  bed.  unable  to  rise.  I  had 
promised  to  assist  Dr.  Bushnell  in  the  church  services.  There 
was  Communion  in  the  afternoon  ;  but,  T  could  not  attend.  T 
felt  better  in  the  evening,  and  was  able  to  sit  up.  Mr.  Jackson 
sat  with  me.  My  special  interest  went  out  to  him,  as  he  was  not 
a  Christian.  The  household  were  very  attentive  to  my  needs: 
one  of  the  larger  schoolgirls.  Xjivo  by  name,  was  particularly 
so.  1  mention  her  especially:  for  she  appeared  very  often  in 
my  Ogowe  life.  She  was  a  Christian,  educated,  a  lady,  most 
attractive  as  a  companion,  and  devoted  as  a  friend. 

Monday.  January  7,  was  a  day  of  confusion.  There  was 
haste  in  getting  my  sister  ready  to  go  next  day  on  the  Hudson 
to  Benita  for  the  remainder  of  her  goods.  A  meeting  of  the 
presbytery  was  held  in  the  evening.  Rev.  Mr.  Murphy  was  re- 
ceived: and  the  name  of  Mr.  Schorsch  was  dropped.  Sister's 
pupil,  Frank  S.  Myongo.  was  examined  and  licensed.  The 
ceremony  was  very  interesting.  Sister  was  very  much  gratified. 
But.  the  excitement  wearied  her:  for.  she  had  not  been  well  since 
her  sickness   at    Kangwe.      Sick  as   she  was  next   dav.  she  was 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  239 

carried  to  the  beach,  and  was  placed  on  the  Hudson,  in  company 
with  twelve  of  the  Kombe  young  men. 

Meetings  of  presbytery  and  mission  continued.  Elder  Ito- 
ngolo,  though  he  was  my  especial  protege,  had  been  so  influenced 
by  Mr.  Schorsch's  excessive  protestations  of  affection  and  his 
pleadings  that  he  "  was  the  only  missionary  who  loved  his  Afri- 
can brothers,"  that  he  changed  his  vote  on  the  question  of 
dropping  the  name  of  Mr.  Schorsch.  Even  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya  had 
had  his  sympathies  appealed  to,  and  was  on  the  point  of  changing 
his  vote,  but  did  not.  [Later  on.  Mr.  Ibiya,  at  his  own  table,  on 
Corisco,  had  to  defend  himself  from  assault  by  Mr.  Schorsch, 
who  attacked  him  with  a  knife.]  The  doctor  had  to  come  to 
examine  my  leg  again,  and  changed  his  treatment,  tying  a  thin 
sheet  of  lead  over  the  ulcer. 

On  the  9th.  presbytery  adjourned.  As  stated  clerk.  I  had 
much  writing  of  minutes. 

On  evening  of  the  10th,  I  was  able  to  conduct  the  service 
of  the  day  of  the  week  of  prayer.  Subject,  "  Prayer  for  Govern- 
ments." I  spent  the  evening  with  my  friend  Mr.  Murphy.  We 
prayed  for  our  children  in  the  United  States. 

Xext  day,  the  doctor  was  again  sent  for  about  my  leg.  The 
examination  was  unsatisfactory,  as  we  could  not  understand 
each  other.  Afterward,  when  I  wrote  a  note  by  him  to  Mr. 
Jobet,  agent  of  H.  &  C.  (who  was  a  Frenchman,  but  who  knew 
English  well)  asking  him  to  explain  to  the  doctor,  the  latter 
did  not  understand  what  I  wanted  to  have  explained. 

On  the  evening  of  the  next  day.  Miss  Dewsnap  was  taken 
very  ill  with  fever;  we  feared  it  might  be  fatal.  I  watched  with 
her  in  the  evening:  and  Mrs.  Bushnell  arranged  with  the  native 
schoolmatron  to  stay  with  her  all  night. 

On  Sunday,  January  13,  the  doctor  came  early  to  see  Miss 
Dewsnap,  whose  symptoms  were  bad.  His  treatment  had  not 
much  helped  my  ulcerated  leg,  which  was  painful  when  I  walked. 
Dr.  Bushnell  always  shared  the  Baraka  pulpit  with  any  minis- 
terial visitor.  I  preached  (in  English)  in  the  morning,  from 
Judges  5,  23,  "  Curse  ye  Meroz."  There  were  at  least  ten 
white  men  present,  from  the  trading-houses.  Afterward,  I  en- 
joyed singing  with  Mr.  Murphy.  In  the  afternoon,  I  attended 
Sunday  school,  to  teach  Miss  Dewsnap's  class.  Later,  had  more 
music,  singing  with  Mr.  Murphy  and  Consul  Jackson.  Mr. 
Murphy  preached  in  the  evening.  Received  word  on  January 
1;.  that  the  commandant  will  not  allow  Mr.  Schorsch  (who  had 


24o  MY  OGOWE 

gone  to  either  Corisco  or  Elobi)  to  land  in  Libreville,  if  he 
should  attempt  to  return.  Consul  Jackson  was  away  all  day, 
hunting. 

Early  on  the  17th,  a  mail-steamer  was  seen  entering  the 
estuary.  From  Baraka  hill,  vessels  could  be  seen  at  an  hour's 
distance ;  and  thus  we  always  had  time  to  prepare  for  them. 
After  breakfast.  Messrs.  Bushnell,  Murphy,  Jackson  and  I  all 
went  off  in  two  boats  to  the  steamer ;  for,  we  were  expecting 
a  number  of  arrivals  and  their  baggage.  On  the  vessel  were 
two  returning  missionaries,  Mrs.  Jane  Lush  Smith  and  Miss 
Lydia  Jones,  and  Miss  L.  B.  Walker,  a  new  recruit.  There  were 
also  two  visitors.  Rev.  Messrs.  Comber  and  Grenfell,  of  the 
English  Baptist  Mission  at  Kamerun.  The  day  was  felt  to  be 
a  happy  one  for  the  Mission. 

Next  day.  the  18th,  I  was  helping  those  ladies  in  opening  their 
boxes ;  and  in  writing  letters.  In  the  evening,  the  Hudson  re- 
turned from  Benita,  with  good  news  from  my  sister. 

The  next  day,  I  assisted  Mrs.  Smith  in  her  arrangements ; 
and,  in  company  with  Mr.  Murphy,  visited  Miss  Dewsnap's  sick- 
room;  she  was  recovering.  Had  a  long  talk  with  Miss  Jones, 
about  Benita  affairs.  Consul  Jackson  was  still  waiting  for  a 
steamer  going  as  far  south  as  the  Kongo. 

On  Sunday  the  20th.  T  preached  in  the  morning.  Mrs.  Smith 
made  a  pleasant  innovation,  viz..  of  placing  flowers  on  the  pulpit 
in  two  vases  which  she  had  brought  from  the  United  States. 
Sang  with  the  ladies  in  the  afternoon.  Miss  Walker  sang  well. 
Mr.  Murphy  preached  in  the  evening.  Xext  day.  the  Hudson 
was  gotten  read}-  to  return  with  Miss  Dewsnap  for  her  work  at 
Benita :  and.  she  sailed  in  the  late  afternoon. 

The  Pioneer,  for  whose  arrival  T  had  been  anxiously  waiting, 
in  order  to  return  to  my  Ogowc  work,  entered  the  estuary,  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  jjd.  The  commandant,  doctor,  and  a 
lieutenant  came  to  call  on  the  ladies:  who  gave  them  a  treat, 
rare  in  our  part  of  Africa,  of  candy,  walnuts,  and  chestnuts, 
which  Miss  Jones  had  brought  from  the  United  States. 

On  the  23d.  T  was  busy  getting  together  my  last  things  from 
the  storehouse:  packing;  and  closing  letters.  In  Libreville  was 
living  an  American  negro  woman,  who  had  married,  in  the 
United  States,  a  certain  educated  Mpongwe  man.  "  Boardman." 
whom  Dr.  Bushnell  had  taken  with  him.  as  assistant  in  trans- 
lations, on  one  of  his  furloughs.  Boardman  belonged  to  a 
prominent  native  family.  An  American  reporter  got  hold  of 
him,  and  wrote  an  account  of  the  marriage,  under  the  heading. 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  241 

"  Prince  and  Peasant."  When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boardman  re- 
turned to  Africa,  they  carried  themselves  in  "  princely  "  style. 
Their  two  children,  Augustus  and  Mary,  as  they  grew  up,  came 
to  school ;  but  were  not  allowed,  by  their  mother,  to  do  any  work. 
Augustus  had  grown  to  be  a  tall,  handsome,  polite,  and  very  in- 
telligent young  man.  I  wished  to  employ  him  in  the  Ogowe, 
as  assistant  in  translating;  and  he  consented  to  go.  But,  on. the 
last  day,  he  wrote  me  a  note  saying  that  his  mother  refused  to 
allow  him  to  go,  unless  I  permitted  him  to  take  with  him  a  per- 
sonal slave-servant  to  do  his  laundry  and  to  wait  on  him  in 
other  ways  as  his  valet !  For  years,  I  had  had  no  such  serv- 
ant to  wait  on  me.  Of  course,  I  did  not  avail  myself  of  "  Mr." 
Boardman's  services.  Mr.  Murphy  suddenly  decided  to  visit 
the  Ogowe,  and  examine  my  work.  I  was  very  glad  of  his  com- 
pany; and,  we  boarded  the  Pioneer  early  in  the  morning  of  the 
24th.  On  the  25th,  the  vessel  was  in  Nazareth  Bay.  And, 
by  8  p.  m.,  we  had  reached  Angala.  There  the  next  day  we  were 
to  take  on  firewood.  As  the  Pioneer  was  short  of  hands,  I  was 
pleased  to  send  my  crew  to  assist,  especially  as,  at  that  time,  the 
river  boats  of  both  firms,  English  and  German,  gave  me  free 
transportation.  Old  King  Esongi  came  on  board  with  much 
dignity  to  get  his  pay  for  the  firewood.  With  him  came  one  of 
his  women  to  see  me,  and  presented  me  with  two  beautifully 
ornamented  pandanus-leaf  mats.  Constantly,  in  my  station 
and  out-station  building,  I  took  with  me  seeds  of  plants  or 
young  fruit-trees  for  propagation.  I  could  induce  few  of  the  na- 
tives to  plant  for  themselves.  They  thought  of  the  years  be- 
fore the  tree  would  fruit,  and  they  knew  how  prone  their  people 
were  to  abandon  a  village  site  and  make  a  new  one,  on  the  plea 
that  the  former  one  was  infested  with  evil  spirits.  They  would 
say  to  me,  "Will  I  be  here  to  eat  the  fruit?"  But,  they  did 
not  object  to  my  planting  for  them.  [Much  of  the  fruit  now 
growing  in  the  Ogowe,  is  of  my  planting.]  Esongi  saw  some 
young  Avocado  pear-trees  which  I  was  taking  to  plant  at 
Kangwe,  and  he  begged  for  even  one ;  which  I  was  glad  to  give. 
Took  in  tow,  my  Nelly-Howard  which  T  had  left  in  Esongi's 
care,  in  the  previous  December.  Passed  ftombi  and  Nango;  and 
at  night  anchored  a  long  distance  below  Olende  Island. 

The  next  night,  Sunday,  anchored  at  Ashuka.  From  there, 
I  sent  three  of  my  people  ahead  in  a  canoe,  to  Igenja,  to  bring 
three  others  of  my  employees ;  for,  the  steamer  would  not  be 
stopping  at  Igenja. 

However,    in    passing   that    place    next    day.    Ombya-ogwana 


242  ■  MY  OGOWE 

came  alongside  in  his  canoe,  to  sell  provisions.  But  the  cap- 
tain would  not  allow  him  to  come  on  hoard,  because,  on  a  former 
voyage  of  the  Pioneer,  when  he  was  pilot,  he  had  deserted. 
A  new  Igenja  young  man.  Re-Xguwa,  ran  alongside  with  his 
canoe,  boarded,  and  joined  my  service.  Ry  night,  we  had  al- 
most reached  our  journey's  end.  And.  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  29th.  we  were  at  anchor  at  Aguma.  and  were  welcomed 
by  Messrs.  Sinclair,  Travis,  and  Woodward.  At  Kangwe,  the 
Kombe  man,  Ingumu,  whom  T  had  left  in  charge,  had  done  well. 
[  found  most  things  in  good  order,  on  my  making  a  long  in- 
spection of  the  entire  premises. 

TO  BELAMBLA. 

Tired  as  I  was,  I  went  the  next  day,  January  30,  to  Belambla, 
to  show  it  to  Mr.  Murphy.  There  was  need  of  haste,  in  order 
that  he  might  return  to  Libreville  by  the  Pioneer.  I  increased 
my  weariness  by  attempting  too  much.  On  all  my  journeys  dur- 
ing my  whole  African  life.  I  had  no  native  employee,  however 
good,  on  whom  I  could  depend  (as  on  a  hotel  porter,  in  civiliza- 
tion), if  the  start  had  to  be  made  at  a  very  early  hour.  When 
the  travel  depended  on  only  myself.  I  did  not  make  early  starts. 
But,  in  this  case,  the  movements  of  the  Pioneer  governed  me. 
Wishing  to  start  at  5.30  a.  m.  meant  being  awake  and  pre- 
paring the  boat  by  4.30  a.  m.  And,  fearing  that  T  would  over- 
sleep myself.  T  slept  so  little  that  T  was  constantly  awaking.  Tt 
was  a  poor  preparation  for  the  labors  of  that  day.  We  were  at 
Aguma  by  5.30  a.m.:  and  there  waited  until  9  a.m.  to  1>e 
towed  by  the  Pioneer  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Xgunye. 
up  which  she  was  going,  while  we  passed  on  toward  Be- 
lambla. stopping  for  the  night  at  Mvangane's  village.  We 
took  Belambla  by  surprise  the  next  morning,  the  31st.  The 
grounds  were  not  in  as  good  order,  under  the  two  Galwa 
young  men,  as  they  had  been  when  in  the  care  of  Ml>ora  or 
Kongolo.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Murphy  was  pleased  with  the 
place,  and  had  no  criticism  on  my  original  selection  of  it.  But, 
Walinja  was  still  holding  possession  of  the  portion  of  the 
premises  he  had  stolen.  And.  the  next  day.  Friday.  February 
1.  just  before  leaving.  \  had  another  unsatisfactory  talk  on  that 
subject  with  Ondene  and  others.  Instead  of  returning  directly 
to  Kangwe.  T  kept  on  down  the  left  bank  of  the  river  to  Inenga, 
in  order  that  Mr.  Murphy  might  see  King  Ra-Xoki :  by  whom 
we  were  well  received. 

The  next  dav,   Saturday  the  2d.  besides  its  being  pay-day.  T 


OX  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  243 

was  busy  writing  letters.  And,  late  in  the  afternoon,  I  took 
them  and  Mr.  Murphy  to  Aguma,  where  the  Pioneer  had  re- 
turned from  the  Xgunye.  We  were  entertained  at  the  evening 
dinner.  And,  leaving  my  friend  there  for  the  night,  as  a  passen- 
ger on  the  steamer  that  was  to  start  early  next  morning,  I  re- 
turned to  Kangwe.  At  my  boat-landing  there  were  such  enor- 
mous numbers  of  driver-ants,  that  it  was  impossible  to  stand 
among  them,  and  drag  the  boat,  as  usual,  into  its  shed.  We 
could  only  tie  the  chain  to  a  post,  leaving  the  boat  to  injury  by 
possible  waves  of  a  storm,  and  rush  away  in  agony,  our  legs 
covered  with  the  biting  insects.  I  fully  enjoyed  the  Sunday 
rest  of  the  next  day.  February  3,  after  my  work  of  rush  and 
excitement.  It  would  not  have  been  a  wonder  had  I  had  an  at- 
tack of  fever. 

On  Monday  the  4th.  I  had  a  regular  house-cleaning,  beating 
and  sweeping  the  bamboo  walls,  to  have  them  ready  whenever 
my  sister  should  return.  I  planted  orange  trees.  [They  are 
growing  there  to-day.]  Re-Xkombe  made  me  an  official  visit. 
Desirous  that  the  school  should  be  continued  in  some  form, 
even  during  my  absence.  I  set  Ingumu  as  teacher  in  the  half-day 
afternoon.  For,  his  work,  as  carpenter,  was  sufficient  in  the 
mornings,  the  house  being  now  practically  completed.  It  was 
a  neat,  comfortable,  and  very  strong  dwelling,  32  feet  by  22 
feet,  elevated  on  posts  from  dampness  and  white  ants ;  of  bam- 
boo walls,  but  with  a  board  floor  and  ceiling,  making  a  heighth 
of  a  story-and-a-half. 

My  new  little  cook  attempted  bread-making,  and  failed.  But. 
the  next  flay,  he  succeeded.  My  friend.  Mr.  \\  ni.  Patten,  of 
Philadelphia,  had  sent  me  a  stereoscope,  into  which  the  house- 
hold enjoyed  looking,  of  evenings. 

On  February  7,  came  a  note  from  Mr.  Woodward  about  a 
young  gorilla,  on  which  I  was  supposed  to  have  a  claim.  T  went 
to  him.  and  helped  him  set  the  animal's  broken  arm.  [Later, 
that  gorilla  died  ;  Mr.  Woodward  gave  it  to  me  ;  and,  placing  it  in 
a  cask  of  rum,  for  preservation.  I  sent  it  to  my  friend  Thos.  G. 
Morton.  M.D..  of  Philadelphia,  who  placed  it  in  the  Academy 
of  Xatural  Sciences;  the  first  entire  carcass  of  a  gorilla  that 
had  been  sent  to  the  Lnited  States.]  I  went  to  Otanga  (the 
German  house)  where  had  arrived  their  large  steamer  Mpongzvc. 
There  was  there  a  chimpanzee,  "  Antoine,"  so  domesticated,  and 
so  devoted  to  its  white  master,  that  when  one  playfully  attempted 
to  strike  that  master,  the  animal  would  cry  out  in  protest,  and 
would  rush  to  his  defense.    A  small  mail  had  been  brought  by  the 


244  MY  OGOWE 

Mpongzve.  But,  it  had  good  news  from  my  friend  Mrs.  Patten, 
of  the  progress  in  his  studies  of  my  son  Charles  who  was  under 
her  care. 

When  I  went  on  Saturday  the  9th,  to  my  weekly,  town  preach- 
ing, I  chose  an  Akele  village  of  a  man  Ijuke-jame.  Almost  all 
the  men  were  away;  and,  the  women  objected  to  my  landing; 
they  "  feared  war."  It  was  a  very  unusual  reception.  The  ig- 
norance of  the  Bakele  people  was  exceptionally  great.  I  do  not 
know  what  "  war  "  they  feared ;  for,  my  own  mission  was  al- 
ways of  peace. 

On  Sunday,  February  10,  I  was  annoyed,  hearing  the  cutting 
of  trees  on  the  Nkami  side  of  the  Hill.  I  dreaded  lest  the  old 
contests  for  protection  of  premises  that  had  marred  my  Belambla 
life,  were  to  be  repeated  at  Kangwe.  I  was  told  that  the  of- 
fenders were  Fafiwe.  I  sent  word  for  them  to  depart.  Prob- 
ably my  messengers  made  my  words  very  strong.  The  leader 
of  those  Fanwe  came  to  say  that  they  feared  I  would  "  make 
war"  on  them.  I  sent  for  them:  they  came;  we  had  a  "talk"; 
they  remained  to  services :  and,  afterward  I  showed  them  pic- 
tures. At  noon,  Mamba,  one  of  my  nine  inquirers,  came  to  ask 
how  soon  he  might  be  baptized.  I  was  so  glad !  While  the 
nine  had  said  that  they  wished  to  become  Christians,  Mamba 
was  the  first  one.  during  those  three-and-a-half  years  in  the 
Ogowe.  to  ask  for  baptism.  Unlike  the  Roman  Catholic  priests, 
who  urged  baptism  on  to  utterly  ignorant  heathen,  I  never 
asked  my  inquirers  to  accept  the  rite.  When  they  were  ready 
for  it.  themselves  would  ask.  Also.  Agonjo-amwenge  came  to 
enroll  himself  as  an  inquirer.  As  a  matter  of  history.  I  might 
have  organized  a  church  at  that  very  time,  instead  of  waiting  a 
year  longer.  In  the  Kamerun  portion  of  the  Mission,  in  later 
years,  missionaries  in  the  Interior,  as  soon  as  they  gathered  a 
few  inquirers,  have  baptized  them  on  their  own  authority,  and 
erected  them  into  a  church,  whose  existence  they  then  reported  to 
the  presbytery,  taking  no  notice  of  the  fact  of  there  being  a 
church  already  organized  within  too  miles  of  them.  Rut.  1 
thought  it  a  more  correct  ecclesiastical  practice  to  regard  Dr. 
Rushnell  as  the  "  bishop  "  of  the  entire  Gaboon  region,  and  that 
my  inquirers  were  a  part  of  his  parish.  I  took  them  to  the 
seaside:  and  they  were  there  baptized  into  the  membership  of 
the  Benita  or  Gaboon  church  (as  the  case  might  be).  And, 
subsequently,  when  there  was  some  half-dozen  of  them,  the 
organization  of  the  first  Ogowe  church  was  authorized,  on 
formal  application  to  presbytery,  and  these  brought  their  letters 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  245 

of  dismissal  to  the  new  church.  As  had  been  done  in  the  case 
of  the  Benita,  Bata,  and  Batanga  churches  from  the  original 
mother  Corisco  church. 

Though  the  bounds  of  the  Kangwe  premises  had  been  hastily 
gone  over  with  Re-Nkombe,  at  the  time  of  the  original  purchase 
in  the  fall  of  1876,  they  had  never  been  definitely  marked  and 
mapped.  So,  though  feeling  very  weak  from  some  chills  and 
an  uncomfortable  night,  I  started  out  on  the  nth  with  four 
attendants  and  a  compass.  I  began  at  a  deserted  Akele  village 
by  the  mouth  of  Andende  Creek,  and  hence  made  an  experimental 
line  with  a  long  curve  of  an  ellipse,  back  of  the  Hill,  emerging 
again  on  the  Ogowe,  at  a  large  cotton  wood  tree  just  opposite 
Atangina.  On  the  way,  passed  abundance  of  oil-palm  trees, 
whose  ripe  nuts  had  evidently  been  recently  eaten  by  some  wild 
animal;  saw  the  lair  of  a  gorilla;  and  met  some  Fanwe,  whose 
village  bordered  on  the  line.  In  their  village,  there  was  mourn- 
ing for  a  woman  who  had  recently  died.  The  head-man  of  the 
village,  to  save  me  the  long  walk  back,  kindly  sent  me  to  my 
landing  in  canoe. 

The  next  day  I  went  over  the  line  again,  to  definitely  mark 
trees.  And  the  following  day.  I  sent  the  workmen  to  cut  a 
path  all  along  the  line,  so  that  all  persons,  seeing  the  path,  might 
know  where  the  Mission  property  began. 

The  ulcer  on  my  leg,  from  which  I  had  suffered  for  months, 
and  which  had  derived  very  little  benefit  from  the  prescription 
of  the  French  doctor  at  Libreville,  was  improving  under  the  use 
of  a  patent  medicine  given  me  by  Mr.  Sinclair.  I  had  em- 
ployed friend  Azaze,  down-river  at  Nandipo,  to  hunt  me  a 
gorilla.  I  wished  to  send  the  skeleton  to  my  friend  Thos.  G. 
Morton,  M.D.,  of  Philadelphia.  On  the  22d,  came  three  men 
from  Azaze,  with  the  skin  and  almost  complete  skeleton  of  an 
adult  male  gorilla.  I  paid  them  $5.30  for  the  lot,  and  subse- 
quently sent  the  skin  and  bones  to  Dr.  Morton,  who  presented 
them  to  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Natural  Science. 

The  next  day,  Mr.  Woodward's  little  male  gorilla  died ;  and 
he  gave  it  to  me  to  add  to  my  collection  for  Dr.  Morton.  My 
kindness  was  often  imposed  on  by  employees  asking  leave  of 
absence,  even  at  times  when  work  was  very  pressing.  The  al- 
most invariable  excuse  was  that  they  had  to  go  to  visit  a  sick 
relative.  The  news  of  the  sickness  often  was  shouted  by  a 
passing  canoe;  sometimes  was  false:  generally,  the  "sickness" 
was  an  unimportant  one.  But,  in  native  superstition,  the  one 
who  fails  promptly  to  go  to  the  sick  bedside  of  a  relative,  lays 


246  MY  OGOWE 

himself  open  to  a  charge  of  being  the  one  who  lias,  by  witch- 
craft, caused  the  sickness.  All  go  therefore  to  the  village  of 
the  sick  one,  to  demonstrate  by  their  presence  their  innocence. 
Sometimes,  I  felt  that  the  "  case  of  sickness  "  was  only  a  manu- 
factured excuse  to  get  away  from  work,  (like  the  American 
clerk  wrho  covers  his  desire  to  go  to  a  ball  game  by  a  plea  for 
his  grandmother's  funeral). 

Children,  in  their  desire  for  school,  sometimes  came  to  live 
on  my  premises.  Later,  some  parent  or  other  authority  would 
come  and  forcibly  remove  them.  Such  scenes  were  trying  to  me. 
I  pitied  the  children ;  but,  I  had  to  recognize  parental  authority, 
even  though  I  knew  that  the  parent  took  the  child  for  some  work 
at  his  home.  So  I  caused  it  to  be  known  that  no  child  would 
be  received  into  the  school  who  was  not  formally  and  personally 
placed  there  by  some  authority. 

On  March  i,  house-building  was  still  going  on.  The  new 
house  on  the  hillside  was  complete  for  sister  and  myself.  But, 
there  were  needed  a  schoolhouse,  and  a  better  dormitory. 

My  first  acquaintance  with  the  Fanwe  did  not  impress  me 
favorably.  They  seemed  to  think  that  I  was  overflowing  with 
wealth,  and  that  my  chief  duty  in  life  was  to  give  gifts  to  those 
who  begged.  I  never  gave  to  mere  beggars.  There  came  one 
day  six  big  lazy  fellows  carrying  only  a  hatful  of  kuda-nuts  to 
sell,  and  expecting  an  enormous  price.  The  gathering  of  that 
quantity  of  nuts  had  been  only  a  child's  work.  I  was  very  in- 
dignant at  them.  In  the  evening.  I  had  an  instructive  chat  with 
the  household,  about  the  native  custom  of  marriage  "  dowry."' 
Nevertheless  I  went  to  the  Fanwe  village  to  become  better  ac- 
quainted with  them.  I  went  there  for  the  usual  Saturday  aft- 
ernoon meeting  on  March  2.  The  village  was  very  dirty:  naked 
men.  women  and  children  were  bathing  at  the  landing-place; 
fifteen  people  had  died  in  that  village  of  smallpox,  in  less  than 
a  month.  As  I  preached,  a  man,  covered  with  eruption,  was 
sitting  only  a  rod  from  me.  A  young  man.  whom  my  sister 
had  taught  a  little  of  the  Gospel,  added  explanatory  remarks  to 
my  Mpongwe  address:  for,  I  had  not  yet  attempted  to  learn 
any  Fan  we. 

Frequent  temporary  desertions  by  my  people  (apparently  not 
based  on  either  of  the  three  common  grounds  of  complaint,  viz.. 
work,  wages,  or  food)  left  me  weaker,  especially  in  the  matter 
of  kitchen-help,  than  T  had  been  for  two  years.  Finally,  on 
March  6.  little  cook,  Onganga,  became  so  lazy  and  disobedient 
that    1    fined   him   on   his   wages.     Then,   lie  attempted   imperti- 


TTTE   TC.WTXK  P.RTDCE 


l'aciug   page   24; 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  247 

nence.  Any  other  offense  but  that,  in  my  household  discipline, 
was  pardonable.  So.  I  dismissed  him.  Two  days  later,  little 
Ntyindiorema  gave  a  glad  outcry  as  he  saw  coming  a  canoe 
with  Sambunaga  and  others  from  Mpanja  (the  Igenja  region). 
They  came  with  quantities  of  fowls  to  sell,  more  than  I  needed. 
So,  I  bought  only  from  those  who  had  brought  to  pay  for  their 
clothing  and  schoolbooks.  I  made  an  exception  in  favor  of  a 
man,  a  stranger.  He  counted  out  the  proper  number  of  fowls 
(five)  for  a  "dollar*'  (trade)  of  calico  print  "cloth"  (five 
yards).  Then,  while  I  was  cutting  the  cloth,  he  attempted  to 
deceive  me,  by  slipping  one  of  the  fowls  back  into  his  box,  hop- 
ing I  would  not  miss  it,  as  the  remaining  four  lay  in  a  con- 
fused pile.  I  quietly  retained  the  cloth,  handed  the  four  fowls 
back  to  him,  and  declined  to  have  anything  more  to  do  with 
him.  Sambunaga  had  his  wife  with  him.  She  made  an  unusual 
addition  on  my  premises ;  for,  but  few  of  my  young  men  were 
married,  and  scarcely  any  had  brought  their  wives.  It  is 
usual  with  the  natives,  on  marriage,  to  give  the  wife  a  new 
name.  He  called  her  Xyama-a-rangi-'n-ombeni  (Prev-that-was 
destined-for-the-hunter).  My  sister  substituted  a  shorter  name, 
"  Charity."     I  continued  my  teaching  in  the  afternoons. 

The  young  Mpongwe  gentleman.  Sam.  M.  Laseni,  husband  of 
"  Alida  "  (Xgwa-njanga),  whom  I  have  previously  mentioned, 
wrote  to  me  asking  for  medicine,  and  saying  that  they  were 
"keeping  their  Christian  course."  Alas!  they  both  sadly  failed, 
later  on. 

On  March  8,  I  sent  word  for  Re-Xkombe.  He  came ;  and, 
I  told  him  that  I  had  cut  the  long  path  around  the  landside  of  the 
premises,  and  that  I  wished  him  to  go  with  me  and  verify  my 
marks.  He  comforted  me  by  saying  that  the  Fariwe  living  near 
the  line  probably  would  remove  and  build  nearer  to  the  Aguma 
trading-house.  YVe  went ;  and,  commencing  at  Andende  Creek, 
spent  two  solid  hours  walking  slowly  over  the  entire  line.  At 
the  end,  he  asked  for  the  loan  of  an  axe.  Thinking  his  services 
were  worth  it,  I  presented  him  with  one.  That  night,  the 
strongest  wind  I  had  felt  for  six  months  blew  down  a  tall  tree 
near  the  boat-shed.  The  shed  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  ra- 
vine, through  which  the  little  stream  from  the  spring  above 
flowed  into  the  river.  The  tree,  as  it  fell,  exactly  bridged  the 
ravine.  Its  upper  side  adzed  to  a  level,  that  log  became  the 
bridge  that  for  many  years  was  traversed  by  the  residents  of  the 
Hill  and  the  (subsequent)  dwellers  at  Andende. 

The    head-man    of    Xtyuwa-euma    visited    me,    admired     the 


248  MY  OGOWE 

house,  and  wished  to  see  it  all.  So,  I  showed  him ;  and,  at  the 
close,  he  asked  for  a  gift.  Just  because  he  had  asked  for  it, 
I  gave  him  only  a  small  present.  I  so  disliked  begging.  If  he 
had  not  asked  for  it,  I  would  have  voluntarily  given  him  some- 
thing larger.  He  did  not  thank  me.  I  suppose  that  he  thought 
that  the  owner  of  so  much  that,  to  the  native  eye,  was  wealth, 
ought  to  have  given  more.  I  noted  such  thankless  people;  and 
remembered  next  time  to  give  them  nothing. 

Almost  every  evening,  I  had  some  entertainment  for  my 
household,  that  salved  over  whatever  annoyances  there  may  have 
been  during  the  day.  After  evening-prayers,  on  March  18,  in 
connection  with  the  reading  in  Genesis.  I  showed  a  series  of 
twelve  pictures  in  the  life  of  Joseph.  Then,  my  conversation 
drifted  on  to  longevity.  I  mentioned  the  great  age  of  my 
paternal  grandmother,  and  showed  them  Gutekunst's  large  photo- 
graph of  four  generations  (grandmother,  my  father,  myself,  and 
my  two  sons).  The  separate  pictures  of  my  sons  were  ad- 
mired; and  Charles  was  recognized  as  "the  one  who  sent  the 
steamboat,"  a  little  automatic  vessel,  that,  being  wound  up, 
traveled  over  the  floor,  much  to  the  delight  of  their  wondering 
eyes. 

On  March  19,  troubles  and  overwork  gave  me  a  bad  attack 
of  fever.  I  was  so  weak,  that  Ingumu  and  little  Ntyindi-orema 
had  to  help  me  to  bed.  The  next  day,  some  of  my  people  who 
had  been  the  most  troublesome,  came  to  express  their  anxiety 
for  my  health.  The  following  day.  I  was  better,  but  had  not 
slept  well;  for,  Sambunaga's  wife  was  moving  about  in  the 
yard;  and,  late  at  night,  a  troop  of  chimpanzees  went  yelling 
by. 

In  the  afternoon,  word  came  that  the  Pioneer  had  arrived. 
The  glad  news  made  me  well,  and  I  hasted  off  to  Aguma  with 
two  boats.  My  sister  was  there;  but.  suffering  from  a  headache. 
Until  late  in  the  night,  my  people  were  busy  bringing  her  boxes 
from  the  steamer,  and  carrying  them  up  the  Hill.  1  sat  up 
late  talking  with  her.  and  reading  my  mail  from  my  children. 
And.  then,  the  house  was  invaded  by  an  army  of  driver-ants,  and 
we  could  not  sleep,  being  driven  from  room  to  room  as  the  ants 
sought  for  food. 

On  Sunday,  the  24th,  S.  M.  Laseni  came  with  his  wife,  and 
left  her  with  us,  while  he  went  on  to  his  employer's  at  Aguma. 
I  was  glad  to  see  them.  Fafiwe  people  were  shouting  in  the 
forest  on  my  premises  not  far  from  the  house,  hunting  witli 
dogs.      1    sent    word    for    them    to    go    away,    using   this    quiet 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  249 

method,  as  I  wished  no  disturbance  on  Sunday.  But,  they  con- 
tinued their  noise  and  trespass  until  3  p.  m.  Then,  conscien- 
tiously, I  decided  that  the  case  called  for  decisive  measures, 
even  if  it  should  be  a  fight.  I  felt  that  even  the  latter  was  justi- 
fied under  the  circumstances.  Going  with  three  "  cutlasses " 
(machetes)  and  five  young  men,  I  came  on  two  men  and  their 
dogs  and  weapons.  As  I  rushed  at  them,  one  of  the  men  fled, 
the  other  one  I  knocked  down,  and  satisfactorily  beat  him 
with  the  flat  of  the  machete;  and  then  he  and  his  dogs  ran 
away.  I  captured  a  gun,  a  spear,  and  a  hunting-bag.  Then, 
I  returned,  and  held  Sunday-school.  My  people  were  glad  to 
have  my  sister  again  with  them  for  their  teaching.  The  house 
was  again  invaded  at  night  by  driver-ants. 

It  was  an  unusual  thing  that  any  trader,  native  or  foreigner, 
retained  a  Christian  character,  even  if  he  had  a  Christian  name. 
The  trade  was  inseparably  founded  on  rum  as  its  most  common 
article  of  exchange ;  and,  few  native  traders  could  refrain  from 
its  use.  It  was  therefore  the  more  noticeable  that,  at  the  Tues- 
day evening  the  26th,  prayer  meeting,  the  Mpongwe,  Sam'l  M. 
Laseni  was  present,  and  made  a  prayer. 

To  honor  those  who  were  willing  to  stand  by  their  Christian 
name,  I  invited  the  Mpongwe,  Ngeza  and  his  wife  Makeki,  who 
had  arrived  from  Gaboon,  at  his  employer's  at  Aguma,  to  be  my 
guests  for  the  day,  on  the  27th.  They  and  their  company  of 
followers  came  in  the  afternoon.  I  made  them  a  supper.  And, 
at  evening  prayers,  I  called  on  him  for  prayer.  Afterward,  they 
were  entertained  by  looking  at  the  stereopticon  pictures,  the 
automatic  steamboat,  and  jointed  wooden  snake.  I  manipulated 
its  motions  so  realistically,  that,  though  I  assured  my  guests  that 
it  was  only  wood,  none  of  them  would  touch  it.  I  had  thence  a 
good  lesson  in  warning  them  against  the  deceptions  of  their 
sorcerer-doctors. 

On  Thursday  the  28th,  the  head-man  of  the  Fanwe  village 
came,  in  the  afternoon,  to  beg  me  for  the  captured  gun,  etc., 
of  the  preceding  Sunday.  He  had  been  afraid  to  come  to  me 
during  those  four  days.  He  had  waited  for  the  white  man's 
wrath  to  subside.  As  he  was  so  very  suppliant,  I  yielded  the 
articles  to  him. 

I  did  not  read  a  great  deal.  But,  when  friends  in  the  United 
States  sent  me  some  book  which  they  had  especially  enjoyed,  I 
took  a  particular  interest  in  it  for  their  sake.  A  novel,  "  One 
Summer,"  I  enjoyed  much. 

On  Sunday,  March  31,  there  was  an  unusual  number  of  people 


250  MY  OGOWE 

at  services.  Among  them,  were  Laseni  and  his  wife  and  com- 
pany, and  Ngeza  and  wife  and  company.  I  invited  these  Chris- 
tians to  remain  to  dinner.  And  then,  there  was  a  demonstration 
of  a  custom  that  is  African  and  oriental  form  from  Bihle  days, 
when  outsiders  frequently  were  spectators  and  sometimes  even 
forced  themselves  to  the  table.  I  knew  that  whenever  a  man 
and  wife  were  invited,  they  would  bring-  with  them  their  children, 
their  brothers  and  sisters,  and  other  members  of  their  families. 
So,  that  day,  when  my  invited  four  went  to  the  table,  their 
boats'  crews  of  ten  each  followed  them.  That  I  had  rather  ex- 
pected. But,  I  felt  indignant  when  another  man.  Ongamu.  whom 
I  had  not  invited,  who  was  not  a  Christian,  nor  a  relative  to  my 
guests,  pushed  himself  in.  simply  because  he  was  a  member  of 
the  aristocratic  Mpongwe  tril)e,  and  because  food  was  in  sight. 
Out  of  respect  for  my  four  invited  ones,  T  said  nothing.  At 
that  table  that  day  there  were  thirty  people! 

JOURNEY  TO  BELAMBLA. 

On  Tuesday,  April  2,  I  was  to  make  the  monthly  inspection 
of  Belambla.  I  frequently  made  a  convenience  of  my  trade- 
friends  at  Aguma.  to  take  a  meal  with  them,  when  I  stopped 
there,  on  my  up-river  trips,  to  get  goods  for  the  expenses  of  the 
journey.  ( There  was,  at  that  time,  all  through  the  Mission, 
no  use  of  cash.  All  payments  of  wages  and  purchases  from  the 
natives  were  in  barter,  with  trade-goods.)  At  such  times,  re- 
ports of  danger  met  me.  Sometimes,  they  proved  to  be  un- 
true; or,  when  true,  were  greatly  exaggerated.  However,  they 
gave  the  journey  a  zest.  At  Aguma  that  day.  I  was  warned 
that  there  was  trouble  up-river  with  the  Bakele,  for  both  me  and 
my  boat's  crew.  Ordinarily,  I  disregarded  the  vague  warning 
of  "  danger."  though  my  crew  always  dreaded.  That  day  we 
went  on.  with  some  anxiety.  The  warning  was  specifically 
against  us,  but  it  was  indefinite.  What  had  been  my  offense, 
that  my  boat  should  be  attacked?  On  our  passing  Sakwele's 
house,  we  were  asked  the  down-river  news;  and.  on  our  inquiring 
about  the  up-river,  we  were  told  that  all  was  well.  And.  at 
Anyambe-jena's  village,  one  of  Kasa's  people  there  said  that 
there  was  no  trouble  at  Belambla.  I  wondered  much  at  the 
evil  report  of  the  morning. 

The  next  day,  there  was  abundance  of  plantains  to  be  bought: 
soap  was  particularly  desired  in  payment.  That  always  pleased 
me!  On  the  day's  journey,  passing  Akilibonga's.  he.  with  his 
mouth  full  of  the  ngtscsc  he  was  eating,  imperiously  called  on 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE 


2;i 


me  to  stop  and  "  visit  "  him.  (That  meant,  to  end  with  a  gift.) 
But,  I  disregarded  him,  and  went  on.  Arrived  at  Belambla, 
found  that  the  evil  report  was  untrue.  The  place  looked  very 
well;  fruit  trees  were  growing  admirably.  The  trespasser, 
Walinja  and  his  people  were  away  in  the  forest,  after  rubber. 
I  made  no  reference  to  his  transgressions. 

The  next  day,  in  examination  with  Awora  of  his  expenses  for 
the  previous  quarter,  he  was  able  to  account  for  everything, 
except  $6.  My  faith  in  his  honesty  was  so  complete,  that  I  felt 
sure  the  money  was  not  improperly  gone.  I  was  willing  to  be- 
lieve that  he  had  forgotten  some  items. 

At  noon,  came  a  report  that  a  Goree  trader.  Manga,  had  been 
killed  by  the  Bakele.  (Expectation  of  some  such  conspiracy 
was  probably  the  basis  of  the  report  about  me.)  Immediately, 
there  was  great  excitement.  There  was  a  gathering  of  all  the 
Goree,  Mpongwe,  and  other  native  traders,  and  a  decision  to 
abandon  the  river.  There  was  a  general  panic,  and  a  noisy  de- 
parture of  their  canoes.  This,  of  course,  alarmed  my  people 
also. 

The  next  day,  Friday  the  5th,  King  Ondehe  and  Chief  Mayisi 
and  other  head-men  called  early  to  see  me,  on  their  way  to  the 
village  of  the  previous  day's  reports.  They  told  my  people  not 
to  fear;  that  the  "palaver"  was  only  with  the  traders  and  not 
with  the  Mission. 

I  delayed  my  departure,  awaiting  until  noon,  hoping  to  hear 
Ondene's  account  of  their  discussion,  on  his  expected  return. 
Awora  bore  himself  very  well.  He  apparently  was  not  afraid, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  remain  at  his  post ;  though  some  one. 
even  of  my  own  crew,  tried  to  alarm  him.  The  journey  down- 
river was  rapid,  stopping  nowhere,  and  reaching  Kangwe  in  a 
heavy  rain-storm ;  but,  warmly  welcomed  by  my  people,  who 
had  heard  of  the  Aguma  report.  I  sometimes  doubted  whether 
I  was  not  too  kind  in  my  dealings  with  the  natives,  for,  I 
found  that  my  generosity  or  kindness  was  misunderstood,  and 
that  occasionally  I  received  unkindness  in  return.  There  came", 
on  Monday  the  8th.  many  people  to  morning  prayers.  I  knew 
that  they  were  not  there  for  the  religious  service ;  they  were  there 
to  sell  their  products.  But,  I  deliberately  had  arranged  that  my 
daily  market  should  be  held  immediately  after  that  service.  I 
hoped  that,  possibly,  some,  coming  for  earthly  gain,  might  hear 
some  truth  which  they  would  remember.  There  were  present 
that  day,  three  separate  parties,  with  plantains  for  sale.  As  I 
did  not  need  all,  I  chose  those  belonging  to  a  company  of  women 


252  MY  OGOWE 

(favoring  them  rather  than  the  others,  who  were  men).  But, 
even  of  that  party,  some  of  their  bunches  were  so  small, 
that  I  declined  to  buy  them.  Then,  they  went  away  angry  with 
my  people  (who  had  objected  to  the  small  fruit)  and  threatening 
to  send  their  husbands  to  fight  with  the  objectors.  I  had  been 
teaching  the  Galwa  workmen  to  read  only  in  Mpongwe  (with 
which  their  dialect  was  cognate).  But,  that  day,  three,  Bayio, 
Piere,  and  Akendenge  beg'an  to  study  also  English. 

Next  day,  Tuesday  the  9th,  was  a  pleasant  incident  on  the 
other  side.  My  friend  Azizya,  Re-Xkombe's  sister,  came  to  see 
me,  bringing  with  her  a  number  of  people.  I  gave  them  small 
presents  of  fish-hooks.  Then,  one  little  girl  promptly  gave  me 
in  return  some  pepper-pods,  which  she  had  previously  offered 
for  sale,  and  which  I  had  refused  to  purchase.  I  was  made 
glad  by  another  Galwa  employee,  Xguva,  commencing  the  study 
of  English.      [In  later  years,  he  became  a  church  elder.] 

Following  my  habit  wherever  I  lived  (and  sometimes  on  my 
journeys)  I  planted,  on  the  10th,  a  Jack-fruit  tree  (resembling 
a  bread-fruit),  a  number  of  shaddocks  (enormous  grape-fruit) 
and  mangoes. 

The  prospect  of  a  church  organization  was  growing.  In  the 
evening  of  Friday  the  12th,  I  held  my  first  regular  meeting  of 
the  catechumen  inquiry  class.  The  members  present  were 
Mamba,  Sambunaga,  Bayio,  Akendenge,  and  Agonjo-amwenge. 
There  were  four  others  at  Belambla ;  and  Aveya,  in  town,  was 
on  the  list.  In  that  meeting,  I  made  my  first  attempt  at  pray- 
ing in  Mpongwe. 

I  valued  very  much  a  female  goat,  which,  though  it  had  two 
frisky  kids,  was  able  to  spare  every  evening  a  comfortable  sup- 
ply of  milk  for  my  sister.  I  knew  that  her  coming  to  me  was 
because  of  the  too  great  strain  of  her  living  alone  at  Benita. 
Though  I  made  her  surroundings  restful,  it  was  true  that  she 
had  not  recovered  the  strength  that  was  hoped  for.  But,  she  en- 
joyed her  teaching;  and  I  was  building  for  her  use  a  schoolhouse, 
the  strongest  and  neatest  I  had  ever  erected.  By  the  25th  of 
April  we  were  in  the  height  of  the  "  latter  "  rainy  season, 
(March-May).  The  weather  was  beautiful,  except  that  there 
was  a  thunder-storm  for  a  short  time  every  afternoon  about  live 
o'clock.  On  the  premises  there  was  the  cawing  of  a  multitude 
of  the  gray  African  red-tailed  parrot.  I  thought  that  there 
had  been  hatched  a  lot  of  young  ones.  I  was  pleased  in  over- 
hearing Ntyege  (monkey)  and  Xguva  begging  Ingumu  to  help 
them  with  their  lessons  even  after  school  hours;  they  were  so 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  253 

anxious  to  learn.  Just  as  I  sat  down  to  evening  tea,  word  came 
that  the  Pioneer  was  entering  our  river.  After  dark  I  went  to 
Aguma  for  the  expected  mail,  but,  unknowingly  passed  a  canoe, 
in  which  Mr.  Sinclair  had  kindly  sent  it  to  me.  I  remained  at 
Aguma  awhile,  chatting  about  the  war  between  Russia  and 
Turkey.  When  I  returned,  my  sister  had  already  retired,  not 
feeling  well.  And,  we  both  were  greatly  disappointed  in  that 
the  mail  brought  no  news  from  Corisco  or  Benita.  But,  I  had 
good  letters,  from  son  Charles  in  Philadelphia,  and  his  guardian 
Mrs.  Patten ;  from  Mrs.  Jane  Thompson,  of  Liberia,  who  had 
been  nurse  of  son  William  while  at  Corisco;  and  from  Rev. 
S.  H.  Murphy,  and  my  good  native  Christian  friend  Njivo,  of 
Baraka. 

The  next  day  was  a  trying  one.  My  sister  was  really  sick, 
and  in  great  pain.  Yet,  I  had  to  superintend  the  sending  of 
two  boats  to  bring  freight  brought  by  the  Pioneer.  My  sister's 
pain  increased,  until  she  was  delirious  most  of  the  day.  And, 
when  the  usual  afternoon  thunder-storm  came,  its  noise  racked 
her  nerves.  That  night  I  did  not  retire  at  all ;  but,  sat  up  in  an 
arm-chair.  By  midnight,  my  sister's  pain  had  somewhat  dimin- 
ished. 

But,  the  next  day,  her  headache  returned;  and,  when  the 
thunder-storm  came,  her  paroxysms  of  pain  were  dreadful.  Mr. 
Travis  had  called  during  the  afternoon,  to  say  good-by,  he  going 
on  his  furlough  to  England.  I  had  not  gone  to  bed  for  three 
nights,  watching  my  sister.  She  was  much  better  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  29th,  but,  still  very  weak. 

Re-Nkombe's  sister,  Azizya,  came  twice  during  those  days 
to  make  inquiries.  And,  the  sympathy  and  anxiety  of  all  the 
young  men  and  boys  of  the  station  were  very  gratifying.    - 

On  May  1,  a  new  lad,  Oyembo,  from  Adalinananga,  was 
brought  by  his  father  and  a  retinue  of  people  to  engage  to  come  to 
school.  I  was  exceedingly  encouraged  by  the  desire  of  the 
Galwa  people  for  education.  I  rearranged  the  school.  I  ap- 
pointed Ingumu  to  teach  all  the  pupils  of  Mpongwe  (Galwas)  ; 
then,  those  who  were  studying  English,  were  passed  on  to  Ijabi 
(a.  Kombe).  these  two  teachers  holding  their  classes  at  the  same 
time.  And,  then,  at  3  p.  m.,  those  two  teachers,  with  others 
(Mbamba,  Aveya,  and  Ntyindiorema)  were  passed  on  to  my 
sister.  The  station  had  been  located  only  eighteen  months  be- 
fore, and  already  I  had  a  "  graded  "  school !  On  May  3,  the 
lad  Oyembo  came,  bringing  with  him  his  older  brother  and  two 
others.     By  Wednesday  the  8th,   the   schoolhouse   was   almost 


254  MY  OGOWK 

completed ;  and  I  commenced  making-  a  small  addition  to  the 
boat-shed.  A  fourth  girl  was  brought  to  sister's  little  girls' 
school,  Iguve,  betrothed  of  Oyembo.  There  were  then  twenty- 
seven  men,  women,  and  children  on  the  premises,  whom  I  daily 
fed. 

Thursday,  May  9th,  was  spoiled  by  dissensions.  Aveya's  little 
wife  spitefully  sent  back  to  him  the  clothing  he  had  given  her. 
and  said  that  she  would  break  marriage  with  him.  At  first. 
I  thought  that  he  was  in  the  wrong,  and  began  to  rebuke  him ; 
but.  I  was  mistaken.  In  the  evening,  after  prayers,  the 
girls  were  noisy,  rude,  and  insulting  to  the  young  men  and 
boys.  (Pupils  in  our  girls'  schools,  oppressed  in  their  own  vil- 
lages, abused  the  freedom  of  their  mission  life.)  Also,  Bayio 
got  angry  when  Ingumu  rebuked  him  for  some  offense:  and 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  loud  talking  among  the  boys  in  their 
hut.  about  this  quarrel.  The  next  day.  I  had  a  long  talk  aboirt 
the  preceding  day's  difficulties.      Its  effect  was  good. 

For  the  afternoon  visitation  of  Saturday  the  i  rth.  T  went  to 
Ijukejame's  Akele  village.  All  the  women  ran  away;  they  were 
afraid  of  me.  T  did  not  know  the  reason  why.  So,  T  went  on  to 
Aguma:  and  returned  early. 

On  Monday.  May  13,  many  parties  of  women  came  to  my 
morning  market,  with  plantains  for  sale.  One  woman  tried  to 
deceive  me:  so,  I  took  back  the  goods  T  had  already  paid  her. 
and  returned  her  plantains.  Aveya's  little  wife  was  again  mak- 
ing him  trouble,  and  attempting  to  run  away.  In  the  evening,  at 
the  after-prayer  chat,  the  young  men  made  the  strange  request 
that,  if  any  of  them  should  die  while  with  me.  I  should  not 
allow  their  remains  to  be  taken  away  by  their  relatives,  but 
that  I  should  bury  them  on  the  mission  premises.  They  gave, 
as  their  reason  for  this  wish,  certain  native  funeral  supersti- 
tions, in  which  they  no  longer  believed.  T  was  pleased  with 
their  wish,  though  I  knew  that,  in  their  present  stage  of  civiliza- 
tion in  the  river,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to  com- 
ply with  it. 

TO  BELAMBLA. 

I  made  the  journey  of  inspection  on  the  Jjlh-^oth.  M'"- 
Sinclair  had  errands  to  his  native  traders,  and  accompanied  me 
in  his  own  boat.  Affairs  had  developed  in  that  part  of  the 
river,  during  the  year  past.  Many  new  traders  had  located, 
and  they  were  building  large  new  houses:  the  Bakele  were  less 
quarrelsome,  and  more  considerate  of  white  men's  wishes;  the 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  255 

Goree  quarrel  had  been  settled ;  and,  instead  of  their  abandon- 
ing the  river,  as  they  had  threatened,  they  were  building  a  large 
house  on  Gazie  Island.  King  Ondene  had  died  about  ten  days 
before.  His  people  were  holding  a  great  mourning.  They  had 
issued  an  order,  that,  out  of  respect  to  their  dead  king,  all  boats 
passing  their  town,  should  lower  their  flags  and  cease  all  drum- 
ming and  singing.  At  Belambla,  I  found  Awora's  accounts 
correct.  He  wished  to  be  relieved ;  and  I  located  Aveya  in 
his  place. 

In  the  morning  of  the  30th,  came  word  that  the  Pioneer  had 
arrived  at  Aguma.  Mr.  Sinclair  and  I  hasted  down-river  in  our 
boats;  and  arrived  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  The  Pion- 
eer was  indeed  there,  purposely  aground  on  a  sand-bar,  where, 
taking  advantage  of  the  dry  season  low  water,  she  was  to  be 
recoppered.  On  Saturday,  June  1,  my  day's  preaching  was  at 
Pinja's  village.  I  had  not  been  there  for  many  months,  be- 
cause of  its  people  having  been  so  noisy  when  last  I  was  there. 
Then,  went  on  to  Aguma :  and  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Sinclair's 
new  white  assistant.  Mr.  Holland.  He  did  not  impress  me 
favorably.  But  I  was  very  much  pleased  to  meet  my  Mpongwe 
lady-friend  Njivo  and  her  newly  married  husband,  Dowe.  The 
next  day.  they  came  to  church  services.  She  was  a  Christian ; 
he  was  not. 

Among  the  many  insect  and  other  small  forms  of  life  that 
annoyed  me  were  Eye-worms.  They  were  not  constant,  like  the 
ants,  etc.  But,  though  they  came  only  at  intervals  of  months, 
and  lasted  only  a  few  days,  they  were  painful  while  they  lasted ; 
and,  depending  on  the  portion  of  the  eye  that  they  attacked, 
they  might  be  dangerous  to  sight.  The  first  feeling  of  their 
presence  was  in  the  inner  angle  of  the  eye,  an  itching  sensation. 
I  would  rub  the  spot,  not  thinking  of  a  worm,  and  supposing 
that  the  sensation  would  pass.  But,  it  persisted.  Then,  I 
would  be  conscious  of  a  movement  of  some  object  in  the  lower 
lid.  And,  later,  as  that  object  moved,  at  frequent  intervals  I 
had  to  twist  the  eye,  under  a  pain  like  the  prick  of  a  pin,  which 
I  believed  was  the  bite  of  the  worm.  Still  later,  I  could  see 
distinctly,  just  beneath  the  skin  of  the  lid,  the  movements  of  the 
worm's  convolutions.  After  two  days,  I  could  feel  it  creeping 
across  my  cheek.  And,  two  days  later,  it  would  appear  in  one 
of  my  fingers.  Then,  it  would  disappear,  perhaps  for  months. 
It  never  attacked  my  eyeball  (though  it  did  so  appear,  with  one 
of  the  traders).  It  was  a  worm,  from  one  inch  to  one  and  a 
half  inches  long,  of  the  thickness  of  an  ordinary  sewing-thread, 


256  MY  OGOWK 

with  a  distinct  head.  As  I  have  mentioned  elsewhere,  I  sent 
one  to  my  friend  Thos.  G.  Morton,  M.D.,  of  Philadelphia,  who 
had  it  examined  by  Dr.  Leidy,  professor  (of  anatomy  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  who  wrote  an  article  on  it  in  a 
scientific  journal,  giving  it  the  name  of  Loa  dranunculus.  I 
never  knew  the  source  of  the  worm.  I  have  supposed  that  its 
germ  was  imbibed  in  impure  water  I  drank.  After  being  quies- 
cent in  my  system  for  even  two  years,  the  worm  has  reappeared, 
twice  while  I  was  on  furlough  in  the  United  States.  I  know 
of  its  having  so  appeared  in  the  eyes  of  two  of  our  mission 
ladies  also  on  furlough. 

TO  BELAMBLA. 

As  I  was  to  go  to  Gaboon  for  the  semiannual  meetings  of 
mission  and  presbytery  at  Libreville,  there  was  need  to  first  visit 
Belambla,  in  order  to  see  that  it  would  be  safe  during  my  ab- 
sence. I  found  Aveya  satisfactory  in  his  accounts.  And,  the 
Rakele  children  were  availing  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to 
learn  to  read  in  his  little  school.  Two  boys  of  Nandi,  who  had 
lived  with  me  two  years  before,  and  whom  I  had  not  seen  dur- 
ing all  that  interval,  came  to  me  to  say  a  lesson;  they  had  not 
forgotten  what  I  had  taught  them.  Kasa's  son,  Kimagwe,  was 
one  of  Aveya's  employees.  He  wished  to  leave  temporarily.  I 
offered  him  a  $2  mosquito-net  if  he  would  remain.  He  honestly 
refused  it.  He  might  easily  have  assented  and  taken  the  net ; 
and.  then  after  my  departure,  could  have  run  away.  Almost 
all  the  villages  were  deserted;  their  entire  population  off  in  the 
forest,  felling  trees  and  making  gardens.  It  was  a  picnic  time 
for  all  the  young  people.  T  did  not  wonder  that  Kimagwe 
wished  to  leave.     All  was  well ;  and  the  journey  successful. 

The  evening  of  my  return  to  Kangwe,  the  24th,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  household,  I  gave  an  exhibition  of  the  toy  automatic 
steamboat  and  the  jointed  wooden  snake.  They  were  all  afraid 
of  the  latter,  so  adroitly  did  I  manipulate  its  movements.  But, 
I  was  not  deceiving  them.  As,  on  a  former  occasion.  I  assured 
them  that  the  snake  was  only  wood,  and  the  movements  mine.  I 
contrasted  with  their  sorcerer-doctors. 

Though  the  house  on  the  hillside  was  a  center  of  civilization 
with  my  sister,  we  occasionally  were  reminded  that  we  were 
quite  on  the  edge.  For,  on  the  25th.  I  heard  an  elephant 
trumpeting  in  the  forest,  not  very  far  from  the  house.  With 
Ingumu,  I  pursued  it;  but,  it  fled;  and,  of  course,  it  was  im- 
possible to  overtake  a  fleeing  elephant. 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  257 


JOURNEY  TO  GABOON. 

My  sister  was  not  well  enough  to  risk  the  exposure  of  the 
200  mile  boat-journey  to  Gaboon.     But,  her  ill  health  was  not 
of  such  a  nature  as  that  I  should  fear  to  leave  her  alone  at 
Kangwe.     She  was  used  to  living  alone  at  Benita.     I  gave  her 
selected  workmen  to  be  under  her  control  during  my  absence. 
One  of  the  teachers.   Ingumu.   was  returning  to  his  home    at 
Benita.     When  I  went  to  Aguma  for  some  last  errands,   Mr. 
Sinclair  recognized  the  young  man's  goodness  by  making  him 
some  parting  presents.     And,    faithful    friend  Azizya  came  to 
give  good-by  gifts.     The  journey  was  pleasant,  in  that  I  saw 
how  the  river  had  grown  in  civilization  since  last  I  had  slowly 
passed  its  villages.     Now,  they  all  showed  more  order,  cleaner 
surroundings,  and  better  dress.     I  enjoyed  watching  point  after 
point,  as  I  recognized  them  in  the  rapid  descent  with  the  current. 
Passed  the  mouth  of  Kenje  Creek ;  saw  Agaia's  village,  and  was 
given  a  gift  of  fish.     Saw  my  dismissed  Ogandaga  at  his  vil- 
lage.    Eweze  met  us  at  Mbangwe.     The  path  of  that  hill  was 
freshly  cleared,  street  swept,  houses  swept,  and  seats  ready  for 
us.     Old  men  and  some  former  employees  came  to  salute  me. 
But.  the  latter  did  not  come  to  meeting  in  the  evening.     I  had 
a  cold  that  made  my  voice  hoarse.     I  could  not  sing,  and  spoke 
with   difficulty.     Ingumu   spoke   in   my  place.     On   the  28th.    T 
wished  to  turn  aside   from  the  direct  journey  to  Gaboon,  and 
make  a  visit  to  Laseni  and  his  wife  Alida.  in  Lake  Ezanga.     I 
did  not  know  the  way.  except  that  I  knew  we  had  to  pass  through 
Lake  Onanga.     And.  I  could  get  no  one  to  go  with  me  as  guide. 
Two  whom  I  had  engaged  the  night  before,  failed  me.  because 
thev  did  not  know  how  they  were  to  return  to  their  village.      So. 
with  my  small  crew.  I  took  the  rudder  myself.     At  a  village 
near  the  mouth  of  the  small  (lower)  entrance  to  the  lake,  young 
men  there  contemptuously  refused  my  offer  of  wages;  and.  tak- 
ing advantage  of  my  need,  asked  an  impossible  price  for  their 
services.      (I  never  yielded  to  such  demands,  preferring  to  suf- 
fer difficulties  otherwise.)      In  the  lake,  the  water  was  rough  with 
the  cold  dry  season  wind,  and  the  crew  pulled  with  but  little 
heart.      As   the   boat-awning   was   obstructed   with   the   wind.    I 
took  it  down;  and.  then  the  sun's  glare  hurt  my  eyes.      There 
was  a  long  paddling  among  the  many  islands  and  past  villages. 
The   varietv   in   the    shape    and     height    of     the     islands     was 
picturesque.      Saw  an  alligator  asleep  on  a  rock :  and,  two  hip- 
popotami  walking  on   a   sand-bank.     Late   in   the  afternoon.    I 


258  MY  OGOWE 

felt  that  it  was  hopeless  to  reach  Laseni's  for  the  night.  So, 
I  turned  back  to  seek  a  certain  village  which  we  had  passed. 
Agaia  (unintentionally)  misled  me;  and,  failing  of  that  village, 
and  night  having  come,  and  being  weary  of  the  confusion,  I  de- 
cided to  sleep  in  the  boat,  though  another  village  was  near,  to 
which  I  allowed  the  crew  to  go. 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  we  emerged  from  the  lake  by  its 
outlet  into  the  Ogowe,  at  Ngomu,  the  town  opposite  to  Oranga. 
I  stopped  at  Ngomu,  because  its  people  had  complained  that  I 
passed  them  by,  favoring  only  Oranga.  I  went  up  into  the 
town,  intending  to  hold  a  meeting.  But,  the  people  stared  at 
me  so  rudely,  and  treated  me  with  so  little  attention,  that  I  left. 
Stopped  at  Mbanga's  place,  intending  to  remain  and  eat;  but, 
he  had  moved  to  another  place.  Went  on  to  Azaze's;  was 
well  received ;  was  given  food  and  polite  attention.  Rested,  ate 
and  had  a  pleasant  meeting.  Went  on  to  Igenja  district,  stop- 
ping at  Awora's  village  to  let  out  Re-Nguwa.  And,  went  on  to 
Ombya-ogwana's,  and  was  there  met  by  Mamba,  who,  by  pre- 
vious arrangement,  was  to  join  the  crew  for  Gaboon.  Pleasant 
prayers  in  the  evening.  Manja's  wife  told  me  she  was  trying 
to  seek  Jesus. 

At  the  Sunday  morning  service  next  day,  the  30th,  the 
people  were  very  attentive.  Afterward,  I  heard  lessons.  T  was 
very  much  impressed  with  the  influence  of  the  Gospel  as  already 
received  in  the  hearts  of  Mamba  and  the  other  young  men  of 
Igenja.  The  people  were  all  so  respectful;  no  drumming  or 
quarreling;  all  decently  dressed,  clean,  and  the  females  so  ap- 
parently modest.  All  seemed  to  know  of  me,  and  to  look  on 
me  as  a  friend ;  even  the  little  girls,  who,  in  other  villages,  would 
have  been  afraid  of  me.  All  the  boys  came  to  say  lessons  in 
the  afternoon.  There  was  a  pleasant  prayer  meeting  in  the 
evening;  and,  an  interesting  chat  with  the  men  afterward.  The 
only  person  who  behaved  unpleasantly  during  the  whole  day, 
was  an  old  man  who  tried  to  force  himself  on  me,  as  if  he  was 
the  head  of  the  town. 

The  next  day,  July  1,  I  gave  good-by  gifts  to  the  mothers  of 
Mamba,  Abumba,  Angeka,  and  Bayio;  and,  to  several  of  the 
boys  (fish-hooks)  and  girls  (scissors  and  toy-bells).  I  was 
pleased  with  Abumba's  three  sisters ;  the  second  one  was  quite 
beautiful,  but  I  liked  most  the  youngest,  a  little  girl,  Ntyere,  who, 
though  there  was  plenty  of  space  elsewhere  for  her  to  sit, 
asked  that  she  might  sit  by  me.  She  stood  and  said,  "  I  want 
to  sit."     "  Well,  sit  here  by  me  " ;  and  she  nestled  up  to  me,  and 


GALWA  WOMEN 


Facing  page  258 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  259 

I  put  my  arms  around  her;  for,  she  was  shivering  with  the  cold 
morning  air.  I  was  just  then  drinking  my  morning  cup  of 
tea.  (Perhaps  the  child  wished  a  share  in  it!)  While  I  was 
in  the  hut  where  my  goods-box  was  (having  gone  there  pri- 
vately with  Mamba  and  Ombya-ogwana)  the  offensive  old  man 
of  the  previous  day  forced  himself  in,  uninvited.  He  had 
judged  rightly  that  I  was  making  some  private  gifts  to  the  other 
two,  and  dared  to  assume  that  he  should  be  given  something 
also.  His  assumption  was  rude  and  undignified.  Heads  of  vil- 
lages usually  waited  politely  for  me  to  give  what  I  thought  due, 
without  coming  to  inspect  my  goods-box.  I  indignantly  or- 
dered him  out.  He  left  ashamed;  and  was  not  present  when  I 
publicly  gave  to  others,  all  of  whom  were  pleased  with  what  they 
received.  We  started  again  the  journey,  all  in  good  spirits, 
with  six  paddles,  and  Ingumu  at  the  rudder.  Went  rapidly  past 
the  Ashuka  villages.  Stopped  to  eat  at  Ngumbe.  Isagi's  head- 
wife  was  attentive,  would  have  caught  a  fowl,  and  would  have 
gone  to  her  plantation  for  vegetables  for  me.  But,  I  told  her 
not  to  leave  her  work  of  mat-weaving;  that,  I  had  a  chicken 
ready  prepared.  I  sat  and  watched  her  industry  and  skill  in  the 
weaving. 

Going  in  the  afternoon,  I  met  a  hippopotamus,  which  ap- 
parently had  no  fear;  it  allowed  us  to  come  very  near  to  him. 
On,  past  Yambe,  a  part  of  King  Njagu's  town.  And,  at  sun- 
set, stopped  in  a  very  desirable  little  cove  at  the  island  Olende. 
In  the  dusk,  went  hunting  for  birds.  All  the  crew  were  in 
good  humor,  cooking,  and  laughing,  and  charring  each  other,  and 
eating  sugar-cane.  But,  I  did  not  sleep  well  that  night;  for,  the 
tide  in  receding,  left  the  boat  on  its  side,  and  I  lay  in  an  angle. 
Also,  the  net  being  disadj listed,  mosquitoes  got  in. 

Starting  shortly  after  daybreak  of  July  2,  it  was  pleasant  to 
recognize  places  at  which  I  had  formerly  rested  or  eaten.  On, 
past  Nango.  Stopped  at  Nombi  to  eat.  Chief  Onanga  was  not 
there;  but,  his  wife  with  her  little  child  received  me.  On  to 
Angala  by  3  p.  m.  The  French  had  placed  a  customs  officer 
there.  Mr.  Joseph  Xavier,  who  received  me  politely.  As  I  in- 
tended leaving  my  boat  at  some  village  in  Nazareth  Bay.  and,  re- 
membering the  assault  on  me  by  the  Orungu  there  only  two  years 
before,  I  inquired  as  to  the  character  of  the  men  and  their  vil- 
lages. King  Esongi  was  an  honorable  man,  and  treated  all  visit- 
ors properly.  He  told  me  that  his  brother-in-law,  Ngwa-nyani 
(Eagle)  at  Abun'-awiri  (Abundance  of  spirits)  would  treat  me 
well.     Also,  that  I  might  trust  Anege  and  an  old  man  Ibaku,  of 


260  MY  OGOWE 

even  the  unfriendly  "  Lisboa/'  I  sat  by  the  water-side  writing  a 
note  to  be  left  at  Angala  and  to  be  given  to  Mr.  John  Ermy,  who 
was  supposed  to  be  on  his  way  to  the  Ogowe  from  Libreville. 
He  would  deliver  the  note  to  my  sister  at  Kangwe,  to  assure  her 
of  my  welfare. 

I  sat  up  late  in  the  evening  talking  with  Esongi,  who  asked 
many  curious  questions  about  religion.  His  intelligence  alwavs 
surprised  me.  In  the  night,  after  I  had  retired.  I  heard  him  out 
in  the  street,  praying  to  the  myondi  (spirits  of  the  new  moon). 
I  knew  of  such  prayers  in  spirit-ceremonies,  but  it  was  the  first 
time  that  I  had  actually  heard  them. 

For  the  thirty  miles  from  Angala  to  the  sea.  next  day.  there 
were  no  villages ;  mostly  only  mangrove  forest.  I  emerged  into 
Xazareth  Bay  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon. 

In  my  journeys  to  Gaboon,  I  always  had  to  write,  weeks  in  ad- 
vance, to  notify  the  Hudson  to  meet  me.  This  required  my 
planning  ahead  and  arranging  definitely  on  what  day  I  would 
emerge  into  Xazareth  Bay.  T  could  always  control  that ;  for.  I 
allowed  myself  a  margin  of  time  for  possible  detentions.  And 
the  mission  captain.  Mr.  Menkel,  at  the  sea-coast  end,  had  to  al- 
low himself  a  margin.  For,  the  70-mile  voyage  from  Libreville, 
that  took  the  Hudson  only  three  days  in  the  favorable  winds  of 
the  rainy  season,  might  require  fixe,  mider  the  opposing  winds  of 
the  cold-dry.  As  T  emerged  into  the  Bay,  about  3  p.  m.  of 
that  Wednesday,  the  3rd.  I  saw  the  Hudson  anchored  far  out. 
( Tt  had  been  awaiting  five  days.  I  was  on  time:  but,  it  had  ar- 
rived unusually  early.)  I  sailed  out  toward  her.  When  she  saw 
me  coming,  she  put  up  her  sails.  Arrived  at  her  side.  1  unloaded 
my  boxes  on  to  her  deck,  and  went  back  ashore  to  leave  the  boat, 
the  vessel  slowly  and  carefully  following  me  in  the  shallows.  Go- 
ing to  the  village  of  Abun'-awiri,  T  was  well-received  by  Ngwa- 
nyani.  He  promised  to  take  care  of  the  boat.  I  held  a  meeting; 
but.  the  superstitious  women  did  not  wish  to  come  to  it.  He  sent 
me  in  his  canoe,  to  where  the  Hudson  was  anchored.  I  "p  anchor 
at  8  p.  m.,  and  anxiouslv  crossing  the  shallows,  put  out  to  sea,  and 
sailed  well  all  night.  The  next  morning,  July  4,  T  recognized 
Mr.  Ermy's  canoe  in-shore.  Ran  in  toward  him;  anchored, 
hailed  him.  and  sent  off  our  canoe  to  him.  He  came.  T  gave 
him  mail  for  my  sister,  which  the  Hudson  had  brought  to  me. 
Early  in  the  afternoon  entered  Gaboon  estuary.  The  officers 
of  the  French  guard-ship  recognizing  me,  remitted  the  usual  rule, 
requiring  all  vessels  to  stop  and  report,  and  allowed  the  Hudson 
to  sail  at  once  to  its  anchorage.      And.  \  was  at  the  Baraka  house 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  261 

by  4  p.  m.  My  mail  was  large  and  good:  but,  it  was  saddened 
by  Mr.  Murphy's  intelligence  of  the  death  of  his  little  daughter 
Kate. 

In  the  Mission,  the  ideal  relation  of  itinerants  and  mission- 
aries in  a  new  held,  was,  that  they  were  working  as  assistants 
in  the  parish  of  whatever  church  next  adjacent  existed  already 
organized.  And,  their  converts  were  to  be  brought  for  baptism 
to  that  church.  The  missionary  in  charge  of  that  church  was 
considered  bishop  of  the  entire  adjacent  region.  That  had  been 
the  courteous  attitude  of  Rev.  George  Paull  and  myself  toward 
the  church  on  Corisco  Island  under  charge  of  Rev.  J.  L.  Mackey. 
Benita  church  was  a  growth  and  division  from  Corisco ;  and, 
later,  all  the  coast  churches  north  of  Benita  grew  by  division 
from  it.  In  the  same  courteous  spirit,  though  my  work  in  the 
Ogowe  was  200  miles  away  from  the  Gaboon  church,  I  recog- 
nized that  I  was  in  its  "  parish,"  and  that  its  church  session 
might  properly  claim  for  its  membership  any  who  were  converted 
through  me.  In  that  spirit,  I  had  so  regarded  Rev.  Dr.  Bushnell, 
pastor  of  the  Gaboon  church.  And,  in  his  absence  in  the  United 
States,  I  offered  the  same  courtesy  to  Rev.  Mr.  Murphy,  in  Dr. 
Bushnell's  place.  I  brought  two  of  my  Ogowe  people,  Mamba 
and  Awora,  for  examination  by  the  Gaboon  session ;  and  they 
were  accepted  for  baptism.  There  was  a  touching  incident  in 
Mamba's  examination.  He  was  asked,  "  Why  do  you  leave  your 
native  '  fashions  '  ?  Are  they  not  good?  "  "  Xo,  I  thought  they 
were,  long  ago ;  but.  was  in  darkness.  Dr.  Nassau  and  I  are  in 
the  light.  And  I  believe  his  words."  "  But,  in  what  do  you 
believe?"'  "In  Jesus."  ''But,  have  you  even  seen  Him?" 
"  Xo ;  not  with  my  eyes,  but,  in  my  heart,  I  know  that  He  for- 
gives sins." 

On  Sunday,  July  2,  I  preached  for  Mr.  Murphy,  from  Acts  17, 
2~.  In-  the  afternoon.  Communion  and  baptism  were  held. 
Mamba  and  Awora  were  baptized.  I  felt  very  tenderly  in  the 
administration  of  the  rite  to  these  two,  the  first  fruits  from  my 
Ogowe  work.     In  the  evening,  was  held  monthly  concert. 

With  Mr.  Murphy  I  had  planned  to  make  an  excursion  in  the 
Hudson  north  to  Kamerun.  in  order  to  ascend  its  peak,  14,000 
feet  high.  But,  on  Monday  the  8th,  news  came  from  Benita  of 
the  serious  illness  of  Miss  Dewsnap.  and,  the  Hudson  was  sent 
for  her.  That  excursion  to  the  peak  being  given  up,  there  was 
no  reason  for  delay  of  returning  to  my  Ogowe,  except  that  there 
was  no  vessel  to  take  me.  In  the  meanwhile,  I  enjoyed  the  so- 
ciety of  the  white  traders,  who  all  were  very  friendly  with  Mr. 


262  MY  OGOWE 

Murphy.  Each  had  a  horse  (an  animal  rare  in  that  region;  the 
few  that  were  possessed  being  imported  from  other  parts  of  the 
coast).  I  went  horseback  riding  with  Mr.  Murphy,  Captain  Jon- 
athan Holt,  Mr.  Schulze,  and  Mr.  McFarland. 

On  Tuesday  the  9th,  a  letter  came  to  the  Mission  from  the 
French  commandant  about  complaints  made  to  him  of  our 
Baraka  cattle  trespassing  on  native  gardens.  Another  trouble- 
some item  was  that  Mr.  Schorsch  had  arrived  from  Corisco 
Island,  evidently  intending  to  force  himself  into  our  meetings. 
As  a  German,  he  had  found  sympathy  at  the  German  trading- 
house.     Mr.  Murphy  went  there  to  try  to  restrain  Mr.  Schorsch. 

Nevertheless,  the  next  day.  he  came  up  the  Baraka  hill  to  us, 
but,  we  closed  the  doors ;  and  he  went  away.  Presbytery  meet- 
ing was  held.  My  protege.  Licentiate  Itongolo,  was  appointed  to 
Batanga,  among  the  Banaka  people.  Mr.  Schorsch  came  again ; 
but,  was  unable  to  enter. 

A  young  man,  Mr.  Alfred  Boy.  clerk  at  the  German  house,  was 
a  friendly  visitor  with  the  three  ladies  of  the  Baraka  household, 
Mrs.  Smith,  Miss  Jones,  and  Miss  Walker.  The  nth  was 
his  birthday;  and,  a  little  entertainment  was  made  for  him. 
[This  gentleman  is  still  living,  a  resident  of  Xew  York  City.] 

On  the  1 2th.  a  native  blacksmith  shot  one  of  the  Baraka  cattle 
for  trespassing  in  his  garden.  Mr.  Murphy  recovered  the  car- 
cass. But.  to  an  appeal  for  redress,  the  French  magistrate  said 
that  the  native  was  not  bound  to  protect  his  garden  by  a  fence;  if 
we  wished  to  keep  cows  for  their  milk,  we  should  build  an  en- 
closure. As  that  would  be  a  private  expense  and  not  chargeable 
to  general  mission  account,  it  would  be  too  expensive  for  Mr. 
Murphy,  and,  the  cattle  were  sold.  On  the  16th,  walked  with 
the  ladies  to  the  German  house,  to  see  a  collection  of  animals  by 
a  Mr.  Frackman,  a  German  traveler:  there  were  five  chimpanzees, 
four  young  gorillas,  three  mandril  monkeys,  two  others,  and  a 
strange  animal  somewhat  like  a  genet. 

To  enliven  my  delay,  Mr.  Murphy  made  a  little  "  banquet  "  in 
my  honor,  on  the  18th,  to  which  the  three  ladies  and  Mr.  Boy 
were  invited.  The  menu  of  the  feast  itself,  the  dresses,  and  the 
agreeable  chats  of  the  evening,  were  all  quite  like  a  "  sociable  "  in 
the  United  States.  We  sang,  without  instruments.  And.  after 
we  had  escorted  the  ladies  to  their  house,  Mr.  Murphy  and  T  re- 
turned to  our  house  and  talked  until  midnight.  Even  then.  T  was 
not  sleepy;  and.  T  sat  up  and  read  for  a  while,  to  quiet  the  unusual 
excitement. 

I  had  preached  on  two  Sundays  for  Mr.  Murphy.     The  third. 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  263 

the  21st  of  July,  himself  occupied  the  pulpit;  an  eloquent  sermon. 
At  Sabbath  school  he  requested  me  to  make  a  short  address.  I 
had  been  using  Mpongwe  in  the  Ogowe  among  Galwas ;  but,  at 
Gaboon,  the  very  home  of  the  proud  Mpongwe  tribe,  I  hesitated 
to  speak  alone;  and  used  an  interpreter  Ngoni.  He  made  such 
wretched  work  of  my  sentences,  that  I  cut  short  my  remarks,  and 
sat  down. 

At  daylight  of  the  23d,  the  Hudson  was  seen  at  anchor.  Miss 
Walker  went  down  to  the  beach  to  welcome  Miss  Dewsnap,  and 
I  followed.  During  the  day,  busy  at  packing  for  my  return  to 
the  Ogowe.  In  the  evening  had  a  slight  fever-chill,  and  went  to 
bed  covered  with  blankets. 

JOURNEY   BACK   TO   THE  OGOWE. 

It  was  dry  season,  with  the  strong  winds  from  southward,  that 
always  made  difficult  any  attempt  to  sail  in  this  direction.  And, 
our  cutter  Hudson  was  at  best  a  poor  sailor.  I  knew  that  the 
seventy  miles  down  to  the  Ogowe  mouth  would  be  a  long  trip,  al- 
ways trying,  because  of  my  constant  nausea  on  the  sea. 

Beginning  on  early  morning  of  Tuesday,  July  30,  I  had  at 
once  a  disappointment.  As  we  passed  out  of  the  river,  there 
entered  near  us  the  mail-steamer  Roquelle.  It  doubtless  had 
mail  for  me  from  the  United  States.  And,  I  might  have  to  wait 
a  month  for  it,  before  it  could  be  forwarded  to  me  by  the  very 
irregular  little  river-steamers ! 

Six  days  were  uncomfortably  spent  in  going  those  seventy 
miles!  Tacking;  losing  progress;  anchoring;  waiting  for  the 
wind  to  diminish.  (It  and  the  tide  were  always  stronger  at  the 
new  moon.)  Finally,  on  Monday,  August  5,  I  sent  the  cutter's 
canoe  ashore,  to  Abun'-awiri  village  to  bring  the  boat  I  had  left 
in  care  of  head-man  Ngwa-nyani.  Loading  into  it  my  various 
goods  from  the  Hudson,  I  started  up-river;  and,  pulling  all  day, 
was  at  Angala  at  dark.  Was  received  by  the  French  customs  of- 
ficer, Mons.  J.  Xavier.  A  German  employee,  Schwartz,  was  oc- 
cupying Mr.  Schulze's  house  where  I  usually  slept.  So,  I  was 
shown  to  a  small  new  bamboo  hut.  News  had  come  from  up- 
river  ;  among  other  items,  that  my  sister  was  well.  I  was  so 
very  hungry  that,  in  sitting  down  with  King  Esongi,  who 
wanted  to  hear  "  news,"  I  swept  aside  the  usual  etiquette,  i.e.,  to 
"  tell  news  "  before  being  given  food,  I  asked  at  once  for  it :  I 
had  been  fasting  so  long  on  the  Hudson.  I  did  not  sleep  well ; 
for,  in  the  street,  Banja,  Esongi's  nephew,  was  having  a  dance  all 
night,    with    fetish   ceremonies,    for  his   wife,   praying  that    she 


264  MY  OGOWE 

should  not  remain  childless,  as  their  only  child  had  recently  died. 
Also,  the  crew  of  a  Goree  canoe,  which  had  come  with  produce  to 
await  the  arrival  of  the  Mpongzve,  was  drinking  and  carousing  all 
night. 

The  next  day,  August  6,  stopped  on  the  way  at  ftombi,  and 
gave  to  head-man  Onanga's  wife,  two  little  dresses,  which  the 
ladies  at  Haraka  had  made  for  her  child.  I  wished  that  the 
donors  could  have  seen  her  pleasure !  The  wind  that,  on  the  sea. 
was  an  opposing  one,  was.  on  the  river,  a  favorable  one.  With 
wind  and  sail,  the  crew  could  rest  from  their  paddling.  We 
moved  so  rapidly,  even  against  the  current,  that  1  reached  my 
usual  stopping-place  in  the  forest  long  before  sundown.  The 
crew  were  happy.  For  supper,  I  gave  them  a  turtle,  and  myself 
a  chicken.  The  next  night,  I  reached  Yambe.  The  town  looked 
deserted.  I  did  not  know  the  reason  why.  until  1  was  told  that 
Chief  Onwa-ombe,  or  "  Mwanji-nkombe,"  had  been  dead  for 
more  than  a  month.  I  was  shown  to  the  house  I  had  usually  occu- 
pied, but  was  given  very  little  attention  by  the  new  head  of  the  vil- 
lage. My  own  people  were  slow,  being  oppressed  by  the  mourning 
ceremonies ;  there  was  shameless  begging  by  the  villagers :  they 
would  not  give  my  people  even  firewood  without  pay!  I  felt 
like  leaving,  and  camping  in  the  forest.  Late  into  the  night, 
there  was  a  woman  running  up  and  down  the  street,  under  intense 
excitement  (whether  real  or  assumed  T  did  not  know)  and 
breathing  like  a  wild  animal.      (Probably,  an  uldgd  priestess.) 

The  next  clay,  August  8,  I  left  the  village,  indignant  at  having 
been  required  to  pay  for  the  use  of  the  house  in  which  1  had 
slept!  The  first  time  I  had  ever  met  with  such  inhospitalitv. 
We  pulled  on  among  the  tortuous  channels  around  the  sand- 
bars of  Xenge-Saka  (Slave-islands),  where  we  had  actually  to 
search,  in  the  rampant  vegetation,  for  any  dry  dead  wood,  with 
which  to  cook  our  i  t  a.  m.  "  breakfast."  in  the  forest.  Then,  on 
to  Xgumbe.  where  I  waited  a  while  for  Chief  Isagi.  lie  was 
improving  on  acquaintance.  When  he  came,  he  relinked  his 
slave  for  trying  to  overreach  me  in  my  purchase  of  fond.  lie 
presented  me  with  plantains,  fowls,  and  mats.  T  passed  on.  un- 
der sail,  to  an  island  opposite  to  Avanga.  reaching  there  long 
after  dark. 

The  next  day,  I  saw  an  alligator  on  a  sand-bank,  and  fired  at 
it  three  times,  thinking  it  was  asleep.  It  proved  to  have  been 
dead;  killed,  probably  by  a  shark.  My  people  were  disappointed 
that  it  was  too  decayed  for  them  to  eat.  On  the  way.  1  stopped 
for  a  short  service  at  the  Ivili  village  of  Re-Teno,  who  received 


OX  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  265 

me  well.  The  wife  of  Orondo,  from  the  adjacent  Galwa  town 
of  Ashuka,  came  to  see  me,  remained  to  meeting,  and  sat  close 
by  me.  Her  one-eyed  sister  crowded  up  near  to  her,  so  that  her 
thigh  pressed  against  mine.  I  objected  to  the  crowding.  Then, 
they  explained  that  they  wished  to  sit  very  near  to  me,  so  that 
the  odor  of  my  body  passing  to  her  might  impress  my  likeness 
on  her  unborn  child!  I  had  never  before  heard  such  extreme  be- 
lief in  "  maternal  impressions."  In  the  evening,  reached  Igenja; 
stopped  at  Ombya-ogwana's,  to  let  Mamba  ashore.  My  crew 
was  received  with  great  joy  by  their  mothers,  at  Awora's  village. 
J  gave  gifts  to  the  mother  of  Bayio,  and  of  Xtyindi-orema,  and 
to  his  sister  Irina. 

Next  day,  poor  Irina  quarreled  with  her  mother,  in  her  desire 
to  go  with  me  to  school :  but,  the  mother  would  not  consent. 
Girls  were  too  much  needed  for  work.  That  night,  we  reached 
the  new  clearing  of  the  head-man,  Mbanga,  near  Oranga. 

The  Sunday,  August  11,  was  spent  at  Oranga,  in  holding  serv- 
ices, and  teaching  in  the  villages.  There  came  two  new  appli- 
cants for  school. 

The  following  day.  the  clay's  journey  was  past  villages  where 
were  the  homes  of  some  of  the  crew,  or  where  were  living  for- 
mer employees ;  all  of  whom  gave  us  shouts  of  welcome,  espe- 
cially through  the  Wambalya  district.  In  the  afternoon,  pulled 
through  the  Ozugavizya  (the  cross-creek  connecting  the  two 
branches  of  the  Ogowe),  and  stopped  for  the  night  at  Ntyuwa- 
guma.  The  head  of  the  village  was  not  there ;  but.  his  young 
men  entertained  me.  I  was  much  interested  in  a  man,  who,  that 
very  day,  had  had  an  eye-worm  extracted  by  native  hands.  The 
worm  had  been  thrown  away.  I  was  desirous  to  get  one  to 
send  to  the  United  States.  They  were  not  rare,  even  in  my  own 
eye;  but,  their  extraction  was  rare. 

By  noon  of  the  next  day,  I  was  at  Kangwe  Hill,  glad  to  find 
my  sister  in  comfortable  health,  and  welcomed  by  the  school. 

On  Saturday,  August  17,  in  going  to  my  village  services,  I 
was  at  Sonye's  in  Eyenano.  Passing  on  to  Mr.  Lubcke's  Ger- 
man house.  Otanga.  to  inquire  about  the  probable  arrival  of  his 
Mpongice,  I  saw  a  large  dead  boa  constrictor.  The  crew  were 
alarmed,  because  of  a  superstition  that  the  odor  of  its  body,  if 
inhaled,  would  rot  their  stomachs.  On  return  home,  though  I 
was  glad  at  Sambunaga's  wife's  request  to  enter  the  inquiry 
class.  I  did  not  consent ;  for,  she  did  not  express  sufficient  of 
motive.  On  Sunday,  the  18th,  Xtyege  and  Re-Ganjwe  came  as 
inquirers. 


266  MY  OGOWE 

On  August  20,  friend  Azizya,  from  Atangina,  came  on  a  visit, 
bringing  with  her  eight  or  ten  children,  to  whom  I  showed  my 
automatic  toys  of  steamboat,  mouse,  and  dancing-jack. 

Having  done  so  much  building,  I  was  glad  that  I  could  turn 
myself  to  some  new  work,  i.  e.,  of  translating,  for  the  needs  of 
the  school. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

I  made  my  quarterly  journey  to  Belambla,  Thursday,  August 
22-26,  taking  with  me  a  young  man  Zintango,  to  replace  Abumba. 
and  Aveya's  young  wife,  Arangi-nomie,  ( Destined- for-her-hus- 
band),  and  his  sister  Aziza.  On  the  way.  I  took  the  usual 
"  breakfast  "  with  Mr.  Sinclair  at  Aguma.  He  handed  to  me  a 
little  book,  "  Rest  for  the  Weary,"  with  my  name  in  it.  He  had 
found  it  up  the  Ngunye,  in  the  hands  of  one  of  his  Mpongwe 
traders.  I  had  missed  it  at  Benita.  Some  one  must  have  stolen 
it  there,  taken  it  to  Gaboon,  passed  it  to  Mpongwe  hands,  and  it 
had  come  thence  to  the  Ngunye,  400  miles  from  Benita !  At 
Belambla.  I  was  not  encouraged.  Bakele  were  removing,  before 
the  oncoming  Fariwe.  There  was  no  danger;  but.  the  large  in- 
coming of  traders  had  intensified  the  commercial  interest,  and  I 
was  begged  on  every  side,  not  for  education,  but  for  gifts. 
Aveya,  too,  had  not  been  steadily  at  his  post;  though  his  ac- 
counts were  tolerably  correct.  In  the  morning  of  the  26th,  as 
I  was  arising,  I  heard  terrific  howls,  somewhat  like  an  angry  ele- 
phant. I  ran  to  the  landing  at  the  water-side,  and  saw  two  hip- 
popotami fighting  on  a  sand-bank.  Returned  to  Kangwe  that 
day. 

At  the  German  house,  on  the  17th,  and  more  definitely  on 
the  22d,  I  had  been  informed  that  their  Mpongwe  had  brought 
supplies  for  them  to  their  depot  at  Angala,  unable  to  come  fur- 
ther because  of  the  low  water.  Also,  among  her  freight  were  a 
quantity  of  goods  for  me,  forwarded  by  Mr.  Murphy  from  Libre- 
ville.    So,  I  was  to  go  with  boats,  to  bring  up  my  treasures. 

JOURNEY  TO  ANGALA. 

On  Wednesday  the  28th,  T  started  in  the  Nelly-Howard  with 
four  oars,  followed  by  the  native  boat  under  Agaia  with  six  pad- 
dles. I  went  up  around  the  island  to  the  main  stream ;  for.  in 
the  middle  of  the  cool-dry  season,  the  shallows  were  too  many 
in  my  Kangwe  branch.  Stopped  to  inquire  at  the  German  house ; 
at  1  r.  m.,  stopped  to  eat  at  the  village  of  Ntyege's  father;  passed 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  267 

on  to  Oranga,  but  did  not  stop,  as  the  dry  season  menyenge  rain, 
that  had  begun  falling  in  the  morning,  continued.  Sunset  as  we 
passed  Nandipo;  but,  we  pulled  on,  tired.  I  was  anxious  about 
the  native  boat  which  was  far  behind.  Went  on  in  the  dark ; 
and,  as  we  passed  Awora's  village  called  to  him  to  follow  and 
join  our  journey  on  the  morrow.  Went  on  to  the  Igenja  vil- 
lage. There.  Mamba  and  Angeka  were  gladly  welcomed  by  their 
relatives.  There,  too,  were  lying  two  of  Mr.  Lubcke's  Goree 
canoes,  on  their  way  up-river,  under  command  of  a  Goree,  Bubu. 
Agaia's  boat  arrived  while  I  was  eating.  Neither  he  nor  I  were 
well.  The  next  day,  I  bought  a  quantity  of  provisions;  and 
added  four  others  to  my  crews. 

I  was  provoked  at  the  assumption  of  the  old  man  of  the  vil- 
lage, in  his  sending  me  word  that  I  should  come  to  him,  as  he 
wished  to  speak  to  me.  As  if  he  was  not  perfectly  able  to  come 
to  me !  The  day  was  rainy.  Stopped  at  Orondo's  in  Ashuka,  to 
bargain  for  a  hippopotamus  head  which  I  wanted  as  a  curiosity 
for  some  museum  in  the  United  States.  Went  on,  past  Avanga 
Island ;  past  a  new  village  which  the  Avanga  people  were  build- 
ing; and  ate  in  the  forest.  Five  of  Air.  Lubcke's  canoes  were 
met  on  their  way  up-river,  carrying  his  goods  from  Angala. 
More  rain  fell  as  we  passed  Ngumbe.  The  canoe  of  the  Goree, 
Ayune,  was  behind  us,  and  it  stopped  there.  Though  the  rain  in- 
creased, we  went  on,  passing  other  canoes  in  the  Nenge-saka 
channels.  The  rain  fell  sharply,  and  we  were  all  wet  as  we 
emerged  again  into  the  main  stream.  Passing  old  Njagu's  (Re- 
Nguwa's)  town.  I  entered  a  creek  on  the  right  bank  to  a  village 
Esira,  where  I  had  never  been  before.  The  Nkami-tribe  head- 
man, Otando,  received  us  well.  One  of  his  wives  was  a  rela- 
tive of  one  of  my  crew.  A  woman  presented  me  with  a  tasteful 
■jomba  of  fish.  There  was  there  a  woman  in  civilized  dress,  who 
called  herself  "  Marie,"  and  said  that  she  had  lived  at  the  Libre- 
ville Plateau  as  wife  of  one  of  the  Frenchmen  there.  A  little 
year-old  mulatto  child  was  creeping  in  the  street.  There  was  a 
man  who  said  that  he  had  been  a  workman  at  our  Baraka  in 
Libreville.  But,  I  doubted  him ;  for,  he  could  not  tell  me  the 
name  of  the  missionary  for  whom  he  had  worked.  There  was 
also  a  man  who  said  that  he  had  visited  on  Corisco  Island  at  the 
house  of  Rev.  J.  L.  Mackey  while  I  was  occupying  the  "  Maluku  " 
house  (1861-1865).  It  was  true  that  members  of  the  Nkami 
tribe,  regarding  themselves  as  coast  tribes-men,  did  travel  (as 
the  Galwa  and  other  interior  tribes  did  not)  to  the  sea,  for  em- 
ployment on  the  coast.     An  old  man  said  that  he  remembered 


268  MY  OGOWE 

two  missionaries  from  Baraka  having  ascended  the  Ogowe  as 
far  as  Esira.  (It  was  true  that  Rev.  Messrs.  Walker  and  Pres- 
ton, many  years  before,  had  entered  the  river  to  the  distance  of 
about  seventy  miles,  on  a  visit  of  inspection.  But,  they  re- 
mained only  one  day,  made  no  location,  went  back  to  Libreville, 
and  never  revisited  the  river.) 

The  next  day  I  proceeded ;  passed  Nango ;  stopped  to  eat  in  the 
forest.  Had  I  stopped  at  a  village,  native  etiquette  would  have 
delayed  me;  and,  I  was  anxious  to  get  back  to  Kangwe  before  the 
real  rainy  season  began.  Showers  were  falling.  Passed  5frombi ; 
reaching  Angala  early  in  the  afternoon;  ioo  miles  in  two  and  a 
half  days.  The  German.  Mr.  Detmering,  at  once  began  to  tell 
me  of  a  fracas  between  the  French  customs  officer,  Xavier,  and 
Xdambenje  and  other  Angala  people.  On  examining  the  tally 
of  my  boxes,  I  could  find  but  fifteen.  Mr.  Murphy  had  written 
to  me  that  there  were  twenty.  Mr.  Detmering  explained  that 
himself  had  already  forwarded  three,  and  perhaps  more,  in  his 
own  canoes  to  Otanga.  King  Esongi  came  to  greet  me  with 
great  ceremony,  and  took  me  to  his  house  for  a  long  talk,  de- 
fending his  people  against  Xavier,  and  begging  me  to  intercede 
in  his  behalf  with  the  French.  I  respected  the  old  man;  but,  I 
was  always  careful  to  avoid  mixing  into  complications  between 
the  natives  and  the  Government.  And,  as  to  Xdambenje,  I  could 
readily  believe  in  any  charge  of  violence  against  him.  Ate 
supper  with  Mr.  Detmering;  and  went  to  bed  in  the  boat. 
Thoughts  of  the  prospective  troubles  of  the  town  kept  me  awake. 
And,  just  as  I  was  falling  asleep,  Ayune's  canoe  arrived.  They 
had  a  leg  of  hippopotamus  meat,  which  Engineer  Davies.and 
John  Frmy  had  shot.  Ayune's  crew  kept  me  awake  a  long  while, 
with  their  talking,  cooking,  singing,  and  shouting. 

On  the  next  day,  Saturday  31,  I  loaded  the  two  boats,  both 
heavily  laden,  and  commenced  my  return  up  the  100  miles.  Ate 
at  5Jombi.  The  little  child  of  Onanga,  to  whom  I  had  given  the 
two  P>araka  dresses,  was  naked.  The  mother  said  that  that  was 
in  order  to  save  the  dresses  from  being  worn  out !  Game  on  to 
Xango,  using  a  sail  on  the  native  boat.  Though  the  sun  was  not 
yet  3  p.  M.,  I  remained  there  for  the  Sunday,  because  the  next 
day's  run  would  not  bring  us  to  any  village,  and  I  did  not  wish 
to  waste  the  day  in  the  forest.  Re-Buka,  brother  of  Re- 
Xtvambi.  received  me  well.  His  wife,  Mburu,  treated  me  in  a 
manner  more  lady-like  than  I  remember  to  have  recived  from 
any  native  woman  in  the  river.  She  gave  me  potatoes  (sweet). 
pa   (gravy  of  an  oily  nut),  pepper   (fresh  cayenne  pods),  and 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  269 

lime-sauce.  She  would  take  nothing  in  return,  saying1,  "  I  would 
not  sell  to  you"  (She  had  been  a  white  man's  wife.)  There 
was  a  woman,  a  young  mother,  young  wife  of  old  Ngwa-nyani, 
who  had  lost  both  her  babies.  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen 
in  Africa,  such  apparent  regret  for  a  dead  baby.  Her  eyes  spoke 
with  such  a  varying  luster.  On  Sunday,  September  1,  I  sat, 
rested,  preached,  and  taught  all  the  crews  of  the  two  boats.  The 
day  passed  rapidly  and  pleasantly.  Several  canoes  of  the  Ger- 
man house  continued  on  their  way  up-river.  In  the  evening,  Re- 
Buka's  brother  stood  in  the  street,  and  addressed  my  people 
(Galwas)  about  their  intertribal  difficulties  with  the  Nkami.  I 
did  not  like  this ;  it  seemed  a  discourtesy,  as  my  people  had  done 
nothing  against  Nkami.  But,  I  said  nothing.  Re-Buka,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  appreciate  the  case,  and  interrupted  him;  and, 
then  the  brothers  quarreled. 

On  the  Monday,  I  gave  parting  presents  to  Re-Buka,  his  wife, 
his  father,  and  the  young  mother.  The  tide  was  in  our  favor; 
but  a  heavy  mist  was  on  the  river.  Saw  an  Ajumba  canoe  that 
had  come  from  Orungu  laden  with  salt,  with  which  they  were 
going  to  the  interior  to  buy  slaves.  Salt  was,  at  that  time,  the 
most  valuable  currency  in  the  entire  river,  as  there  were  no  known 
salt  springs  on  the  upper  Ogowe  (or  "  Okanda,"  as  the  interior 
was  then  called).  We  passed  and  were  passed  by  it  several 
times.  My  crews  pulled  well,  and  we  passed  the  three  canoes  of 
Sunday,  and  stopped  at  Olende  Island  in  its  forest  to  eat.  From 
there.  I  set  up  the  Nelly-Hoivard's  two  sails.  It  sailed  well :  past 
my  native  boat ;  past  the  three  companion  canoes  of  Mr.  Lubcke. 
With  wind  alone,  I  kept  ahead  of  all  the  others.  Passed  Esira. 
At  Yambe.  the  wind  was  very  strong,  and  sailing  was  splendid. 
On,  among  the  Nenge-saka  Islands.  Shortly  after  sunset, 
stopped  for  the  night,  in  the  forest ;  and  had  food  already  cooked 
for  all  before  Agaia  overtook  us.  There  was  a  young  moonlight, 
and  all  were  well  and  merry. 

On  the  next  day,  started  early.  Heard  hippopotami  fighting 
across  the  river.  Tide  still  was  in  our  favor.  On  to  Ngumbe ; 
saw  Isagi,  and  bought  some  eggs.  On.  and  ate  in  the  forest 
near  the  new  Avanga  village,  the  head-man  of  which,  Ogula,  by 
name,  came  to  remonstrate  with  me  for  not  coming  to  his  place, 
and  for  eating  in  the  forest,  fit  is  true  that  I  almost  always 
combined  preaching  with  journeys,  and,  for  that  purpose,  slept 
at  and  took  my  meals,  as  far  as  possible,  in  some  village.  But. 
on  that  journey.  I  was  hasting  to  get  my  valuable  goods  to  their 
safe  end  before  the  rains  should  begin.)      Again  rowing,  passed 


270  MY  OGOWE 

the  three  German  canoes,  and  put  up  sail  near  Asange  Island. 
Stopped  at  Ashuka,  and  got  the  hippo  skull,  for  which  1  had  bar- 
gained on  my  way  down-river.  I  had  a  bad  headache,  and  had 
eaten  only  a  pineapple;  but,  I  continued  to  hold  the  tiller-ropes, 
as  we  were  sailing  very  rapidly,  and,  my  Galwas  were  not 
familiar  with  sails.  By  sunset,  I  had  reached  Mamba's  village; 
stopped  to  let  off  him  and  two  others;  and  I  proceeded,  with 
only  two  to  Awora's.  Landed,  and  attempted  to  go  into  the 
huts ;  but,  was  too  sick.  I  ate  nothing,  and  went  back  to  sleep  in 
the  boat.     The  people  were  very  sympathetic. 

On  Wednesday  the  4th,  I  was  well:  went  ashore,  and  was  wel- 
comed. Irina's  mother  consented  that  she  should  come  to  school. 
Bayio's  mother  would  not  allow  his  little  brother,  Nyanda,  to 
come.  The  child  cried  piteously  to  be  permitted  to  go  with  me. 
The  kongongo,  in  which,  on  August  16.  I  had  allowed  eight  of 
the  Igenja  boys  to  go  on  vacation  to  their  homes,  was  put  into 
the  water;  and  all  three  crafts  started  off  with  great  eclat! 
Stopped  at  Oranga,  before  dark;  and,  at  night,  had  a  good  meet- 
ing in  the  street.  The  next  day,  proceeded  with  at  times  the 
wind ;  at  others,  with  only  oars ;  stopping  to  eat  at  the  village  of 
one  of  the  crew,  Ntyege.  It  was  quite  a  test  of  his  devotion  to 
his  work  that  he  did  not  run  away  or  ask  to  be  allowed  to  stay, 
though  his  people  wished  him  to  do  so.  The  water  at  the  large 
entrance  to  Lake  Onanga  was  very  swift,  and  swirled  around 
the  rocks  opposite  to  a  new  Fanwe  village.  At  sunset,  stopped 
in  a  pleasant  cove,  Abango,  on  the  main  stream.  Felt  well,  in  the 
prospect  of  ending  the  journey  next  day.  The  night  was  moon- 
light :  and  T  enjoyed  the  evening  prayers  ashore  with  the  crews. 
The  lights  of  the  camp-fires  of  the  three  companion  canoes  were 
bright  on  the  other  side  of  the  river. 

The  next  day,  pulled  on  rapidly;  and,  after  passing  Kumule- 
kwe's  village,  put  up  sail,  and  proceeded  very  rapidly  with  sail 
alone.  When  in  sight  of  the  German  house,  stopped  to  cook,  and 
had  all  food  ready  when  the  two  other  crafts  came  up.  Went  on 
to  Mr.  Lubcke's  house,  and  found  my  two  missing  packages  (one 
barrel  of  flour,  and  a  box  of  sugar).  The  three  crafts  made  a 
'display  of  boatsongs  as  we  pulled  around  Eyenano  at  the  head  of 
the  island ;  and.  soon  were  at  Kangwe  landing.  I  found  my 
sister  tolerably  well.  The  crews,  in  good  spirits,  worked  sys- 
tematically and  steadily,  in  unloading,  in  hauling  the  crafts  into 
the  shed,  and  in  carrying  the  boxes  and  barrels  up  the  steep  hill : 
until  all  was  happily  completed  by  4  p.  m.  In  the  evening,  I  held 
an  enthusiastic  inquiry  class;  more  than  fifteen  present. 


TWT.M  WTXF  GOURD  P.OTTT.FS 


Facing   page   27  1 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  271 

On  Sunday,  September  8,  my  own  household  of  thirty  filled  the 
little  ikenga  (reception-room)  of  the  house,  and  I  added  seats  for 
expected  strangers.  The  Mpongwe  Ngeza  and  his  wife  Makeki, 
came.  Also,  Laseni.  But,  I  was  beginning  to  doubt  the  latter : 
and  I  did  not  invite  him  to  my  table  when  I  brought  the  other 
two.  And,  remembering  the  greediness  of  their  followers  on  a 
former  occasion,  I  did  not  give  out  food  to  any  of  them. 

The  next  morning,  Monday,  Laseni  came  to  see  me,  with  a 
long  written  complaint  against  his  wife  Alida,  (Ngwanjanga). 
I  did  not  believe  them,  at  that  time;  but,  subsequently,  I  had 
reason  to  consider  his  charges  well  founded;  yet,  himself  was  not 
blameless.  Headache,  from  a  fever  chill  of  the  previous  night 
(a  common  sequela  after  a  journey's  exposure)  prevented  any 
translation  work  in  the  afternoon. 

On  September  10,  I  made  a  record  in  my  diary,  "This  is  the 
eighth  anniversary  of  my  wife's  death ;  eight  long  and  weary 
years!  "  On  September  11,  went  in  the  kongongo,  on  a  report 
that  Re-Nkombe's  people  had  been  trespassing  on  my  premises, 
and  that  they  had  built  a  dry  season  fishing-camp  while  I  was 
absent  down-river.  I  found  their  deserted  ulako,  and  tore  down 
the  remainder  of  their  huts.  Evidently,  the  camp  was  still  being 
occupied ;  for,  there  were  enormous  quantities  of  chigoes ;  thou- 
sands got  into  my  shoes,  on  my  feet,  and  in  my  clothing.  Much 
of  the  remainder  of  the  day,  I  could  do  scarcely  anything  else  but 
pick  off  the  insects.  In  the  evening,  in  the  ikenga,  the  boys  were 
enjoying  themselves  in  various  ways,  with  stereoscope,  sewing, 
lessons,  pictures,  jack-straws,  etc.,  etc.  That  night,  I  did  not 
sleep  well;  for  (not  entirely  imagination)  I  felt  the  chigoes  still 
crawling  over  me. 

While  at  work  with  my  people  in  the  forest  next  day,  at  a  log, 
I  saw  that  three  palm-trees  had  been  cut,  for  palm-wine.  I  dis- 
covered a  man,  Anyigei,  who  fled.  I  pursued  and  captured  him; 
broke  his  palm-wine  pots ;  and  seized  his  hatchet  and  knife. 
Those  trespasses  on  premises  were  one  of  the  great  annoyances 
in  my  African  life.  (But  they  exist  not  only  in  heathen  coun- 
tries. Farmers,  in  the  United  States,  annually  are  outraged  by 
trespassing  hunters.) 

The  next  day,  one  of  Re-Xkombe's  women  brought  me  a  pres- 
ent of  boiled  eddoes,  and  dried  fish  stewed  in  palm-oil.  I  think 
that  it  was  a  peace-offering  for  Anyigei's  offense.  In  the  even- 
ing, after  inquiry  class  meeting,  I  instituted  an  inquirer's  prayer 
meeting,  to  be  led  by  the  five  professing  Christians.  (That  was 
before  I  had  heard  anything  about  "  Christian  Endeavor.") 


-/- 


MY  OGOWE 


On  September  14,  Manoel,  a  Portuguese  slave-refugee,  who 
had  worked  with  Mr.  Menkel  at  Mbade  house,  Benita,  and  on 
the  Hudson,  but  who  had  deserted  at  Libreville,  came  to  me  for 
employment.  It  was  quite  probable  that  he  had  just  reasons  for 
leaving  Mr.  Menkel;  but.  I  would  not  openly  approve  of  deser- 
tion; and  refused  him.  At  Aguma.  in  the  afternoon.  I  saw  my 
dear  Mpongwe  friend  Njivo  and  her  husband  Dowe,  arrived 
there  already  four  days  from  his  trading-place.  Her  duties 
to  him  had  kept  her  from  coming  to  see  my  sister,  who 
might  have  found  comfort  in  her  lady-like  society.  A  letter  ar- 
rived from  Libreville,  from  Mr.  Murphy,  saying  that  the  French 
had  seized  as  prisoner  at  Angala,  old  King  Esongi.  for  the  "  pa- 
laver "  between  his  son  Xdambenje  and  the  French  customs  of- 
ficial. In  Africa,  scarcely  any  native  was  safe,  before  a  for- 
eign tribunal,  on  even  a  trumped-up  complaint  made  by  any  white 
man.  and  especially  by  a  white  official.  The  victim's  wife  or 
daughter  was  often  the  price  of  his  release. 

My  pet  monkey  seemed  to  be  dying  on  the  T/th;  and.  as  I 
saw  nothing  of  it  next  day,  I  suppose  it  had  gone  off  and  died. 
Several  Orungus  came  to  sell  a  large  full-grown  male  antelope, 
an  adult  nibalanya  (Benga).  (in  Kombe,  mondimo;  in  Mpongwe 
nkambi).  T  had  never  seen  one  so  large.  Gave  $6  for  it. 
Spent  the  morning  in  skinning  and  dressing  it.  Sent  a  hind 
quarter  to  Mr.  Sinclair;  retaining  the  other  hind  quarter  for  sis- 
ter and  myself.  I  gave  the  remainder  of  the  animal  to  the  boys 
as  a  four  days'  supply  of  meat. 

Hearing  that  some  of  Re-Nkombe's  people  were  actually  build- 
ing on  my  premises  at  Andende  creek.  T  went  there  on  Friday  the 
joth.  to  inspect.  Then,  T  went  to  Atangina.  to  complain.  If 
he  was  there,  he  did  not  appear:  his  head-wife  said  that  her  slaves 
had  done  it.  and  that  it  should  be  stopped.  It  was  a  hungry  time : 
plantains  were  almost  finished;  and  T  had  to  give  out  farinya  for 
food,  which  the  boys  did  not  prefer.  Under  the  temptation, 
Ntyindiorema  stole  some  of  the  few  remaining  plantains;  and. 
f  suspended  him  from  the  inquiry  class. 

In  writing,  on  September  21.  to  son  Charles,  an  account  of  the 
sea- journey  from  Gaboon,  and  my  seasickness  on  the  Hudson. 
the  memory  of  the  intense  distress  \  had  endured  nauseated  me! 
It  was  a  most  remarkable  physiological  and  psychological  fact. 
None  of  my  mission-associates  appreciated  how  I  suffered.  And. 
T  have  not  often  been  able  to  make  any  one  else  understand  what 
1  endured  during  twenty-five  years,  in  boats  and  steamers,  on  the 
sea. 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  273 

For  the  Saturday  village  meeting.  I  went  to  Eyenano,  where 
I  had  a  good  audience,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  village 
had  just  been  having  a  "  palaver  "  about  a  man  and  his  wife. 
The  young  Kombe  man,  Petiye,  one  of  my  sister's  ministerial 
candidates,  was  very  intelligent.  He  inquired  about  European 
history  and  Protestantism.  I  showed  him,  in  Motley's  "  Rise 
of  the  Dutch  Republic,"  the  life  of  one  of  the  Nassau  family  an- 
cestors, William,  Prince  of  Orange  and  Nassau. 

At  the  morning  service  of  the  22d,  there  was  a  large  company 
of  women  and  children ;  but,  they  did  not  remain  to  Sabbath 
school.  There  was  some  thunder,  but  no  lightning.  I  would 
have  thought  that  the  rainy  season  had  come,  were  it  not  that  the 
river  had  not  begun  to  rise,  which  it  always  did  in  advance  of 
any  rain  (from  heavy  rains  in  the  far  Interior). 

I  had  been  almost  entirely  out  of  fresh  food  other  than  farinya 
for  my  people ;  the  usual  scarcity  at  the  close  of  the  long  cool- 
dry  season.  But,  now,  fresh  food  began  to  come  not  only  from 
Atangina  and  Ntyuwa-guma,  but  even  from  Ajumba.  I  was 
writing  long  letters  all  day,  morning,  afternoon,  and  evening,  to 
my  children  in  the  United  States.  Re-Nkombe's  slaves  con- 
tinued their  annoying  attempt  to  occupy  my  Andende  ground. 

I  had  sent  Awora  in  the  kongongo  down-river  to  buy  food. 
He  returned  on  the  25th  with  eighty  bunches  of  plantains! 
What  should  I  do  with  them  all !  Orondo  of  Ashuka  came  to 
sell  fish.  After  I  had  sent  my  letters  to  Aguma.  to  go  by  a 
messenger  whom  Mr.  Sinclair  was  sending  overland  to  Libreville. 
I  entertained  Orondo  with  stereoscope,  automatic  steamer,  jack- 
straws,  melodeon,  alphabet  blocks,  etc. 

On  the  26th  my  diary  makes  an  uncomfortable  record,  which 
I  mention,  only  to  illustrate  a  superstition :  "  The  schoolgirls 
made  difficulty  to-day;  their  lousy  hair  had  been  cut  off  yester- 
day ;  and.  thev,  instead  of  throwing  it  away,  had  hidden  it  in  their 
food-box !  They  stated  that  they  intended  to  send  it  to  their 
parents,  there  being  some  belief  that  they  might  be  injured  if  it 
fell  into  the  hands  of  strangers!  " 

My  sister  had  not  been  well  for  a  long  time :  but.  feeling:  that 
a  little  excursion  might  benefit  her.  I  sent  her.  on  the  28th.  in 
the  X ell x-H award,  a  two  hours'  ride  with  six  of  the  most  care- 
ful and  gentlemanly  of  my  young  men.  The  river  was  rapidly 
rising,  and  heavy  rains  might  be  expected  any  day.  That  night 
there  was  lightning. 

And.  next  day,  Sunday,  the  rainy  season  set  in.  preventing 
people  from  coming  to  service.     But.  I  had  my  own  household : 


274  MY  OGOWE 

and  in  the  evening,  they  evidently  enjoyed  the  song-  service;  for, 
they  wished  me  to  continue,  when  I  was  ready  to  stop. 

Monday  the  30th  was  a  beautifully  bright  clear  day.  Rainy 
season  had  fully  come.  The  dull  skies  of  the  dry  season  were 
gone.  There  was  blue  sky.  white  clouds,  fresh  green  leaves, 
bright  open  spots,  and  cool  shadows,  and  balmy  breezes. 

Sambunaga's  wife  was  quarreling  with  him  in  the  evening  of 
October  1 .  She  threatened  to  go  away  to  Atangina :  I  almost 
hoped  that  she  would  go,  and  thus  save  me  the  task  of  dismissing 
her;  for,  she  was  not  a  pleasant  member  of  the  household. 

On  Thursday  the  30th,  Bayio  thought  that  he  could  not  climb 
palm  trees,  when  I  directed  him  to  trim  a  certain  one,  I  was  sure 
that  his  objection  did  not  rest  on  inability;  so.  I  gave  him  the  job 
of  trimming  them  all.  With  the  rapidly  rising  water,  the  sand- 
banks were  being  covered. 

A  disagreeable  young  man,  Mbama.  who  claimed  Irina  as  his 
betrothed,  came  to  complain  of  his  not  having  been  consulted  be- 
fore she  was  allowed  to  come  to  school.  The  river  was  rising  so 
very  fast,  that  I  could  almost,  in  an  interval  of  a  few  hours,  see 
how  the  sand-bars  were  being  covered.  On  the  4th,  I  restored 
Ntyindiorema  to  the  inquiry  class. 

Bayio  objecting  still  to  the  job  of  trimming  palm-trees,  I  dis- 
missed him  for  the  day.  On  going  that  day  to  the  Saturday 
meeting  at  Atangina,  I  saw  there  Anyigei  who  was  continuing 
his  trespassing.  I  said  nothing  to  him.  as  I  had  left  his  case  with 
Re-Nkombe.  There  were  beautiful  moonlights,  fantastic  shad- 
ows on  the  hill-side,  sweet  odors  from  flowering  plants  on  the 
night  air. 

On  Sunday.  October  6.  some  Fan  we  came  to  sell  "  bush- 
lights  "  (okume- — gum  torches).  They  had  been  to  Mr.  Sinclair 
at  Aguma.  and  had  been  told  that  the  day  was  "  Sabbath."  and 
purchases  could  not  be  made.  They  were  disappointed  in  finding 
that  it  was  Sabbath  at  Kangwe  also.  At  Sabbath  school,  there 
were  a  dozen  children  from  Atangina.  In  the  evening,  my  sis- 
ter was  sick  and  confined  to  bed.  On  the  Monday.  T  dismissed 
Sambunaga's  wife,  and  allowed  him  to  go  to  take  her  to  his  peo- 
ple. Xext  day.  Bayio  finally  accepted  his  job.  and  found  that  he 
could  both  climb  and  trim  palm-trees.  The  Pioneer,  which  had 
been  laid  on  a  sand-bar  all  the  dry  season,  for  repairs,  was  now 
afloat,  and  would  soon  go  to  Claboon.  T  send  a  mail  by  her,  with 
the  Kombe  young  man  Ijabi,  who  would  return  to  his  home  at 
Benita.  And.  in  his  place,  I  established  Mamba  ;is  teacher  in 
the  vernacular  school,  leaving  only  the  few  English  pupils  for  my 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  275 

sister.  And,  to  relieve  her  in  the  domestic  affairs,  Mamba  was 
also  to  be  her  assistant,  as  "  steward,"  in  directing  the  serv- 
ants. 

On  October  11,  I  took  notice  of  my  forty-third  anniversary 
birthday.  Observing  how  weak  my  sister  seemed  to  be,  and 
going  over  my  four  strenuous  years  in  the  Ogowe,  for  the  time, 
I  began  to  doubt  as  to  my  duty  to  remain  much  longer  (though 
I  was  in  comparatively  good  health).  And,  as  I  was  planning 
the  building  of  a  new  outhouse  for  shop  and  carpenter  work,  I 
began  to  feel  anxious  as  to  what  would  become  of  the  station,  if 
no  relief  was  sent  me  from  the  United  States.  For  the  Saturday 
meeting  of  the  12th,  I  went  to  Ijuke-jame's  Akele  village.  His 
people  listened  better  than  I  had  thought  Bakele  would.  At 
Aguma  I  met  Ngeza  and  his  wife  Makeki.  They  told  me  that 
Laseni's  charges  against  his  wife  Alida  were  not  true.  [Yet, 
they  became  true,  later.  And,  they  both  wandered  far.  A  sis- 
ter of  his  was  one  of  the  many  wives  of  an  educated  polygamist, 
"  John  Harrington  "  or  Sonye,  of  Libreville.  Alida  was  daugh- 
ter of  another  of  Sonye's  wives.  Laseni  was,  therefore,  in  a 
certain  sense,  her  "  uncle,"  though  no  blood  relative.  They 
both  were  highly  educated.  Even  in  his  subsequent  fall,  he 
never  became  a  drunkard,  and  kept  his  status  as  a  gentleman. 
She  sank  very  low.] 

On  Sunday,  October  13.  there  was  great  firing  of  guns  as 
salute  and  welcome  and  rejoicing  at  the  arrival  of  some  of  the 
Atangina  people  from  their  semi-annual  journey  to  the  Okanda 
interior,  with  a  canoe-load  of  slaves.  To  illustrate  the  mixed 
population  of  the  Kangwe  region,  at  morning  service,  were  Ngeza 
and  wife  (Mpongwe),  they  remained  to  Sabbath  school;  and 
children  from  Atangina  (Galwa)  ;  and  young  men  (Bakele) 
from  Ijuke-jame's.  My  Saturday  afternoon  visits  generally 
brought  some  people  to  Sunday  meeting;  otherwise,  most  of  the 
natives  knew  nothing  of  the  calendar. 

On  the  night  of  the  18th.  I  was  annoyed  by  the  late  talking  in 
the  boys'  house ;  and,  I  could  say  nothing,  for  the  leaders  in  it 
were  two  of  the  teachers,  ministerial  candidates,  Petiye  and 
Kongolo.  During  the  day,  busy  at  the  carpenter-shop  building. 
Late  at  night,  came  a  messenger  from  Aguma  with  word  that 
Lieutenant  Count  P.  S.  DeBrazza.  of  the  French  exploring  ex- 
pedition, had  arrived  from  the  Interior,  in  destitution.  On  Sun- 
day, the  20th,  no  persons  from  the  villages  at  services.  But, 
shortly  after  the  close  of  meeting,  a  man  and  some  women,  from 
Zintango's  village  in  Wombalya,  came  with  plantains  to  sell.     Of 


276  MY  OGOWE 

course,  they  did  not  know  it  was  Sunday.  I  told  them  to  await 
at  the  lower  hut  by  the  ravine,  until  next  day. 

Little  Lucy  again  noisy  in  Sabbath  school.  My  sister  sick, 
and  confined  to  her  bed. 

On  Monday,  October  21,  I  was  collecting  supplies  of  clothing, 
shoes,  soap,  etc.,  etc.,  and  was  about  to  start  to  Aguma  to  offer 
them  to  Count  DeBrazza,  and  to  express  my  welcome  to  him  and 
his  expedition,  when,  just  as  I  was  ready,  the  count  and  Dr. 
Ballay  arrived  to  make  a  visit  of  courtesy  on  sister  and  myself. 
(Their  needs  had  already  been  supplied  by  Mr.  Sinclair.)  After 
their  short  call,  I  escorted  them  back  to  Aguma,  to  the  1 1  a.  m. 
breakfast.  I  was  interested  in  seeing  their  Akanda  men  weav- 
ing native  cloth  (mis-called  "  grass  cloth  " ;  from  undeveloped 
leaflets  of  the  palm)  ;  saw  the  variety  of  types  of  tribes  from  the 
Interior;  was  deeply  interested  in  their  account  of  the  dangers 
and  travels  of  the  expedition.  On  my  return,  bought  a  little 
fawn  as  a  pet  for  my  sister.  (But,  two  days  later  the  delicate 
little  thing  died.) 

On  Thursday,  October  24,  about  10:30  a.  m..  Count  DeBrazza, 
Dr.  Ballay.  their  quartermaster,  and  Mr.  Sinclair,  came,  on  our 
return  invitation,  to  "  breakfast.''  They  remained  until  after  3 
p.  m.  It  was  a  rare  occasion  of  civilized  courtesies  in  our  life  on 
the  Ogowe.  The  count  presented  me  with  his  dog  "  Black," 
which  had  been  with  him  in  all  his  Interior  journey. 

The  village  for  the  afternoon  services  of  Saturday  the  26th, 
was  a  new  little  place  on  the  river  opposite  to  Kangwe.  Then,  as 
usual.  I  went  on  to  Aguma,  for  business  at  the  trading-house. 
There.  Count  DeBrazza  called  together  his  eleven  Interior  peo- 
ple (his  other  employees  were  coast-men)  and  showed  them  to 
me.  one  by  one,  four  men.  six  women,  and  one  little  child.  On  re- 
turning. I  found  my  sister  again  sick  in  bed.  with  a  very  bad 
headache.  At  night,  my  lady-like  Mpongwe  friend  Njivo,  her 
husband  Dowe.  and  her  aunt  Anyure,  arrived.  Njivo  had  a 
badly  ulcerated  breast,  for  which  she  had  come  for  treatment. 

At  night  of  Sunday  the  27th.  about  7  o'clock,  Mr.  Sinclair 
sent  an  enormous  delayed  mail,  which  had  come  overland,  sent 
by  Mr.  Murphy.  T  opened  his  note,  and  found  the  announce- 
ment of  the  death  of  my  mother,  on  June  2T.  And,  on  opening  a 
letter  from  my  son  "William,  there  was  the  added  sorrow  of  the 
death  of  my  father,  on  August  6.  Three  months  before!  T 
told  no  one.  nor  made  any  sign,  not  even  to  my  sister.  Tn  her 
weak  state  I  was  afraid  she  could  not  endure  it. 

Next  morning.  Monday,  October  28.  at  the  close  of  morning 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  277 

prayers,  in  a  few  words,  I  told  my  household  of  my  parents'  de- 
parture ;  and,  then,  immediately  went  to  my  sister's  room,  and,  as 
gently  as  I  could,  broke  the  tidings  to  her.  I  dismissed  all  work, 
for  the  day.  The  household  was  awed.  My  entire  absence  of 
demonstration  of  grief  was  so  unlike  the  screams  and  wails  at 
their  mournings.  Then,  I  read  the  mail  to  my  sister.  Among 
the  letters  were  two  from  our  father. 

On  Tuesday  the  29th,  I  allowed  the  employees  to  work ;  but,  I 
did  not  superintend  them.  Stayed  most  of  the  morning  with 
my  sister,  who  was  a  little  better.  Njivo's  husband  Dowe  re- 
turned to  his  trading-post,  leaving  her  at  Kangwe  in  my  care 
for  medication.  At  evening  prayer  meeting  I  read  Psalm  90,  12  ; 
and  occupied  the  occasion  with  thoughts  on  the  death  of  my 
parents. 

On  the  30th,  three  of  DeBrazza's  Okanda  people  came  to  see 
me  and  the  house.  They  said  that  they  had  heard  that  "  God 
lived  there."  In  talking  with  them,  one  of  them  expressed  his 
firm  disbelief  that  their  tribe  could  ever  change,  so  far  as  to  be 
civilized  like  white  people.  I  did  not  think  that  it  was  because 
he  was  not  willing  or  would  not  wish  for  such  civilization,  but 
that  he  was  hopeless,  seeing  the  wide  present  difference  between 
us. 

On  November  1,  I  did  not  superintend  out  of  doors;  but,  in 
the  morning,  rereading  the  recently  received  letters,  in  the  af- 
ternoon began  to  respond  to  them.  There  came  a  consolatory 
note  from  Count  DeBrazza.  At  night,  there  was  great  dancing 
and  shouting  down  at  the  lower  hut.  Going  there  to  stop  it,  I 
found  all  my  best  young  men  engaged  in  it.  I  felt  very  much 
depressed  over  it.  It  seemed  so  heartless,  while  my  sister  and  I 
were  in  sorrow.  Perhaps  my  having  left  the  young  men  without 
work  suggested  their  play.  Possibly  also,  my  having  shown  no 
signs  of  grief  may  have  caused  them  to  think  that  I  was  not 
grieving.  Also,  it  was  their  own  native  custom,  at  the  close  of 
the  days  of  mourning,  to  "  wash  away  "  the  tears  with  a  feast 
and  dance.  Next  morning,  I  dismissed,  for  the  day,  the  nine 
participants  in  the  night's  affair ;  and  gave  a  long  rebuke  person- 
ally to  two  of  them,  Petiye  and  Kongolo,  who  received  it  in  good 
spirit.  Count  DeBrazza  and  the  quartermaster  came  to  "  break- 
fast," and  said  good-by.  My  sister  gave  the  count  a  shell-orna- 
ment that  pleased  him.  He  kindly  took  my  Winchester  rifle 
with  him  to  Libreville  to  be  repaired.  The  nine  offenders  came 
in  the  evening,  to  ask  forgiveness.  Had  been  so  busy  writing 
letters  for  the  United  States  that  I  did  not  make  my  usual  Sat- 


278  MY  OGOWE 

urday  visit  to  the  villages.  On  Monday,  the  4th,  the  Pioneer 
was  seen  steaming  out  of  the  river,  at  7  a.  m.  DeBrazza  and  his 
company  were  on  it.  on  their  way  to  Gaboon.  At  noon,  came  a 
messenger  from  Mr.  Sinclair,  with  farewell  notes,  which  the 
count  and  Dr.  Ballay  had  written  to  me. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

The  dog,  Black,  who  had  l>een  accustomed  to  go  everywhere 
with  his  former  master,  wanted  to  follow  me,  on  Tuesday,  No- 
vember 5.  I  made  my  usual  stop  at  Aguma,  and  was  there  told 
by  a  new  clerk,  a  Mr.  Surry,  who  recently  had  been  transferred 
from  Batanga,  some  facts  about  our  mission-work  there  that 
gratified  me.  We  had  no  white  missionaries  there  (and,  at  that 
time,  had  no  intention  of  ever  sending  any)  but,  we  had  a 
church  and  native  workers.  Mr.  Surry  spoke  well  of  the  Chris- 
tians of  the  Banaka  tribe,  and  believed  that  the  Evangelist 
Bevinye  was  true  to  his  work.  [  In  later  years,  he  sadly  de- 
teriorated.] 

In  stopping  for  the  night  at  Anyambe-jena's,  I  was  pleased 
to  see  that  the  people,  especially  the  women,  were  cleaner  and 
better  dressed  than  formerly.  On  arriving  at  Belambla  in  the 
following  afternoon,  I  found  few  people.  They  were  generally 
away  at  their  plantation  camps.  Aveya  and  his  little  wife 
seemed  well  and  happy.  The  grass  at  my  unfortunate  little  out- 
station  was  beautifully  green  and  well-kept:  and,  the  fruit-trees 
were  doing  well.  But,  there  was  no  spiritual  fruit  being  borne 
by  the  hard-hearted  Bakele. 

The  next  day,  as  the  people  had  not  come  to  me,  I  went  to 
them,  a  mile  distant,  at  Ntambi's  village.  Many  persons  were 
there;  and  one  man  pleased  me  by  his  intelligence  and  frankness. 
Ntambi  himself  was  reported  not  to  be  there.  But,  really,  he 
was,  and  had  hidden  himself,  being  afraid  (as  I  was  told)  "  of 
God  and  Nassau."  I  think  I  never  got  to  the  end  of  Akele 
superstition.  And.  I  could  not  understand  the  inconsistency 
(since  the  robbery  of  my  house)  why,  if  the  people  were  afraid 
of  me.  they  continued  their  wrong-doing  as  to  property  trespass. 
I  walked  through  Kasa's  old  village,  where  1  had  lived  four 
years  before,  and  where  I  had  not  been  for  two  years.  New 
villages  had  sprung  up.  There  were  accounts  to  settle  with 
the  Belambla  employees.  Apekwe,  a  son  of  former  King 
Onderie.  called  to  see  me. 

Before  I  left,  in  the  morning  of  Friday,  November  8,  I  had 
an    unpleasant   talk    with   Jongaiie.     I    had    recognized    him   as 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  279 

Kasa's  successor;  and,  yet,  he  instead  of  protecting  the  prem- 
ises, was  one  of  those  who  were  stealing  the  grounds!  Also,  a 
talk  about  Delanja  having  threatened  to  shoot  Aveya,  because 
the  latter  had  advised  me  not  to  give  him  (Delanja)  presents! 
It  was  very  distressing  that  the  sole  interest  of  the  Bakele  in  me 
and  Belambla  seemed  to  be  the  obtaining  of  gifts,  showing 
no  interest  at  all  in  the  Heavenly  Gift.  On  the  way  down,  I 
met  the  French  gun-boat  La  Vallctte.  The  commander  (and 
Mr.  Lubcke,  who  was  a  passenger)  invited  me  on  board,  and 
politely  offered  me  "breakfast."  (I  had  had  my  food  cooked 
before  starting,  and,  on  the  way,  I  had  stopped  at  Avyake's  to 
warm  it.  But,  the  villagers  were  so  evidently  afraid  of  me  that 
I  went  away. )  I  had  made  no  threats ;  and  had  been  patient 
as  to  the  Akele  robbery.  But,  perhaps  the  fact  that  their  two 
great  chiefs,  Kasa  and  Ondehe,  my  professed  friends,  who  had 
failed  to  defend  me  in  that  wrong,  had  both  died  within  two 
years  after  it,  may  have  made  people  think  that  I  had  an  "  evil- 
eye  "  for  wrong-doers.  I  decided  that  it  was  useless  for  me 
to  look  any  longer  to  the  false  chiefs  for  defense  of  Belambla 
property.  I  entered  complaint  with  the  Commander  against 
Walinja  and  Delanja.  (Ogombe-denge  was  on  board,  in 
chains.)  Stopping  at  Aguma,  I  found  that  Chief  Magisi  was 
having  a  "  palaver  "  with  Mr.  Sinclair  about  purchase  of  food 
and  the  price  of  tobacco-leaf  (the  commonest  article  of  barter- 
money).  On  to  Kangwe  early;  and  exceedingly  alarmed  my 
sister's  nerves,  by  discharging  a  gun  in  the  yard.  (I  carried 
loaded  guns  in  the  boat,  but  required  them  to  be  emptied  before 
taking  them  into  the  house.) 

My  bamboo  building-material  was  all  used;  and,  on  the  9th,  I 
sent  to  Re-Tandi  at  Atangina,  who  owed  me  some.  He  returned 
word  that  "  it  was  not  dried  yet."  I  did  not  believe  that;  and, 
I  saw  him  go  to  attend  the  "  palaver  "  at  Aguma.  I  suspected 
his  object.  At  noon,  his  canoe  returned,  and  his  crew  was 
shouting,  as  they  passed  the  Hill,  to  my  people,  that  no  more 
food  would  be  allowed  to  be  brought  to  Kangwe  from  Nkami, 
etc.  It  was  a  boycott,  like  the  Ukuku  law  of  the  coast  tribes. 
My  Saturday  afternoon  meeting  was  at  Atangina  that  day.  I 
referred  to  the  proposed  boycott.  Re-Nkombe  (of  course)  de- 
nied any  complicity,  and  said  that  it  was  "  King  "  Magisi  who 
had  issued  the  decree.  But,  his  hard  cruel  tone  assured  me  that 
he  was  a  "  sympathy  "  striker  along  with  Magisi.  Nevertheless, 
his  sister  Azizya,  in  her  devoted  friendship  for  me,  and  because 


28o  MY  OGOWE 

she  was  sending  provisions  "  on  account,"  dared,  when  I  left,  to 
give  me  plantain  bunches  on  that  account.  I  was  very  much 
depressed ;  and  remembering  the  power  of  Ukuku  and  its  savage 
assault  at  Benita  ten  years  before,  I  yielded  to  my  fears,  and 
planned  to  dismiss  all  but  ten  of  the  school,  as  I  had  food  on 
hand  for  less  than  two  days.  My  sister  was  more  hopeful,  and 
read  a  helpful  verse  from  her  book  of  "  Daily  Readings."  Mr. 
Lubcke  and  the  commander  made  a  call.  They  told  me  that 
he  had  settled  the  Belambla  affair  of  Walinja  and  Delanja. 
Then,  I  told  him  about  Magisi's  "  strike  "  action ;  and  about  the 
trespassing  of  Re-Nkombe's  people  on  the  Kangwe  premises, 
and  asked  him  to  sign  the  deed  of  the  property,  in  order  that  it 
might  have  a  firmer  impression  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives.  He 
was  quite  willing  to  do  so ;  but.  I  preferred  to  have  it  done  on 
some  other  day  than  Sunday.  When  he  went,  he  said  that  he 
would  arrest  Magisi.  I  was  just  on  the  point  of  sending  away 
the  fourteen  boys,  when  Agaia  returned  from  Adalinananga,  and 
said  that  Magisi  sent  me  word  that  his  law  did  not  apply  to  me, 
but  only  to  Mr.  Sinclair;  and,  that,  as  a  proof  of  his  good-will, 
himself  would  send  me  food  on  Monday.  So.  I  dismissed  no 
one.  But,  I  sent  nine  of  them,  in  the  kongongo,  even  under  a 
heavy  rain,  to  buy  food  away  down  at  Ntyege's  village,  whither 
I  thought  the  boycott  had  not  reached.  Just  at  prayer  time,  in 
the  evening,  came  a  man  from  Wombalya,  of  Nguva's  village 
(a  dozen  miles  away)  with  six  bunches  of  plantains.  I  felt 
ashamed  that  I  had  had  so  little  faith  that  God  would  provide. 

On  Sunday,  November  10,  no  people  came  to  services.  Heard 
firing  at  Adalinananga  town,  near  Aguma.  And,  in  the  even- 
ing, was  told  that  Magisi  had  been  arrested. 

On  Monday,  the  i  ith,  Agaia  went  to  Aguma,  to  hear  the  news. 
He  came  back  with  a  long  story  of  the  capture  of  Magisi;  and, 
of  the  threats  of  the  latter's  people  against  another  Galwa, 
Re-Vege,  (an  opponent  of  Magisi)  that  they  would  burn  his  town. 
etc.  I  received  a  comfortable  impression  of  the  power  of  the 
French  Government  over  those  natives. 

On  the  14th,  Azizya  came  to  ask  whether  I  would  buy  plan- 
tains from  her.  She  seemed  to  be  afraid  that  I  would  refuse, 
because  of  the  trouble  with  which  her  brother  had  threatened 
me  about  food,  on  the  preceding  Saturday.  She  said  that  that 
trouble  was  ended.  In  the  evening,  the  kongongo.  which  I  had 
sent  on  that  very  Saturday,  in  expectation  of  a  food-boycott,  re- 
turned with  a  great  quantity  of  plantains. 

After  mv  services  in  Kolo  village  on  Saturday  the  if>th,  T  went 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  281 

to  Aguma,  and  heard  from  Mr.  Sinclair,  his  account  of  the  ar- 
rest of  Magisi  by  the  French.  A  very  busy  hour,  on  my  return 
to  the  Hill :  hurriedly  to  pay  for  a  load  of  building-bamboo  that 
had  just  arrived,  and  which  I  was  much  needing:  to  hand  out 
the  boys'  rations:  to  dress  Njivo's  sore  breast:  to  listen  to  and 
refuse  an  application  for  school  from  a  young  man  of  Adali- 
nananga;  and  then  sit  down  to  supper. 

On  Monday  the  18th,  went  to  Aguma,  where  I  found  the 
Pioneer  just  arrived.  Returned,  and  took  with  me,  for  an  ex- 
cursion, Njivo  and  her  aunt.  Went  to  Otanga,  and  got  boxes 
of  goods  which  had  arrived  at  the  German  house,  by  the 
Mpongwe.  I  noticed  in  my  changes  of  health,  a  variation  in  the 
desire  for  particular  articles  of  food.  In  the  United  States,  I  had 
eaten  onions,  but  never  with  any  longing,  though  I  was  always 
told  that  they  were  a  very  healthful  article.  In  Africa,  and 
especially  toward  the  end  of  my  terms,  when  strength  was  fail- 
ing, I  had  an  extreme  longing  for  the  onion.  They  were  not 
grown  by  the  river  tribes,  and  I  could  get  them,  only  as  luxuries, 
from  the  ocean  steamers.  On  that  18th  I  had  obtained  some 
from  the  Mpongwe.  I  enjoyed  them  extremely.  On  Wednesday 
the  26th,  I  heard  that  the  Pioneer  would  be  at  Lake  Azingo  on 
December  1,  on  its  way  to  Gaboon.  Mr.  Sinclair,  in  his  kind  in- 
terest for  my  sister,  who  continued  in  her  weak  state  of  health, 
urged  that  she  should  go  to  the  lake  to  meet  the  vessel,  in  order 
for  her  to  reach  Libreville,  rather  than  attempt  to  go  with  me  in 
my  boat,  on  my  expected  journey  for  our  Annual  Mission  and 
Presbytery  meetings.  But,  she  did  not  wish  to  go  quite  so  soon ; 
the  meetings  not  being  due  until  January.  Mr.  Sinclair  there- 
fore went  without  her,  on  the  28th,  kindly  stopping  on  his  way, 
at  Kangwe,  to  repeat  his  offer.  And.  on  Saturday  the  30th.  my 
lady-friend  Njivo  and  her  husband  also  left,  for  Lake  Azingo, 
expecting  to  meet  the  Pioneer. 

One  of  my  regular  daily  afternoon  occupations  was  a  retrans- 
lation  of  the  four  Gospels  in  Benga.  Each  had  been  translated 
many  years  before,  by  the  four  Corisco  pioneers.  Their  works 
needed  harmonizing.  This  I  was  doing  with  the  aid  of  Can- 
didate Kongolo. 

On  Wednesday,  December  4,  we  felt  justified  in  sister's  not 
having  gone  to  Lake  Azingo:  for.  Njivo's  husband  returned 
from  the  lake,  leaving  her  there  with  Mr.  Sinclair,  the  Pioneer 
not  having  yet  arrived.  And.  next  day.  the  5th,  messengers 
came  to  Aguma  from  the  Lake  to  get  food  for  Mr.  Sinclair, 
who  was  still  waiting  there. 


282  MY  OGOWE 

I  had  been  unwell  for  several  days,  and  could  not  conduct 
services  on  Sunday  the  8th.  Kongolo  took  my  place  in  the 
morning1.  At  noon,  came  Laseni  and  his  wife  Alida,  with  other 
Mpongwe  people,  Mrs.  Owondo-Lewis,  and  one  of  her  children, 
and  their  boat's  crew.  I  was  able  to  teach  Sabbath  school. 
After  school,  Alida  came  to  me  in  my  study,  to  tell  me  of  her 
husband's  ill-treatment  of  her.  On  Monday  the  9th,  I  rearranged 
the  hours  of  Petiye  and  Kongolo,  so  that  they  were  at  manual 
labor  only  one  and  a  half  hours  each  morning;  thus  they  were 
given  two  additional  hours  for  study.  They  also  were  directed 
to  take  a  study-hour  in  the  evening,  instead  of  that  time  being 
wasted  in  the  usual  idle  conversations  in  the  boys'  houses. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

The  quarterly  inspection  of  Belambla  was  to  be  made,  espe- 
cially before  leaving  for  Gaboon.  On  Friday,  December  20, 
with  Petiye  and  a  good  crew  in  the  Nelly-Hozvard,  and  two  lads 
in  a  canoe,  which  I  was  taking  for  service  at  Belambla.  a  com- 
fortable start  was  made.  Opposite  the  Ngunye,  stopped  to  buy 
food.  I  had  abundance  at  Kangwe ;  but.  not  wishing  its  encum- 
brance in  the  boat,  I  expected  to  buy  on  the  way.  But,  the  vil- 
lage was  without  food :  their  crops  had  failed. 

I  gave  a  woman  a  gift.  As  she  did  not  thank  me,  I  instructed 
her  in  the  duty  of  thanks.  To  my  surprise,  she  did  not  know 
the  word!  This  was  the  more  astonishing;  for,  the  word  akc:'a 
("  thanks  ")  was  a  well-known  and  commonly  used  one.  While 
stopping  to  rest  in  the  forest  opposite  Tazie,  the  crew  found  in 
a  pit,  the  bones  of  a  hippopotamus.  Pits  were  dug  by  the  natives. 
in  which  to  trap  elephants  and  hippopotami.  Evidently,  this  pit 
was  an  old  abandoned  one,  which  the  owner  no  longer  visited ; 
and,  the  animal  falling  into  it,  had  not  been  discovered,  and  had 
died  there.  Reached  Anyambi-jena's  before  sundown,  intending 
to  go  ashore  for  the  night.  But,  T  found  that  his  people  were 
actually  suffering  from  famine.  T  therefore  did  not  remain, 
fearing  lest  my  crew's  limited  supply  of  food  would  be  stolen  by 
the  hungry  people.  So,  T  slept  in  the  boat,  with  two  of  the  crew, 
after  I  had  preached  ashore.  But.  I  did  not  sleep  well,  being 
anxious  about  possible  robbery.  Three  persons  had  died  there 
during  the  previous  five  days.  I  would  probably  be  supposed  to 
l>e  the  cause  of  their  death. 

For,  the  next  day,  when  I  met  Mr.  Sinclair  coming  down- 
river (he  had  returned  from  Fake  Azingo,  and  had  come  up- 
river  to  inspect  his  trading-houses)   lie  told  trie  that  the  super- 


OX  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  283 

stitious  Bakele  held  me  responsible  for  the  river's  inundation! 
As  I  passed  along,  I  saw  many  villages  abandoned,  where  the 
water  had  overflowed.  Arrived  at  Belambla,  I  made  some  re- 
pairs to  the  house;  and  went  over  Aveya's  accounts,  which  were 
not  satisfactory:  he  had  overrun  the  limit.  I  saw  then  that  poor 
Belambla  was  going  down.  Its  trees  were  growing,  and  the 
grounds  in  good  order.  And  the  villages  quiet,  only  because 
their  inhabitants  were  away.  But,  Aveya  was  doing  very  little 
good,  not  even  guarding  the  houses  from  white  ants.  I  re- 
turned to  Kangwe  on  Monday  the  23d,  and  began  to  make  ar- 
rangements for  the  journey  to  Gaboon. 

On  Tuesday,  December  24,  I  went  to  Aguma,  to  leave  at  their 
homes  the  girl  Iguve  and  three  boys,  and  my  dog  Black,  and  my 
male  goat.  On  Wednesday  the  25th,  I  did  not  think  of  the  day 
being  "  Christmas,"  until  I  had  been  awhile  risen.  And,  I  for- 
got it  during  most  of  the  day,  and  took  no  notice  of  it  among  my 
people.  For,  I  was  busy  taking  account  of  goods  on  hand,  for 
my  annual  settlement  with  the  Mission-treasurer.  I  had  much 
to  examine,  going  to  and  fro  on  the  premises.  The  employees 
were  behaving  quietly;  I  had  excused  them  from  work;  for,  I 
had  not  time  to  superintend  them.  Moreover,  Christmas  meant 
so  little  to  me,  away  from  civilization  and  the  cherished  love  of 
friends,  in  a  land  of  heathenism  and  among  a  people,  with  most 
of  whom  their  only  idea  of  "  Kis-mus  "  was  that  it  was  a  day 
on  which  all  white  people  were  to  be  begged  for  gifts. 

JOURNEY    TO    GABOON. 

With  my  sister  in  my  boat,  I  started  from  Kangwe  in  the 
afternoon  of  December  26.  Emerging,  from  Ozugavizya  cross- 
creek,  into  the  main  stream,  I  stopped  at  Aveya's  village,  Gi- 
nigo,  to  let  off  his  brother  Onganga.  and- his  sister  Aziza.  Cross- 
ing the  river  to  Xtyege's  village,  went  ashore,  for  a  service,  and 
then  returned  to  sleep  in  the  boat.  Next  day,  I  wished  to  show 
to  my  sister  the  beauty  of  the  Lake  Region.  So,  instead  of 
keeping  on  down-river.  I  turned  through  the  second  entrance, 
into  Lake  Onanga,  and  pulled  on  to  Dowe's  trading-village.  I 
wished  to  see  him,  and  take  word  of  him  to  his  wife  Njivo  in 
Libreville.  It  was  late  in  the  morning  when  we  reached  his 
place,  and  we  were  hungry.  He  prepared  a  fowl  for  us.  The 
Galwas  of  that  place  were  very  rude-looking,  and  seemed  afraid 
of  us.  We  held  a  short  service,  and  left.  Stopped  at  another 
village,  and  had  an  interesting  service.  But,  the  inhabitants 
were  not  well  acquainted  with  white  people.     One  man  told  me 


284  MY  OGOWE 

that  he  had  heard  of  me  as  "  the  man  who  did  not  allow  noise." 
Emerged  from  the  lake  by  its  exit  at  Ngomu ;  and,  crossing  the 
river,  stopped  for  the  night  at  Oranga.  The  next  day,  on,  down- 
river; stopping  at  Nandipo,  to  see  friend  Azaze.  But,  he  was 
not  there;  and,  his  people  were  so  rude,  and  were  so  persistently 
begging,  that  I  left,  and  went  to  eat  at  another  place.  At  Igenja 
early  in  the  afternoon,  and  were  welcomed.  I  refused  to  con- 
verse with  the  disagreeable  old  man  who  claimed  to  be  Abumba's 
"  father,"  and  who,  on  a  former  occasion,  had  assumed  offensive 
authority  as  the  head  of  the  village. 

Sunday,  December  29,  was  a  pleasant  day,  with  preaching, 
teaching,  and  reading.  Mamba's  mother  professed  to  have 
serious  thoughts  about  her  soul;  and  Manja's  wife,  Isinga,  said 
that  she  still  prayed.  On  Monday,  the  30th,  I  tried  to  start 
early;  but  the  crew  were  dilatory,  Igenja  being  the  home  of  sev- 
eral of  them.  And,  that  old  man  so  annoyed  me,  that  I  got  off 
unpleasantly.  Stopped  at  Ashuka,  to  see  my  "  friends  "  Orondo 
and  Re-Teno.  I  rejected  a  gift  of  the  former,  because  he,  hav- 
ing given  it,  immediately  begged  for  something  in  return.  This 
was  a  frequent  experience.  I  fully  recognized  the  native  custom 
of  exchange  of  gifts  between  friends.  But,  when  a  native's 
cupidity  so  overcame  him,  that,  having  given  me  his  gift,  he 
could  not  wait  even  a  half-hour  for  me  to  take  my  own  conven- 
ience in  making  a  return,  but  would  immediately  ask  for  a  re- 
turn, I  always  promptly  returned  the  gift,  and  gave  nothing. 
Found  the  new  Avanga  village  deserted ;  but,  we  built  a  fire.  I 
ate  but  little;  for,  I  had  a  headache  (a  very  frequent  thing  on 
my  journeys).  Stopped  a  little  while  at  Ngumbe,  to  see  Isagi ; 
and,  then,  on  to  Esira,  for  the  night,  with  a  very  bad  headache. 
The  village  was  redolent  of  rotten  fish. 

The  next  day  on  to  Rango,  where  we  ate.  The  man  Re-Buka 
and  his  wife  Mburu  were  most  attentive  to  us.  On  to  Rombi 
to  buy  mats  which  I  had  engaged;  but,  the  people  so  haggled 
about  price,  that  I  refused  to  buy  at  all.  In.  all  my  life,  I  have 
never  known  how  to  haggle.  And,  in  my  Ogowe  life,  I  never 
was  able  to  adopt  the  oriental  commercial  point  of  view.  In 
that  viewpoint  the  native  African  begins  by  asking  a  price  double 
of  what  he  knows  he  is  willing  finally  to  accept.  He  delights 
in  having  a  long  and  excited  discussion,  gradually  coming  down 
from  his  stipulated  price.  Perhaps  it  would  have  saved  me 
some  provoking  experiences,  if  I  could  patiently  have  gone 
through  such  discussions.  It  might  have  made  me  more  pop- 
ular; and  I  might  oftener  have  obtained  the  article  I  wished  to 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  285 

buy.  But,  I  could  not.  I  would  throw  aside  the  article,  and 
passed  on,  sometimes  visibly  provoked ;  for,  I  knew  that  I  had 
honestly  offered  a  fair  and  just  price. 

On  to  Angala.  The  French  customs  officer,  Xavier,  had,  as 
his  "  wife,"  a  very  interesting  Mpongwe  woman.  I  slept  in  the 
boat ;  but,  during  the  night,  had  to  go  ashore,  on  account  of  a 
heavy  rain. 

On  New  Year's  day,  January  1,  1879,  ^ie  start  was  late,  as  Ave 
had  to  wait  for  the  rain  to  cease.  Stopped  in  the  forest  to  eat 
at  "  The  Palm-tree."  As  the  mangroves  that  entirely  occupied 
the  miles  nearest  the  sea,  decreased  (to  a  traveler  coming  up- 
river)  and  other  trees  began  to  appear,  there  was  one  notably  big 
palm-tree  that  was  quite  a  land-mark.  My  sister,  for  whose  sake 
I  had  traveled  slowly,  quite  enjoyed  the  forest  scene.  Emerged 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  the  hour,  5  p.  m..  usual  in  my  engage- 
ments with  the  lay  missionary,  Mr.  Menkel,  captain  of  the  Hud- 
son. But,  no  vessel  was  in  sight.  To  secure  a  comfortable  rest- 
place  for  my  sister  before  darkness  should  fall,  I  went  for  the 
night  to  Ngwa-nyani's  village;  we  were  hospitably  entertained. 
The  village,  from  which,  less  than  three  years  previously  had 
come  a  portion  of  the  mob  of  men  under  Aziza-njele,  that  as- 
sailed me  and  Mr.  Reading!  The  next  morning,  Thursday,  Jan- 
uary 2.  with  a  comfortable  supply  of  nicely  roasted  fish,  we 
pulled  out  into  the  bay  and  met  the  Hudson  coming  in  slowly 
under  oars,  as  the  wind  was  against  her.  Going  alongside.  I 
put  mv  sister  on  board,  and  decided  to  go  on  to  Libreville  under 
sail  of  the  boat.  For  a  boat's  motion  was  less  sea-sickening 
than  that  of  the  Hudson.  Sailed  well  and  easily  all  morning, 
keeping  ahead  of  the  Hudson.  I  was  not  nauseated,  although  I 
ate  food.  (On  the  Hudson  I  would  fast.)  Taught  Abumba, 
Akendenge  and  Angeka,  how  to  hold  a  rudder.  On  the  river, 
they  were  skilful  paddlers,  accustomed  to  guide  a  canoe  with  a 
paddle.     But,  they  knew  nothing  about  sails. 

Later  on.  when  far  out  at  sea.  the  Hudson  passed  us.  "When 
off  Round  Hill,  I  turned  in  toward  the  shore,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  recognize  points  of  land  at  night.  Then,  I  alone  held  the  rud- 
der for  six  hours,  from  sun-down  to  moon-down.  The  boat 
sailed  well,  unexpectedly  so:  for,  from  its  long  narrow  shape,  it 
was  intended  only  for  smooth  waters.  The  water,  that  night. 
was  dangerously  rough.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Gaboon  River  are 
a  succession  of  points,  which,  at  night,  I  four  times  mistook. 
Finally,  at  2  a.  m.  of  January  3,  I  anchored  by  Sandy  Point,  at 
the  entrance  to  the  estuary.     At  daylight.  I  saw  the  Hudson  at 


286  MY  OGOWE 

the  other  side  of  the  estuary.  My  sail  had  broken.  So.  after 
making-  a  cup  of  tea  ashore,  we  rowed  the  ten  miles  across,  and 
landed  our  luggage  by  noon.  The  Hudson  was  still  laboring, 
against  wind  and  tide,  in  effort  to  reach  its  Baraka  anchorage. 
With  my  boat  lightened  of  all  luggage,  I  put  off  to  the  vessel's 
side,  and  brought  my  sister  safely  and  comfortably  ashore.  I 
was  at  Libreville  three  weeks.  Not  because  there  was  so  much 
business  to  do;  nor  because,  as  in  the  case  of  my  sister,  I  needed, 
on  score  of  health.  But,  always,  at  the  semi-annual  meetings,  I 
was  detained,  in  waiting  for  some  one  of  the  little  river  steamers 
(which  had  no  scheduled  times)  to  carry  me  back.  When  those 
steamers  had  no  early  date  (as  always  at  the  July  meeting)  I 
had  to  depend  on  the  painfully  slow  Hudson  to  take  me  to  the 
Ogowe  mouth ;  when,  a  week's  pull  took  me  in  my  boat,  up-river. 
On  this  three  weeks'  stay,  I  wras  not  unoccupied.  There  were 
visits  to  my  native  friends,  especially  Mrs.  Boardman,  Mrs. 
Kirkwood,  and  the  lady  Njivo.  On  one  Sunday,  the  5th,  I  was 
not  well,  and  took  no  part  in  the  morning  service ;  but,  enjoyed 
the  afternoon  Communion  Table,  where  I  baptized  Abumba. 
Part  of  the  time,  I  was  sick  in  bed  (this  was  always  a  result  of 
the  exposures  and  excitements  of  the  journey). 

The  man  Schorsch  had  kept  cognizance  of  our  date  for  meet- 
ings, and  had  returned  to  Libreville.  It  was  true  that  he  was 
still  legally  a  member  of  presbytery,  though  not  of  mission.  His 
attempt  to  enter  the  sessions  of  the  latter  were  hindered.  His 
entrance  to  presbytery  could  not  be  debarred.  But,  we  required 
him  to  keep  order.  And.  as  he  had  no  written  "  reports  "  to 
make,  nor  had  been  put  on  any  committee,  lie  presently  disap- 
peared. As  clerk,  both  of  mission  and  presbytery.  I  had  much 
writing  to  do.  There  were  errands  to  the  trading-houses  to  buy 
supplies.  I  rode  on  the  mission  horse  "  Bob."  With  him,  one 
day,  being  loaned  one  of  the  only  two  phaetons  in  the  foreign 
community.  I  drove  my  sister  on  a  shopping  expedition. 

On  the  third  Sunday,  the  19th,  I  was  well  enough  to  preach 
for  Mr.  Murphy;  and  had  some  delightful  singing  in  the  even- 
ing. On  the  2 1  st,  some  busy  packing  in  the  store-house,  with 
the  aid  of  Miss  Jones  and  Mrs.  Smith.  Native  superstition  be- 
lieved in  the  ability  of  human  metamorphosis  into  some  animal 
form,  especially  that  of  the  leopard.  "  Man-tiger  "  was  a  com- 
mon phrase,  used  mistakenly  by  very  many  white  men.  (For, 
there  are  no  tigers  in  the  African  continent.)  They  meant  man- 
leopard.  Libreville  town  was  excited  with  reports  of  persons 
killed  by  man-leopards.     It  was  true  that  people  had  been  thus 


THE  MAN  LEOPARD 


Facing  page  286 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  287 

attacked.  (Of  course,  the  assailant  was  some  man  disguised  as 
a  leopard.)  The  French  commandant  did  not,  of  course,  believe 
in  "  man-leopards."  But,  as  the  natives  were  in  dread,  he  or- 
dered all  foreign  merchants  who  had  large  properties  along  the 
line  of  the  public  boulevard  (in  which  the  assailants  ambushed) 
to  clear  away  the  thickets  on  that  line.  It  made  quite  an  im- 
provement in  the  looks  of  the  town.  I  had  been  anxiously  await- 
ing the  expected  coming  of  the  Pioneer.  It  came  about  noon 
of  Wednesday,  the  22d.  I  went  to  the  agent  of  the  house  of 
H.  &  C,  to  inquire  for  passage  and  transportation.  Met  Mr. 
Travis,  who  had  just  arrived  from  his  furlough  in  England. 
The  vessel  had  a  new  captain,  Stephens.  The  next  day,  the  23d, 
was  a  busy  day,  nailing  up  boxes,  etc.,  and  taking  them  off  in 
a  boat  to  the  Pioneer,  and  making  good-by  calls  on  Njivo  and 
other  friends. 

JOURNEY  BACK  TO  THE  OGOWE. 

The  stay  at  Baraka  had  benefitted  my  sister;  but,  it  was 
deemed  advisable  for  her  to  remain  longer.  And,  I  bade  her 
good-by,  as  I  left  early  on  January  24,  to  board  the  Pioneer. 
How  different  the  journey,  from  the  conditions  on  the  Hudson! 
According  to  the  season,  the  latter  would  slowly  and  with  nau- 
seating motion,  require  from  three  to  five  days  for  the  seventy 
miles  to  Nazareth  Bay.  The  Pioneer  rapidly,  smoothly,  and 
with  little  nausea,  carried  me  there  in  twelve  hours! 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  25th,  the  vessel  reached  Angala. 
Old  Esongi  showed  his  honesty.  On  my  journey  down-river, 
Petiye  had  discovered  that  a  cloth  of  his  was  stolen.  I  had  had 
no  time  to  investigate.  I  simply  reported  the  loss  to  Esongi. 
With  true  following  of  oriental  guest-law,  he  had  felt  himself 
responsible  for  the  lives  and  property  of  myself  and  my  people. 
He  had  found  the  thief,  and  returned  me  the  cloth.  I  planted 
for  him  two  of  the  little  bread-fruit  trees  I  was  carrying  to 
Kangvve.  (An  importation  into  Africa  from  the  West  Indies.) 
In  the  evening,  in  a  small  narrow  canoe,  I  wrent  to  Nombi  and 
engaged  Onanga  to  make  me  another  native  boat.  (The  Nelly- 
Howard  was  not  safe  for  the  sea.)  I  returned  to  the  Pioneer 
by  midnight,  very  tired  and  sleepy.  But,  I  was  glad  that,  in  my 
absence,  I  had  escaped  the  sight  of  a  rum  fight  ashore.  The  ar- 
rival of  any  river  steamer  at  any  trading-place,  with  its  liquors 
as  the  principal  article  of  barter  in  purchase  of  provisions,  pay- 
ment of  wages,  and  the  most  convenient  form  of  gift,  always 
was   followed  by  fight.     The  next  day,   Sunday,  the  26th,  the 


288  MY  OGOWE 

Pioneer  reached  Xgumbe.  By  7  a.  m.  of  Tuesday,  the  28th, 
we  were  at  Aguma,  welcomed  by  Mr.  Sinclair  and  his  clerk  Mr. 
Surry,  and  two  of  my  schoolboys.  Of  that  arrival,  I  wrote  to 
my  sister,  that  same  day: — "This  is  6.30  p.m.,  tea  is  done; 
lamp  is  lighted ;  the  young  men  have  dispersed,  and  I  will  sit 
down  with  you  awhile.  Reached  Aguma  this  morning  at  7 
o'clock.  Mr.  Sinclair.  Mr.  Surry,  and  a  crowd  of  other  persons 
were  on  the  pier  awaiting,  and  were  soon  aboard.  Mr.  Sinclair's 
face  fell  when  he  saw  you  were  not  there;  and,  as  if  hesitating 
to  hear  evil,  asked  where  you  were.  Mr.  Travis  soon  went 
ashore  with  Mr.  Surry;  captain  was  busy  with  his  fastenings; 
Mr.  Sinclair  with  his  invoices,  and  I  left  soon,  taking  only  my 
baggage,  loose  things  on  deck,  the  crew's  baggage,  and  the  ward- 
robe, all  of  which  made  sufficient  of  a  load.  Mwarogase  and 
Mbigino  came  alongside  to  salute.  Mr.  Lubcke  had  also  fol- 
lowed the  Pioneer  in  his  boat.  The  morning  was  warm.  At 
Kangwe,  our  coming  was  observed :  and  all  the  young  men  were 
at  the  waterside  to  receive  us  (except  Ompwenge  keeping  the 
house.  Xguva  at  the  Nkami  hut.  and  Xgare.  who  had  absented 
himself  two  days  before).  There  was  the  usual  vociferous  ap- 
plause and  welcomings.  The  latter  were  unusually  long.  Each 
of  my  six  crew  was  severally  welcomed  by  each  of  the  seven 
young  men  ashore.  I  believe  my  multiplication  table  used  to 
say.  6  X  /  "  42  •  during  which  interval.  I  sat  dignifiedly  in  the 
stern  of  the  boat.  The  less  important  arrivals  were  being  dis- 
posed of;  and,  T  was  advanced  to  the  bow,  and  Ntyege  lifted 
me  into  the  muddy  boat-shed.  So  many  '  thanks ! !  '  Things  all 
landed:  and  boat  put  up.  Then.  I  came  up  the  Hill.  Every- 
thing in  perfect  order.  Your  (not  my)  arrival  had  been  ex- 
pected daily,  for  several  days,  on  Mr.  Sinclair's  count  of  the 
Pioneer's  time. 

"  The  elola  tree,  half-way  up  the  Hill,  had  still  some  ripe 
fruit  on  it.  The  kuda  nuts  are  just  beginning  to  ripen.  Foliage 
more  dense  than  a  month  ago;  the  vistas  somewhat  closed. 
Fowls  all  gone.  '  Kitty'  has  not  made  her  appearance:  '  Julius  ' 
has.  The  two  kids  are  roly-polys.  While  the  others  carried 
up  the  things.  Oyembo  and  Xtyindiorema  got  dinner.  I  had 
saved  Mrs.  Smith's  Baraka  bread  on  the  Pioneer,  for  this 
emergency.  Tt  was  slightly  moulded  ;  but,  Oyembo  restored  it 
perfectly  with  the  hot  bath  and  re-baking.  Opened  a  tin  of 
beef,  of  ]>eas.  and  of  cherries,  and  ate  a  hearty  late  breakfast. 
Mamba  came,  for  me  to  read  your  letter  to  him;  and  he  set 
bread  in  the  evening  with  Ovembo.     In  the  afternoon.  1  sent  a 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  289 

nine  crew  in  the  native  boat,  to  Aguma,  to  get  the  boxes  I  had 
left  in  the  Pioneer's  hold;  and,  as  they  were  heavy,  the  crew 
took  all  the  time  from  3  p.  m.  (the  time  of  their  return)  until  6 
p.  m.  to  carry  them  up  the  Hill.  I  spent  from  1  p.  m.  to  3  p.  m., 
with  Mamba,  Oyembo,  and  Ompwenge  in  planting  my  little  tree- 
sets.  Cool,  pleasant  air  all  the  afternoon.  Rain  in  the  evening. 
Prayer  meeting:  I  told  them  about  Baraka,  from  the  Psalm 
'  The  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us,  the  God  of  Jacob  is  our  refuge.' 
After  prayer  meeting,  the  usual  pa  (news-telling)  was  held  ani- 
matedly for  two  hours.  And,  as  I  resume  my  pen,  it  is  now  10 
o'clock.  All  have  dispersed ;  some  to  sleep ;  some  to  savune 
(chat).  I  put  your  wardrobe  in  its  place,  as  soon  as  it  was 
brought  up  the  Hill. 

"  Eight  p.  m.,  Wednesday,  the  29th.  I  resume  my  pen,  at  the 
close  of  the  second  day.  Abumba,  Re-Nguwa,  Oyembo,  Ompwe- 
nge, and  Akendenge  are  sitting  looking  at  my  •  Centennial  Al- 
bum,' and  Stanley's  '  How  I  Found  Livingstone.'  Julius  and 
Kitty  are  at  my  feet ;  she  was  in  the  house  this  morning,  be- 
fore I  was  out  of  my  room,  making  anxious  calls ;  and  met  me 
excitedly.  I  verily  believe  Julius  had  somehow  told  her  about  the 
big  dried  fish  I  had  given  him  for  supper  yesterday.  I  started 
one  at  cleaning  the  boat ;  another  helped  me  open  boxes.  Agaia 
and  Nguva  at  the  shop  doors;  others  making  shelf-frames  in 
the  shop  and  store-room,  for  storing  away  boards  and  provision- 
boxes  :  Ompwenge  taking  the  place  of  Ntyindiorema,  who  said 
he  had  a  headache ;  Mamba  at  the  bread ;  Oyembo  drying  your 
rice  and  the  dried  apples,  both  of  which  were  spoiling;  the  for- 
mer was  badly  spoiled,  the  latter  not  yet  injured;  spread  them 
on  mats  in  the  sun.  Azizya  came  with  plantains  to  sell.  Fanwe 
came  with  "  bush-lights,"  Mbimo  and  some  of  his  people  came 
to  know  when  (literally)  '  the  book  that  died  would  be  resur- 
rected.' I  did  not  at  first  understand  that  he  wanted  to  know 
when  school  would  be  resumed.  The  river  is  very  quiet ;  very 
few  canoes  going  up  and  down ;  and,  I  hear  very  little  singing. 
Most  of  the  people  of  the  three  large  adjacent  villages  are  up- 
river  at  Okota. 

"  Spent  the  afternoon  in  making  out  the  dues  of  and  paying 
the  ten  whom  I  had  left  at  Kangwe  when  we  went  down-river. 
Showed  them  all  the  new  goods  '  from  Holt's.'  After  they 
were  all  paid,  I  presented  Mamba  with  $2 ;  Agaia  and  Ntyege 
each  $1.50;  Nguva,  Re-Nguwa,  Re-Ganjwe,  each  $1 ;  Ompwenge, 
Aduli,  Rilevi,  and  Ngare,  each  .20.  And,  to  Azizya  (whom  I  had 
told  to  come  for  a  gift)  who  had  dropped  in  during  the  interesting 


->90  MY  OGOWE 

exercises,  with  women  and  plantains,  $1.50.  In  all  $10.30  (not 
cash;  Ogowe  trade).  It  is  only  twice  a  year  that  my  hand  gets 
so  open. 

"  As  soon  as  they  were  all  paid,  I  told  the  young  men  that 
they  might  go  as  promptly  as  they  chose,  on  their  promised  visits 
to  their  homes;  and  to  trv  to  be  back  in  two  weeks.  Nsruva 
and  Xgare  left  immediately,  wife-hunting.  As  Re-Nguwa  and 
Ompwenge  said  that  they  did  not  care  to  go,  I  allowed  Angeka 
and  Piere  (who  had  been  bitterly  disappointed  that  the  Pioneer 
had  stopped  nowhere  near  their  places,  on  our  way  up-river) 
to  go  to  their  homes.  Was  pleased  also  to  dispense  with  Ntvi- 
ndiorema.  who  wished  to  go  with  them.  So,  they  three  with 
Mamba  and  Aduli  left  at  5  p.  m.  in  my  kongongo.  They  will 
be  on  the  lookout  for  the  Mpongwe  when  it  passes  their  places. 
and  will  follow  it.  to  return  here.  There  are  left  with  me  on 
this  hillside,  only  Oyembo  and  Ompwenge.  I  shut  up  the  kids 
at  noon ;  and,  by  being  extravagant,  manage  to  use  up  all  the 
milk  the  mother  gives.      I   wish    I  could  send  you  some. 

"  Mamba's  expenses  were  on  a  scale  more  economical  than 
that  of  any  one  whom  I  have  ever  left  in  charge  at  either  Be- 
lambla  or  Kangwe ;  Ingumu  ranks  next  to  him ;  Aveya  is  the 
least  economical  (not  to  mention  in  the  same  list,  Re-Nkombe's 
nephew  Oguma.  who  positively  stole,  and  Ayenwe  who  wasted). 
Thursday,  the  30th,  8  p.  M.  I  will  not  write  long  this  evening; 
for,  my  head  aches.  T  set  Akendenge  at  teaching  Mpongwe 
this  afternoon;  and  T  taught  English.  I  am  amazed  at  the 
ignorance  of  those  studying  English;  they  seem  to  know  less 
about  it  than  they  did  a  month  ago,  though  I  had  refrained  from 
calling  on  their  teacher.  Petiye,  for  even  one  hour's  manual 
work  all  the  time  I  was  at  Gaboon,  so  that  he  might  faithfully 
work  for  you.  for  his  own  lessons,  and  one  hour  a  day  for  my 
Galwas.  But,  this  was  not  what  heated  me :  any  teaching  is 
not  good  for  me.  Did  a  variety  of  jobs  in  the  morning,  and 
put  to  rights  the  storehouse.  But,  work  will  not  go  rapidly: 
for.  I  have  only  six  hands  (of' these,  two  are  engaged  in  the  two 
nut-houses,  and  two  are  house-keeping)  of  whom  none  is.  what 
is  most  needed,  a  carpenter.  Sent  for  Black  from  Aguma,  this 
afternoon.  It  was  evening  when  the  crew  returned,  and  T 
heard  him  howling  at  the  landing.  I  went  down  hill  to  meet 
him,  thinking  that  he  would  be  overjoyed  to  see  me.  He  did 
make  a  little  demonstration,  but  immediately  rushed  up  the  Hill, 
caring  more  for  the  house  than  for  myself.  And,  even  now, 
he  is  not  satisfied ;  he  goes  about  crving.  restlesslv.     I  do  not 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  291 

blame  his  affections;  they  have  been  handed  back  and  forth  so 
many  times.  I  regret  that  I  did  not  leave  him  here ;  for,  he  did 
not  stay  at  Aguma ;  he  wandered  in  the  villages  a  good  deal. 

"Friday,  the  31st.  The  Pioneer  goes  some  time  to-morrow 
morning;  but,  to  make  sure,  I  will  have  to  send  the  boat  and 
things  this  evening.  As  Mr.  Murphy  expressed  his  liking  for 
palm-salad,  I  will  have  a  tree  cut  this  afternoon ;  and  perhaps 
the  '  cabbage  '  heart  will  still  be  fresh  when  it  reaches  Baraka. 
I  enclose  you  two  letters,  one  each  from  Mamba  and  Agaia, 
which  they  had  proposed  to  send  by  the  Pioneer,  not  expecting 
me  on  her. 

"  It  is  quite  entertaining  to  meet  with  a  Pioneer  captain  who 
writes  his  notes  on  scented  paper,  and  who  thinks  that  Mrs. 
Hemans  '  has  written  some  of  the  sweetest  poems  ever  penned.' 
But,  his  personal  appearance  would  disappoint  an  expectation 
based  on  such  data.  P.  S.  Ask  Frank  Myongo  to  try  in  his 
Benita  journeys,  at  every  place,  to  get  me  a  leopard  skin.  For 
a  perfect  one,  i.  e.,  the  entire  skin  of  the  head  and  legs,  I  will 
give  $5,  he  may  have  all  of  the  five  that  he  can  save  by  getting 
it  for  less." 

On  Tuesday.  February  4,  Re-Xkombe  came  with  a  meanly 
small  goat  as  a  present,  to  try  to  make  peace  with  me,  for  his 
food-palaver  of  the  previous  November.  T  declined  to  accept 
the  gift;  not  because  of  its  smallness,  but  because  I  wished  to 
see  more  demonstration  of  courtesy.  For,  that  was  the  first 
visit  lie  bad  made  me  since  that  time.  And,  I  chose  to  humiliate 
him  by  declining  his  gift.  Then,  he  offered  the  animal  for  sale. 
For  that,  I  was  willing,  as  he  then  stood,  not  in  the  position  of 
a  friend,  but  of  an  ordinary  trades-man.  I  generously  named 
him  a  good  price.  Doubtless,  it  was  more  than  he  really  ex- 
pected :  and,  he  tried  to  play  on  my  good  nature  by  haggling 
for  more!     So.  I  refused  to  buy  at  any  price. 

Quite  a  variety  of  meats  would  from  time  to  time  be  brought. 
Besides  domestic  fowls,  sheep  and  goat,  and  wild  birds,  there 
would  come  a  leg  of  wild  hog  or  antelope.  Crocodile  meat  really 
looked  attractive,  but.  the  thought  of  it  was  offensive;  elephant 
was  coarse;  monkey  was  impossible.  I  read  a  good  deal  in  the 
second  volume  of  Stanley's  "  Through  the  Dark  Continent." 
Sunday,  the  9th.  was  a  very  quiet  day.  Only  one  person  present 
from  the  villages.  About  5  p.  m..  I  was  taken  with  a  fever- 
chill  ;  and,  Azizya  in  Atangina  hearing  that  I  was  sick,  came  to 
see  me. 

In  all  my  more  than  two  years  at  Kangwe,  I  had  been  so  busy 


292  MY  OGOWE 

with  works,  that  I  had  no  time  for  excursions  of  amusement,  and 
never  had  investigated  the  source  of  Andende  Creek.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  nth,  I  took  a  pleasant  trip  up  the  creek  in  a 
canoe.  On  my  return,  I  found  awaiting  me,  two  young  men, 
from  Wombalya,  applicants  for  school,  Mburu  I  refused,  as  I 
thought  him  too  old,  but  accepted  Gasita. 

I  was  anxiously  awaiting  the  return  of  my  sister  on  the  daily- 
expected  Mpongwe,  I  was  not  in  good  health;  yet  I  was 
forcing  myself  to  attend  to  the  daily  repairs  and  building,  the 
school,  and  the  catechism  inquiry  class.  Sometimes,  I  found 
myself  falling  asleep  over  a  lesson.  Just  at  the  close  of  morn- 
ing service  on  Sunday,  the  16th.  and  for  several  hours  after- 
ward, there  was  a  noisy  quarrel  on  the  river  between  Atangina 
and  Orungu  people,  about  some  slaves,  in  which  some  shooting 
was  done.  There  was  another  reason  for  my  anxiety  for  my 
sister's  return,  besides  my  desire  to  be  relieved  of  teaching,  viz., 
that  I  might  resume  the  revision  of  the  Benga  Gospels ;  for,  her 
young  men,  the  ministerial  candidates,  the  teachers  of  the  ver- 
nacular school,  I  used  as  assistants  in  my  translation. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  the  21st,  while  I  was  teaching,  I 
heard  the  sound  of  what  I  supposed  was  one  gun.  Though  I 
was  hourly  waiting  for  the  Mpongwe's  signal-gun,  I  did  not  sup- 
pose that  this  was  she ;  for,  she  usually  fired  three  guns.  But, 
two  hours  later,  my  sister  came,  in  Mr.  Lubcke's  boat.  I  was 
glad  of  her  arrival,  but  ashamed  that  I  had  not  understood,  and 
had  failed  to  go  for  her  myself.  Her  three  young  men,  Petiye, 
Mbora,  and  Kongolo,  were  with  her.  There  was  a  busy  time 
of  carrying  boxes  up  the  Hill,  and  a  glad  time  hearing  news, 
and  reading  mail,  some  of  the  letters  being  from  my  sons  in  the 
United  States.  On  Saturday,  the  22d,  there  were  errands  to 
Otanga  for  a  forgotten  box ;  and  the  village  services.  Some- 
times, the  act  of  prayer,  so  solemn  to  me,  aroused  amusement 
among  the  natives,  because  of  my  closed  eyes.  Went  on  to  the 
German  house,  with  some  pumpkin  pies,  my  sister's  gift  of 
t lianks  to  Captain  Breman.  Said  good-by  to  Mr.  Lubcke's 
clerk,  Mr.  Detmering,  and  greeted  in  his  place,  Mr.  Alfred  Boy, 
whom  1  had  known  at  Libreville.  And  came  to  Aguma.  to 
meet  Mr.  Sinclair  in  his  grief  over  the  news  of  the  death  of  his 
father. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

I  was  not  well :  rheumatism  in  a  shoulder,  with  nausea  and 
sick    headache.      But,   I    followed   my   routine   of   the  quarterly 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  293 

visit  of  inspection,  on  February  28.  Stopped  for  the  night  at 
the  usual  end  of  the  day's  run,  the  village  of  Anyambe-jena. 
There  I  met  Mr.  John  Ermy  who  came  to  tell  me  about  an  ele- 
phant corral,  and  to  invite  me  to  stop  at  his  place  on  my  return 
down-river.  The  next  afternoon,  I  was  at  Belambla.  The 
grounds  were  in  good  condition.  But,  few  came  to  the  services 
of  the  following  day.  And,  yet,  on  the  next  day,  Monday, 
A  larch  3,  I  had  many  visitors.  I  was  pleased  that  some  children 
were  beginning  again  to  come  to  school.  Kimagwe,  son  of 
Kasa,  seemed  quite  desirous  of  an  education.  But,  Aveya  was 
not  as  reliable  as  his  predecessors.  I  had  to  charge  against  his 
personal  account  money  he  had  overspent.  On  the  way  down- 
river, by  arrangement,  I  stopped  for  the  night,  near  a  half-way 
island,  at  Mr.  John  Ermy's.  He  invited  me  to  go  to  see  a  small 
herd  of  elephants  enclosed  in  a  corral ;  a  mode  of  capture  of 
which  I  had  heard,  but  in  the  possibility  of  which  I  did  not  be- 
lieve. Next  day,  March  4,  we  were  up  early,  and  walked  three 
miles  through  the  forest,  to  a  Fanwe  camp,  and  saw  their  won- 
derful stockade,  a  fence  enclosing  eight  elephants.  It  was  a  re- 
markable view.  The  Fanwe  head-man,  Sala,  was  pleased  at  my 
visit,  and  asked  me  to  come  with  my  Winchester,  and  help  shoot 
down  the  animals  when  he  should  send  me  word  of  whatever 
"  auspicious  "  day  his  fetish-doctor  should  select,  when  the  shots 
from  all  guns  would  be  fatal.  Little  children  were  interested  in 
pointing  out  the  animals  to  me.  And,  I  was  pleased  that  the 
men  did  not  beg.  The  native  "  doctor  "  was  surprised  when  I 
told  him  that  I  also  was  a  doctor.  But,  when  some  of  the 
elephants,  attracted  perhaps  by  the  strangeness  of  a  white  face, 
approached  the  side  of  the  fence  where  I  stood,  some  of  the  peo- 
ple feared  that  my  ombwiri  (spirit)  had  caused  the  beasts  to  at- 
tempt to  escape.  I  was  very  much  excited  by  the  scene.  And, 
on  the  return  to  the  beach,  I  out-walked  all  my  companions. 
Returned  to  Kangwe  that  day. 

During  my  absence,  all  the  Igenja  schoolboys  had  come  back 
with  Mamba  in  the  kongongo  I  had  loaned  him  some  weeks  be- 
fore. My  house  was  full.  I  accepted  two  new  boys ;  and  my 
sister  two  new  girls.  One  of  the  older  ones,  Irina,  was  not  well, 
and  was  dissatisfied  with  her  expected  marriage.  And,  no  won- 
der! That  engagement  had  been  made  for  her  by  her  family, 
and  tacitly  consented  to  by  herself,  without  any  love  on  her  part. 
Civilization,  and  a  little  knowledge  had  opened  her  eyes;  and 
she  shrank  from  bondage  under  the  hands  of  the  voting  man 


294  MY  OGOWE 

whom  she  did  not  like.  By  March  6,  I  had  forty  people  on  my 
premises,  whom  I  had  daily  to  feed.  Half  of  them  were  of  an 
age  that  I  could  utilize  for  work.  I  was  gathering  posts  and 
logs  in  the  forest,  for  the  erection  of  a  church-building. 

On  Saturday,  March  8,  I  received  word  from  Mr.  Ermy  that 
the  Fanwe  were  ready  for  me  at  their  corral.  I  immediately 
started  up-river,  reaching  the  Island  about  dusk.  Mr.  Ermy 
stated  that  the  Fanwe  had  been  there  that  afternoon  with  word 
that  their  firing  would  commence  the  next  morning.*  T  re- 
turned to  Kangwe  on  Monday  evening,  the  ioth. 

On  Wednesday,  March  12,  the  Pioneer  arrived,  bringing  a 
mail.  Besides  the  letters  of  affection  from  my  sons  and  other 
relatives,  there  came  an  important  letter  from  the  Board,  ad- 
vising me  to  arrange  my  affairs  for  a  furlough  to  the  United 
States!  My  first  stay  in  Africa  had  been  for  more  than  ten 
years.  But,  to  recuperate  in  America  had  required  more  than 
two  years.  I  had  now  been  in  Africa  almost  five  years.  Very 
strenuous  years  they  had  been!  And,  I  myself,  with  all  my  love 
for  my  work,  had  begun  to  think  of  the  necessity  and  duty  of 
a  change.  But,  who  would  take  my  place?  To  leave  Kangwe. 
without  a  successor  on  the  spot,  could  not  be  thought  of !  This 
possibility  of  leaving  the  station  in  the  near  future  made  me  all 
the  more  zealous  to  have  the  place  in  perfect  order  for  whatever 
new  hands  I  should  have  to  turn  it  over  to.  There  were  many 
jobs  to  be  completed : —  carpentering,  boat-caulking,  painting, 
clearing  bushes,  and  cutting  logs  for  the  proposed  church  build- 
ing. New  pupils  were  added  from  time  to  time;  so,  that,  by 
March  13,  there  were  forty-one  mouths  on  the  station  roll.  I 
was  not  feeling  strong;  the  rheumatism  in  my  arms  and  shoul- 
ders was  a  daily  burden,  and  a  constant  bar  to  efficient  work. 

Human  nature  showed  its  variations  among  the  natives  very 
much  as  in  civilized  lands.  There  were,  among  my  native 
friends,  times  of  suspicion  and  jealousy  and  lack  of  courtesy, 
cause  for  which  I  did  not  know,  and  for  grounds  of  which  I  was 
entirely  innocent.  On  Saturday,  the  17th,  at  Aguma.  T  visited 
the  Mpongwe  christian  trader  and  his  wife  Makeki.  They  had 
attended  services  at  Kangwe,  and  I  had  had  them  at  my  table. 
Rut.  that  day,  they  showed  me  very  little  politeness  (I  never 
knew  why).  And,  Akendenge,  whom  I  had  temporarily  made 
teacher,  until  Petiye  should  arrive,  was  not  willing  to  step  down 
to  the  position  of  pupil   to   Petiye,   when  the  latter  finally  re- 

*  A  detailed  account  of  the  adventure  at  the  Corral  appears  in  my  "  In  an 
Elephant  Corral."     Neale,  1912. 


OX  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  295 

turned.  Perhaps  the  ground  of  his  objection  was  tribal.  Petiye 
was  a  coast-Kombe ;  Akendenge,  though  a  river-Galwa,  felt  some 
pride  in  the  fact  that  the  Gahva  dialect  was  almost  the  same  as 
that  of  the  proud  coast- Mpongwe.  But.  among  all  these  varia- 
tions, my  excellent  friend  Njivo  was  always  glad  to  see  me, 
always  affectionate  and  true.  Whenever  her  husband's  trade- 
journeys  brought  her  to  Aguma.  she  always  came  to  Kangwe, 
at  least  on  Sundays.  My  own  ill  health  and  that  of  my  sister, 
who  frequently  was  confined  to  bed,  probably  made  me  more  sen- 
sitive to  irregularities  and  misdeeds,  which  would  not  have  an- 
noyed or  depressed  or  irritated  me  had  I  been  in  a  normal  state. 
For  example: — On  May  25,  the  company  of  the  household  was 
very  quiet.  I  did  not  know  whether  it  was  sullenness  or  submis- 
sion to  a  rule  I  had  issued,  requiring  them  not  only  to  pa\  for 
their  books,  (which  rule  they  had  accepted)  but  also  that  each 
should  possess  one.  But  only  one  came  to  buy  the  book  I  had 
required  of  them!  [When  I  look  back  at  those  years,  I  am 
amazed  that  I,  who  thus  was  taking  in  1879,  as  pioneer,  the  first 
advanced  step  in  native  self-help,  should  have  been  charged  by  a 
secretary,  twenty-five  years  later,  in  1905,  with  being  "  opposed 
to  native  self-help"!]  I  had  fully  expected  that  the  school 
leaders.  Angeka  and  Abumba  would  promptly  obey.  But.  even 
the  teacher,  Mbora.  did  not  comply  with  my  school  directions.  I 
therefore  dismissed  Angeka,  and  warned  Abumba.  At  noon, 
the  latter  came  and  submitted  himself.  And.  at  once  a  spirit 
of  obedience  seemed  to  pervade  the  school. 

The  days  were  very  warm ;  the  thermometer  900  in  the  shade 
during  the  afternoons.  Almost  every  night  there  was  vivid 
lightning  and  signs  of  storm,  for  the  heavy  rain  of  the  latter 
rains  (March-May).  I  was  longing  for  a  mail,  with  its  letters 
and  newspapers  from  the  United  States  and  England.  We  had 
had  nothing,  for  two  months.  I  sometimes  got  amusement 
from  the  pranks  of  my  tame  monkey  with  dog  Black.  And,  on 
March  28,  I  recorded:  "  The  whole  household,  boys  and  girls, 
are  again  in  a  pleasant  orderly  state." 

April  4,  was  a  clear  beautiful  day;  but,  it  was  made  unpleasant 
by  Irina.  The  child  had  been  sulky  to  my  sister,  and  her  ill 
conduct  had  grown  to  open  disobedience.  I  punished  her  for  the 
offense  to  my  sister  more  severely  than  I  would  have  done  for  an 
offense  to  myself.  At  noon,  she  ran  away  to  the  water-side; 
but.  her  relative  Mamba  brought  her  back.  I  immediately  di- 
rected him  to  take  the  kongongo  and  a  crew,  and  carry  her  home 
to  her  mother  at  Igenja.     That  was  a.  sad  ending  of  my  expecta- 


296  MY  OGOWE 

tions  for  a  child,  who,  a  year  before,  had  been  so  earnest  to  come 
to  school.  The  worry  of  the  day,  in  my  poor  health,  wearied  me. 
Perhaps,  if  I  had  been  in  better  health,  I  would  not  have  dis- 
missed her. 

On  Sunday  the  6th.  there  were  no  persons  from  the  villages, 
at  either  the  morning  or  evening  service.  In  the  afternoon,  just 
before  Sabbath  school,  came  a  heavy  storm.  The  tornado- 
storms  were  always  preceded  by  a  sudden  fall  of  temperature, 
and.  as  I  was  sitting  in  the  draught  of  the  wind.  I  caught  a 
fever.  Nothing  in  Africa,  not  even  heat,  or  rain,  or  work,  or 
malaria,  or  trouble,  brought  on  me  a  fever  chill  sooner  than  that 
sudden,  cold,  north  wind.  The  sickness  incapacitated  me  for 
several  days.  The  next  day,  I  could  work  at  Benga  revision 
for  only  an  hour.  And,  the  following  day,  I  attempted  to  con- 
duct prayer  meeting  but  could  not  make  the  address. 

On  Saturday,  the  12th,  at  Aguma.  I  was  agreeably  surprised 
to  meet  Njivo  and  her  husband.  At  a  village,  where  I  stopped 
on  the  way  back.  I  heard  that  the  Fail  we  from  the  Interior  were 
coming  to  take  possession  of  some  of  the  Galwa  villages!  Of 
course,  that  tribe,  like  all  interior  tribes,  was  pushing  seaward. 
to  come  into  direct  contact  with  white  trade.  Naturally  they 
would  emerge  on  the  river  as  near  as  they  could  to  the  English 
house  at  Aguma.     The  Galwas  were  alarmed. 

Next  day.  Sunday.  Njivo  and  her  husband,  and  Mrs.  Sarah 
Lewis,  and  their  companies  were  at  the  services,  and  I  had  the 
three  to  lunch  with  me.     My  sister  was  sick  in  l)ed. 

April  14.  was  a  notable  day!  Just  after  school,  in  the  after- 
noon, came  word  that  the  Fanwe  had  emerged  from  the  forest. 
and  were  on  my  Andende  grounds !  T  promptly  went  there,  and 
found  fifty  men  and  women  equipped  with  tools,  ready  to  begin 
a  clearing  for  a  village  site.  When  I  told  them  that  the  ground 
was  mine,  they  respectfully  asked  permission  to  use  it.  But.  I 
replied  that  I  intended  building  there  myself.  Fortunately,  in 
proof  of  this,  I  was  able  to  point  a  spot  which  I  had  only  re- 
cently cleared.  For.  fearing  that  the  place  might  be  seized,  I 
had  wisely  determined  to  preempt  it  by  erecting  a  small  hut  there, 
and  I  had  some  of  the  material  already  on  the  spot.  Then,  they 
asked  me  for  adjacent  ground  belonging  to  Galwa.  I  told  them 
that  it  was  not  mine  to  give;  but,  that  as  I  was  willing  to  be 
friendly  to  them.  [  would  intercede  with  my  friend  Re-Nkombe 
for  them.  Very  conveniently,  a  heavy  rain  came  up,  and  we  all 
scattered.      That  was  the  beginning  of  the  coming  of  the  Fanwe 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  297 

to  that  part  of  the  river.  And  that  was  the  beginning-  of 
Andende ! 

The  next  day,  April  15,  leaving  my  sister  who  was  still  weak, 
I  went  with  the  entire  force  of  men  and  boys,  with  materials 
and  tools,  and  actually  began  the  building  of  the  Andende  hut. 
Only  about  an  hour  afterwards,  there  came  150  Fafiwe.  For- 
tunately, they  saw  that  I  was  really  building  on  those  premises. 
Otherwise,  I  believe  that  they  would  have  seized  the  ground. 
They  then  asked  me  to  go  with  them  to  talk  with  the  Galwas, 
about  giving  them  some  other  ground.  I  excused  myself  that 
I  was  too  busy  with  my  own  people.  They  remained  watching 
for  another  hour  as  we  built;  and  then  they  went  away  peace- 
fully. 

While  I  was  continuing  the  rapid  building  operations  at 
Andende  next  day,  a  canoe  of  Re-Nkombe's  slaves,  armed,  passed, 
on  their  way  to  visit  with  the  Fafiwe  strangers.  A  couple  of 
hours  later,  the  canoe  returned  with  word  that  the  strangers  had 
been  atacked  and  two  of  them  wounded  by  other  Fafiwe  already 
living  on  the  river  (a  clan  hostile  to  the  new-comers). 

On  my  Saturday  visitation  of  the  19th,  as  I  was  about  to  land 
at  Kolo  village,  a  woman  on  the  beach  said  that  the  head-man 
there  had  died,  and  that  there  were  no  persons  in  the  village 
with  whom  I  could  hold  a  meeting.  I  doubted  her,  and  believed 
that  she  was  making  only  an  excuse.  But,  I  did  not  force  my- 
self on  unwilling  ears,  and  left,  and  went  to  Eyenano.  There, 
many  persons  came :  but,  the  women  crowded  to  the  door  out  of 
curiosity,  and  would  neither  come  in,  nor  sit  down,  nor  keep 
quiet.  So  I  left.  With  all  my  sympathy  for  the  women,  and 
my  frequent  defense  of  them  against  the  violence  of  their  men, 
T  generally  found  them  more  untractable  than  the  men.  A  noisy 
company  of  men  would  have  paid  some  attention  to  my  re- 
quest for  quiet.  However,  a  bright  gleam  came  in  the  fact  of 
Agaia's  asking  for  baptism. 

On  the  2 1  st,  the  new  Fafiwe  were  already  clearing  ground 
for  a  village  between  Andende  Creek  and  the  Akele  village  of 
Ijuke-jame,  not  far  from  Adalinananga.  That  place  was  well- 
named,  "  Observed-of-the-Tribes."  For.  in  sight,  were  Galwas, 
Bakele.  Inenga,  and  Fafiwe.  all  attracted  by  white  foreigners! 
My  sister,  though  still  sick,  was  not  confined  to  bed.  I  was 
daily  looking  for  the  coming  of  the  expected  Pioneer,  hoping 
that  its  mail  would  give  her  some  stimulus.  The  days  had  their 
incidents.     Little  Evilo  returned,  and  his  townspeople  with  him 


298  MY  OGOWE 

brought  a  great  quantity  of  food.  The  man  Re-Buka  was  so 
disobedient,  that  I  dismissed  him.  Akai  and  Ogula  were  doing 
so  well  that  they  were  promoted  from  spelling  in  the  primer  to 
reading  in  the  Epistle  of  James.  (Our  books  were  so  few,  that 
in  the  reading  classes,  distinction  was  made  between  the  easy 
narratives  in  the  Gospels  and  the  more  difficult  constructions  in 
the  Epistles.) 

And,  on  Saturday,  the  26th,  at  Eyenano,  the  women  atoned 
for  their  error  of  the  previous  week,  by  giving  me  very  good  at- 
tention. On  Sunday,  the  27th,  my  Mpongwe  christian  friends, 
Xjivo  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Lewis  came  to  services,  remained  until 
Sabbath  school,  and  assisted  me  much  in  teaching.  Abumba, 
on  whom  I  relied  much,  was  sick. 

In  the  evenings.  I  often  had  amusement  with  the  younger  girls 
and  boys,  showing  them  my  toys.  Though  I  constantly  told 
them  that  the  snake  was  only  wood  and  not  real,  they  were  never 
willing  to  touch  it. 

On  Thursday,  May  1,  I  had  to  arise  long  before  daylight,  to 
let  the  goats  out  of  their  pen.  I  was  awakened  by  their  cries. 
Their  notes  were  distinctive;  not  of  hunger,  nor  of  quarrel,  but 
an  agony  of  fear.  Driver  ants  had  invaded  the  pen,  and,  at- 
tacking the  goats,  the  latter  would  have  died  in  a  few  hours. 
Those  ants  leave  no  animal  which  they  attack  until  they  have 
killed  it  and  eaten  its  flesh  to  the  bones.  In  rescuing  the  goats, 
I  had  to  step  among  thousands  of  ants  at  the  door  of  the  pen,  ad- 
just the  key  to  the  padlock,  and  throw  the  door.  In  that  little 
while,  hundreds  of  the  ants  were  on  me.  Leaving  the  goats  to 
rush  out,  and  rid  themselves  of  the  ants  by  rolling  on  the  ground 
or  rubbing  against  trees.  I  abandoned  them  to  the  probability  of 
death  at  the  jaws  of  a  possible  prowling  leopard.  1  fled  to  the 
lamps  of  the  house,  to  brush  and  pick  off  the  tormentors  from  my 
own  body.  In  the  afternoon,  to  my  joy,  the  guns  of  the  Pioneer 
were  heard  in  salute  as  she  passed  the  German  house  at  Otanga 
in  the  main  stream.  Went  at  once  to  Aguma ;  and  returned  with 
the  longed-for  mail.  Mrs.  Kirkwood,  one  of  the  Gaboon  church 
members,  had  come  to  visit  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Owondo-Lewis. 
And.  my  sister's  boat  Ei'angeline  came;  it  was  much  smaller  than 
my  Nelly-Howard,  and  more  convenient  for  her.  And,  on  Sat- 
urday. May  3,  the  Mpongive  came,  bringing  as  passenger.  Rev. 
Mr.  Murphy  from  Baraka,  on  a  visit  to  Mr.  Sinclair,  dividing  his 
time  between  Aenima  and  Kanerwe. 


OX  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  299 


JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

On  Thursday,  May  8,  my  usual  run  was  made  to  Anyambe- 
jena's  for  the  night.  His  manner  of  civilization  was  much  im- 
proved in  the  past  few  years.  I  was  well  received  and  had  a 
good  meeting  in  the  evening.  The  next  day,  when  I  stopped  to 
eat  at  Myangaiie's,  his  women  treated  me  well.  But,  I  was 
amazed  at  the  ignorance  of  a  certain  young  man,  in  his  asking 
of  me,  a  missionary,  whether  1  had  rum  in  the  boat  for  sale! 
Perhaps  he  was  thinking  of  the  Roman  Catholic  priests,  who 
always  carried  liquor.  At  Belambla,  I  was  pleased  with  the 
good  order  of  the  grounds,  and  delighted  to  find  that  the  Bakele 
seemed  to  care  for  the  school,  and  were  beginning  to  send  even 
their  little  children  to  it.  Aveya,  too,  asked  for  baptism  and  to 
be  married  in  Christian  ceremony.  This  was  good  news.  1 
settled  his  accounts ;  and,  as  he  wished  to  be  relieved  of  the  post, 
I  put  Bayio  in  his  place.  On  Sunday,  the  nth,  no  people  came 
from  the  villages  to  services ;  for,  they  were  almost  all  away,  at 
work  on  their  plantations.  But,  I  had  a  good  Sabbath  school 
class  of  my  own  crew.  And,  Xguva  made  me  glad  by  asking 
for  baptism.     On  the  Monday,  I  returned  to  Kangwe.  . 

My  sister  had  such  a  romantic  attachment  for  her  boat,  Evan- 
geline, that,  as  there  was  not  good  room  for  it  in  the  boat-shed 
alongside  of  my  boats,  at  her  request,  I  had  it  carried  bodily  by 
the  entire  male  portion  of  the  household,  up  the  steep  hill,  and 
stored  under  the  dwelling  house.  I  began  to  clear  the  ground 
for  the  site  of  the  church  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Hill,  just 
in  the  rear  of  my  original  hut  there,  above  the  ravine. 

The  next  day,  I  almost  completed  the  first  draft  of  my  har- 
monized translation  of  the  Four  Gospels  in  Benga.  I  had 
brought  from  Belambla,  the  lad  Kimagwe,  son  of  Kasa,  who, 
from  the  first  days  at  Kasa's,  had  attached  himself  to  me,  and 
who,  among  all  the  changes  there,  had  remained  more  or  less 
faithful.  Traveling  constantly  with  Gahvas  (Mpongwe)  I  had 
not  acquired  Dikele  fluently  at  Belambla;  for,  even  the  Bakele 
were  adopting  Mpongwe  (the  language  of  trade)  as  a  lingua 
franca.  Therefore,  among  Bakele.  I  had  to  depend  on  an  inter- 
preter in  my  preaching  services.  So,  Kimagwe  was  at  Kangwe 
school  with  me.  I  took  him  as  interpreter  in  my  afternoon  visi- 
tation at  Ijuke-jame's.  For  the  first  time  there,  the  women  then 
received  me  well,  and  listened  attentively. 

On  Sunday,  the  18th,  only  one  person  came  from  the  villages. 
I  had  onlv  my  own  forty  of  the  household.     But,  to  Sabbath 


3oo  MY  OGOWE 

school  came  Mrs.  Owondo-Lewis;  Ofnvanga  ("Bella")  a  for- 
mer Baraka  pupil,  wife  of  a  Mpongwe  trader;  Oswake ;  and  other 
women.  The  Atangina  slaves  were  making  a  great  tumult  on 
my  Andende  grounds.  The  next  morning,  I  refused  to  buy  any- 
thing from  them.  I  completed  the  revision  of  the  Four  Gos- 
pels. I  had  been  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  gorilla  carcass,  in  inter- 
est of  science,  for  my  friend,  Thos.  G.  Morton,  M.D.,  of 
Philadelphia.  A  certain  man,  Aziza-ngonja,  from  Lake  Onanga, 
said  he  would  try  to  obtain  me  one. 

On  the  20th,  I  began  carefully  to  copy  for  the  press  the  cor- 
rected first  draft  of  my  Benga  revisions. 

On  Thursday,  the  22d,  in  the  afternoon,  Messrs.  Lubcke, 
Schiff  (his  relief),  and  Sinclair,  with  Mrs.  Kirk  wood,  came  to 
call  on  my  sister,  and  invited  us  to  "  breakfast  "  at  the  German 
house,  at  n  a.m.  of  the  following  Saturday.  The  cool,  dry 
season  fogs  were  commencing.  The  Kangwe  property  was 
still  a  wild  one ;  for,  on  the  23d,  on  my  way  in  the  morning  to 
superintend  the  Andende  work,  I  saw  a  large  black  monkey  in 
a  tree  near  the  boat-shed.  And,  in  the  afternoon,  Ntyindiorema 
with  Black  in  the  forest  saw  a  nkambi  antelope  on  the  Hill,  near 
a  rock  known  as  the  "  Fetish  Stone." 

On  the  24th,  Sister  and  I  went  to  Mr.  Lubcke's  at  11  a.  m., 
returning  at  3  p.  m.  And,  then,  I  went  on  to  Atangina  for  the 
usual  visitations.  Forgot  Black  there,  and  had  to  go  back  for 
him.  He  had  been  so  accustomed  to  journeying  with  his  for- 
mer master.  Count  DeBrazza.  in  canoes,  that  he  persisted  in  try- 
ing to  follow  me  on  all  my  excursions.  By  the  27th,  the 
Andende  hut  was  so  far  completed  that  I  appointed  five  of  the 
young  men  to  live  there.  They  were  its  guards  at  night,  and 
could  come  daily  for  their  work  elsewhere.  As  it  stood  rather 
isolated.  I  feared  that  they  would  not  like  the  duty.  But,  they 
did ;  and  a  sixth  asked  to  be  allowed  to  join  them.  That  little 
hut  stood  near  the  site  of  the  present  Andende  boat-shed,  and 
was  the  beginning  of  the  transfer,  ten  years  later,  of  the  entire 
Kangwe  buildings  and  work  from  the  Hill  to  Andende.  On 
Thursday.  May  29,  my  sister  and  I  made  a  return  of  invitation 
to  "  breakfast,"  to  Messrs.  Lubcke,  Schiff,  Sinclair  and  Surry, 
and  Mrs.  Kirkwood,  and  had  a  pleasant  afternoon  with  them. 
My  sister  was  a  graceful  hostess;  I  knew  no  lady  in  the  Mis- 
sion during  all  my  years  in  it.  who  could  arrange  the  viands  of 
a  table  more  tastefully  and  attractively  than  she.  And  her  con- 
versation was  a  happy  combination  of  interest  and  refinement. 
What  an  advance  in  my  Ogowe  life!     hive  years  before,  I  had 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  301 

entered  the  Ogowe,  one  of  only  five  men  in  the  river,  and  none 
of  us  with  any  comforts  of  home.  Then,  that  day,  we  sat,  in 
polite  dress,  in  a  decorated  parlor  (true,  the  house  was  only  bam- 
boo, and  the  room  was  small)  with  music,  and  civilized  courtesy. 

The  path  up  the  steep  Kangwe  Hill  was  zigzag  (a  straight 
ascent  was  impossible).  It  was  very  trying  on  one's  knees. 
Now  that  Andende  was  to  be  considered,  I  explored,  on  the  30th, 
a  route  on  a  southeast  course,  away  from  the  river,  and  around 
the  heads  of  the  two  ravines  that  lay  between  the  Hill  and 
Andende  Creek.  That,  too,  was  an  epoch-making  day.  That 
path  became  the  easiest,  and  finally,  the  only  route  between  the 
two  dwellings.  The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  31st,  while  I  was 
off  in  the  forest,  examining  the  logs  which  were  to  be  the  sills 
of  the  floor  of  the  proposed  church  building,  Black  started  up  two 
civet-cats ;  and  my  people  killed  one.  which  they  afterward  ate. 
I  never  attempted  to  eat  of  that  little  animal :  its  musk  odor  was 
too  pronounced.  At  Adalinananga  meeting  that  afternoon, 
there  came  a  large  number  of  women.  On  the  following  Mon- 
day, June  2.  when  out  again  in  the  forest,  the  dog  started  up  a 
genet,  and  caught  it  alive. 

On  Thursday,  June  5,  my  sister  and  I  went,  on  invitation,  to 
Aguma,  where  Mr.  Sinclair  was  making  a  farewell  entertain- 
ment for  Mr.  Lubcke.  I  returned  with  a  headache,  from  the 
fumes  of  the  tobacco  which  the  gentlemen  had  been  smoking. 
I  never  had  smoked ;  and  have  suffered  extremely  when  com- 
pelled to  remain  in  a  crowd  of  smokers.  This  was  especially 
true  of  ships,  where  I  was  always  sick  with  the  sea:  and,  fellow 
passengers,  with  cruel  inconsiderateness,  carried  their  smoke 
everywhere,  even,  against  the  ship's  rules,  into  the  saloon.  After 
thirty  years  of  suffering,  I  finally  became  used  to  the  odor,  though 
I  never  have  liked  it  or  used  it. 

My  logs  for  the  church  were  unnecessarily  large  and  long.  I 
would  have  been  wise  to  have  cut  them  into  sections,  and  then 
have  joined  them.  But,  I  was  pleased  with  the  idea  of  solidity. 
Time  had  come  for  the  dragging  of  them  from  the  forest  to  the 
building  site.  I  hired  two  men  from  Adalinananga,  three  from 
Eyenano,  five  from  Atangina ;  Mr.  Lubcke  kindly  sent  twenty- 
six  with  his  Goree  trader  Ayune;  Mr.  Sinclair  sent  a  large  num- 
ber. These,  with  fifteen  of  the  largest  of  my  own  people,  made 
a  company  of  some  eighty,  for  the  job.  But,  the  strangers 
seemed  to  consider  the  day  a  picnic,  and  pulled  with  little  energy. 
And,  as  a  result  of  the  day's  work,  only  one  log  was  in  position! 
There  was  a  pleasant   incident,   that,  after  I   had  selected  my 


302  MY  OGOWE 

fifteen,  two  others,  Mbigino  and  Pendaningani,  asked  to  be  al- 
lowed to  work  "  for  the  sake  of  the  church.''  I  assigned  them 
to  carry  water  to  the  men.  The  next  day,  we  were  at  the  logs 
again;  but,  no  employees  of  the  two  trading-houses  came;  they 
were  busy  at  the  German  house,  having  an  entertainment  at  the 
good-by  for  Mr.  Lubcke. 

The  evening  of  Monday,  June  9,  was  a  notable  day :  on  it  was 
held  the  first  christian  marriage  ceremony  celebrated  in  the 
Ogowe.  when  Aveya  and  his  wife  Arangi-ir-'nomi-ye,  who  had 
been  living  together  (like  all  the  natives)  under  native  ceremony 
fat  that  time  accepted  by  our  presbytery  as  sufficient)  chose  to 
have  the  added  church  rite.  (The  Government  had  not  yet  re- 
quired the  civil  rite.) 

On  afternoon  of  the  TOth.  while  at  work  on  the  logs,  heard 
that  the  Pioneer  had  arrived.  Hasted  in  my  boat  to  Aguma  for 
the  mail.  There.  I  found  that  Mr.  Carlill.  general  agent  of  the 
Tl.  &  C.  firm,  from  his  office  at  Elobi  Tsland.  in  Corisco  Bay. 
had  arrived  on  a  visit  of  inspection.  With  him  had  returned 
Mr.  Sinclair's  former  clerk.  Mr.  Woodward. 

Xext  day.  Messrs.  Carlill  and  Sinclair  made  a  courteous  call 
on  my  sister.  On  Monday,  the  16th.  1  held  an  examination  of 
the  school.  All,  except  three  or  four,  failed,  according  to  my 
test,  in  English. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

Messrs.  Sinclair  and  SchifT  had  burned  an  Akele  village  op- 
posite to  the  mouth  of  the  Xgunvc.  in  punishment  for  some  peo- 
ple of  that  place  having  attacked  a  trade-boat  of  the  latter.  In 
my  going  to  Belambla  on  June  17.  my  crew  were  in  great  fear 
of  some  revenge  by  those  people,  on  the  boat  of  any  white  man. 
1  did  not  know  how  serious  the  situation  might  be;  but,  it  was 
necessary  for  me  to  make  that  journey  before  going  on  the  usual 
semi-annual  trip  to  Gaboon.  Of  course,  in  passing  Aguma. 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  excitement  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Sin- 
clair loaned  me  his  revolver.  We  ascended  the  river  with  cau- 
tion. And.  when  in  sight  of  the  burned  village,  crossed  to  the 
other  side  (the  left  bank)  of  the  river.  And.  rounding  all  the 
islands,  passed  in  safety.  Never  had  my  crew  pulled  so  rapidly 
and  steadily.  They  wasted  no  time  in  merriment.  For  the  first 
time  in  three  years,  we  passed  up  the  Tazie  side.  My  crews 
had  always  before  been  afraid  of  the  clans  on  that  part  of  the 
river.  But,  that  day.  as  a  choice  of  evils,  they  preferred  Tazie. 
Had  a  good  meeting  at  Anyambe-jena's  that  night.     There  was 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  303 

there  a  Mpongwe  trader,  Ndeg'-oma  (Friend-of-a-Person)  ;  but, 
I  slept  in  the  boat ;  it  was  clean ;  the  huts  always  had  vermin ; 
and,  there  was  no  danger  of  rain. 

The  next  day,  I  found  all  right  at  Belambla,  except  that  Bayio 
was  not  as  competent  to  control  his  little  school  as  was  Aveya. 
And,  the  following  day,  I  was  again  safely  at  the  Hill. 

On  the  2 1  st,  Mr.  Sinclair  came  with  his  own  and  Mr.  Schiff's 
people,  and  assisted  in  dragging  a  large  log  for  the  church. 
Then,  he  enthusiastically  went  for  another,  and  finished  it  by 
11:30  a.m.  Then,  I  and  my  people  stopped  to  rest;  but,  he 
went  for  a  third.  After  dinner,  I  went  to  the  Nkami  or  western 
side  of  the  Hill,  to  select  a  new  site  for  the  little  Igolino  hut  I 
had  originally  built  there.  Black,  with  me,  started  up  a  young 
antelope.  By  3  130  p.  m.  Mr.  Sinclair  left,  after  a  very  helpful 
day.  Shortly  afterwards.  I  followed  him  to  Aguma,  to  get  goods 
for  my  down-river  journey. 

On  Sunday,  the  22cl,  there  was  only  a  small  company  present 
at  services;  for.  of  my  household,  all  the  girls  and  several  of 
the  boys  had  already  gone  to  their  homes,  for  the  "  vacation  " 
of  my  absence.  Next  day,  Mr.  Sinclair  came  and  took  away  a 
stove  he  had  bought  of  my  sister.  The  carcass  of  an  ilieli 
(gazelle)  was  brought  for  sale.  After  I  had  skinned  it,  Black 
stood  faithfully  guarding  it  from  chickens  and  cats;  himself  did 
not  attempt  to  steal  any  of  it. 

JOURNEY    TO    GABOON. 

On  the  afternoon  of  June  24.  in  the  Nelly-Howard,  with  my 
sister,  I  started  on  the  130  miles  to  the  river's  mouth.  Unwilling 
to  leave  Black  to  the  uncertain  care  of  my  people  during  a  long 
absence,  I  took  him  also  as  passenger.  At  sundown,  we  reached 
the  village  Ompomo-nyanda  (Onion-point).  Its  head-man  came 
to  greet  us;  ceremoniously  gave  us  gifts.  And,  after  the  four 
village  dogs  had  become  reconciled  to  Black,  we  had  a  good 
meeting  in  the  evening. 

Next  day,  two  of  the  schoolgirls.  Onivi  and  Mwanyeno,  and 
Aveya's  wife  came  to  greet  my  sister;  and  Aveya  and  Nguva 
joined  the  boat's  crew.  I  wished  to  see  Njivo.  So,  we  entered 
Lake  Onanga  by  its  small  entrance,  and  disembarking  my  sister 
with  some  of  the  crew  at  a  village,  I  hastened  on  farther  into  the 
lake,  to  Dowe's  trading-house.  He  was  not  at  home;  but  Njivo 
was  there,  and  she  entertained  me  hospitably.  I  taught  the  little 
boys  of  the  village,  and  held  a  meeting  with  the  people.  And, 
then,  hasting  back,  took  up  my  sister  again,  and  emerged  from 


304  MY  OGOWE 

the  lake  by  its  only  large  exit  at  Ngomu.  Stopping  at  Oranga 
to  let  off  three  of  the  boys  to  their  homes;  and,  at  Nandipo,  for  a 
few  minutes  with  friend  Azaze ;  and,  finally,  by  early  moonlight, 
to  the  Igenja  village  of  Awora.  There  were  good  huts  in  which 
to  sleep,  and  good  attentions,  and  a  good  public  meeting.  The 
next  day,  held  another  meeting,  at  which  a  candidate  for  the  in- 
quiry class  was  examined.  Then,  on  to  another  Igenja  village, 
that  of  Mamba's  people.  Angeka,  whom  I  had  dismissed  on 
March  26,  wished  to  return  to  school ;  but,  I  did  not  permit  him. 
On  to  the  Ashuka  village  of  Re-Teno.  A  "  nkanja  "  dance  was 
in  progress  by  the  women,  in  honor  of  the  "  king  "  of  their  fe- 
male society. 

On  to  Isagi's  at  Ngumbe  for  the  night.  Black  made  himself 
troublesome  with  the  sheep  and  goats.  Mosquitoes  were  bad ; 
and,  sleeping  in  the  boat,  I  caught  a  cold  that  troubled  me  the 
remainder  of  the  journey.  Pulling  rapidly,  the  next  day,  the 
27th,  and  stopping  on  Olende  Island  to  eat,  we  were  early  for 
the  night  at  Rango.  Re-Buka  and  his  wife,  Mhuru,  were  hos- 
pitable. 

The  next  day,  our  meal  was  eaten  at  Nombi.  Friend  Onanga 
was  not  at  home ;  but.  I  advanced  some  goods  on  the  boat  which 
he  was  supposed  to  be  making  for  me.  On  to  Angela,  to  re- 
main over  Sunday.  A  French  gun-boat  was  lying*  there.  I 
had  to  stay  in  bed,  and  could  hold  no  services.  The  town  was 
noisy.  The  trader,  Ibanja,  was  playing  cards  all  day.  (It  was 
remarkable  how  generally  the  ignorant  idle  natives  had  adopted 
card-playing  from  the  example  of  white  men.)  The  French  of- 
ficers were  ashore,  target-shooting.  On  Monday.  June  30,  the 
gun-boat  had  preceded  us.  Tn  my  weakness,  and  confusion  of 
starting.  I  actually  forgot  Black,  and  had  to  return  for  him. 
Ate  our  morning  meal  at  the  "  One  Palm-tree."  Passed  the  gun- 
boat, which  was  taking  soundings.  Emerging  at  the  mouth,  we 
saw  the  Hudson  far  out  at  sea.  Went,  for  the  night,  for  my 
sister's  sake,  to  Ngwanyani's  Abun'-awiri ;  but,  sent  the  boat, 
under  charge  of  Petiye,  to  go  out  and  meet  the  cutter,  and  put 
our  goods  on  board.  He,  being  of  a  coast-tribe,  and  accustomed 
to  boats  and  the  sea,  T  trusted  him.  But,  when  he  returned  late 
at  night,  the  boat  was  damaged  by  his  having  crossed  the  cutter's 
bows,  when  he  went  alongside,  instead  of  approaching  around 
her  stern.  The  next  day,  I  left  the  1x>at  in  Ngwanyani's  care; 
and  he  sent  us  in  a  large  canoe  to  board  the  Hudson,  which  had 
come  close  in  shore.  For  a  rarity,  I  was  not  sea-sick,  and  could 
not  only  eat,  but  could  use  my  eyes  to  read  the  large  mail  which 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  305 

the  vessel  had  brought  us.  With  a  fine  run  all  day,  we  entered 
Gaboon  estuary  at  night,  and  anchored  by  the  French  guard- 
ships  at  midnight.  French  law  permitted  no  vessel  of  any  size 
to  enter  or  leave  the  river  after  sundown. 

AT    LIBREVILLE. 

July  2.  Our  meeting  had  been  officially  appointed  for  Benita. 
For  some  reason,  Mr.  Murphy  refused  to  go  there.  I  could  not 
go  without  him ;  for,  his  absence  would  prevent  a  quorum.  So, 
I  had  to  yield  and  remain  at  Baraka,  for  meetings  to  be  held 
there.  But,  my  sister,  having  desired  to  see  her  loved  Benita, 
went  thither  on  the  Hudson,  and  Miss  Lydia  Walker  accom- 
panied her. 

On  Friday,  the  4th,  there  arrived  messengers  bearing  letters 
from  the  ocean  steamer  Angola,  with  the  astonishingly  gratifying 
news  that  new  missionaries,  H.  M.  Bacheler,  M.D.,  and  wife 
were  at  Elobi  Island  awaiting  transportation  to  Libreville. 
The  Pioneer,  lying  at  anchor  at  Libreville,  was  to  go  at  once  to 
Elobi,  to  bring  its  own  goods,  and  would  give  the  Bachelers  pas- 
sage. As  they  were  coming  as  my  relief  at  Kangwe,  I  went  at 
9  p.  m.  to  the  beach,  and  Mr.  Schultze  sent  me  off  in  his  boat 
to  the  Pioneer,  where  I  slept  for  the  night.  Next  day,  a  white 
man,  Mr.  Fred.  Theron,  came  also  as  a  passenger.  But,  he  was 
a  very  unpleasant  one.  He  was  very  pronounced  in  his  infidelity, 
and  in  his  antimissionary  and  proslavery  talk ;  and  approved  of 
polygamy!  A  little  cutter,  the  Vyabama,  of  Holt's  Company, 
passed  us,  having  on  board  a  living  young  elephant. 

Early  in  the  afternoon,  we  reached  the  anchored  hulk,  Princess 
Royal.  This  was  the  home  of  H.  &  C.'s  general  agent,  Mr. 
H.  T.  Carlill,  his  assistant,  Mr.  Woodward,  and  clerks  Grey- 
stock  and  Neile.  There  was  a  glad  welcome  of  the  new  mis- 
sionaries, Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler. 

On  Sunday,  I  was  still  too  weak,  with  my  ague  chills,  for 
any  service ;  but,  I  tried  to  study  a  Sabbath  school  lesson  with  the 
Bachelers.  On  Monday,  the  7th,  the  Pioneer,  with  much  salut- 
ing of  flags,  and  circling  around  the  Princess  Royal,  in  honor 
of  the  general  agent,  brought  us  back  to  Libreville.  The  en- 
gineer was  very  attentive,  in  an  offensive  state  of  intoxication. 
But,  the  view  of  the  little  islands  in  Corisco  Bay  was  beautiful. 
In  the  Gaboon  estuary,  we  fortunately  passed  the  guard-ship 
only  fifteen  minutes  in  advance  of  the  closing  signal-gun.  Mr. 
Murphy  came  off  in  a  boat  kindly  loaned  by  Mr.  Schultze.  Miss 
Jones  was  awaiting  on  the  beach  with  horse  Jimmy  and  the  little 


306  MY  OGOWE 

carriage.  And,  Mrs.  Smith  was  at  the  Baraka  door  with  a 
welcome  for  the  new  arrivals.  On  the  9th,  Mr.  Murphy  and  I 
escorted  Dr.  Bacheler,  for  the  official  call  on  the  French  com- 
mandant, required  of  all  new  comers.  The  French  surgeon  rec- 
ognized Dr.  Bacheler's  profession,  by  politely  showing  him 
through  the  surgical  ward  of  the  hospital.  In  the  evening,  at 
Baraka,  we  had  pleasant  music,  vocal  and  instrumental ;  Mrs. 
Bacheler  on  the  melodeon,  Dr.  Bacheler  accompanying  on  his 
flute.  I  remember  particularly  Mrs.  Bacheler's  Civil-war  bal- 
lad, "  Baby  Mine." 

On  the  nth,  mission  meeting  was  held,  and  Dr.  Bacheler  was 
formally  enrolled  as  a  member.  I  preached  for  Mr.  Murphy 
twice,  on  Sunday  the  13th,  and  the  20th.  On  Sunday  after- 
noon, the  13th,  the  French  commandant,  with  the  captain  and 
lieutenant  of  a  French  corvette  made  his  courtesy  call  on  Dr. 
Bacheler  and  myself.  The  Hudson  came  in  from  Benita  with 
my  sister,  late  on  the  night  of  the  14th.  But,  by  special  favor, 
because  of  her  sickness,  my  sister  was  allowed  to  come  ashore 
that  night,  as  I  had  gone  off  in  a  boat  for  her.  My  two  young 
men,  Aveya  and  Nguva,  who  had  accompanied  my  sister  to 
Benita,  had  been  baptized  there.  Licentiate  Ttongolo  also  had 
arrived  for  the  delayed  deferred  presbytery. 

On  Wednesday.  July  t6,  was  a  notable  prayer  meeting. 
Nguva  made  his  first  public  prayer,  as  one  of  the  first  Ogowe 
converts.  On  Friday,  the  TcSth.  Mr.  Schultze.  as  German  consul, 
made  his  official  visit  to  a  French  frigate  which  had  arrived  on 
the  1 6th.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  Protestant  friend.  Rev. 
Mr.  Murphy ;  the  latter  received  no  attention  from  the  admiral. 
But.  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  French  Roman  Catholic  Bishop 
visited  the  vessel,  he  was  received  with  great  honor.  Those  were 
the  days  while  France  was  still  under  the  domination  of  the 
Roman  hierarchy. 

The  days  passed  pleasantly  in  the  refined  society  of  my  Baraka 
associates.  But,  I  was  anxious  to  return  to  my  Ogowe  work. 
Finally,  Rev. -Mr.  Ibiya  and  Licentiate  Myongo  arrived  for  pres- 
bytery. At  Kangwe.  T  had  little  time  for  reading.  During  the 
delays  at  Baraka,  I  read  George  Eliot's  "  Daniel  Deronda."  I 
did  not  like  it. 

On  the  19th,  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  Licentiates  Ito- 
ngolo  and  Myongo,  Bible-reader  Aka,  and  two  young  Bapuku 
men,  about  the  work  at  Batanga.  Mission  had  declined  to  locate 
any  white  agent  there,  desiring  that  its  work  should  be  carried 
on   entirely  by  natives.      (We   had   no  idea  at  that  time,   that 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  307 

twenty  years  later,  it  would  be  the  very  center  of  our  Mission.) 
The  afternoon  service  of  the  20th,  was  presided  over  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Ibiya,  assisted  by  Licentiates  Truman  and  Myongo.  But. 
we  were  insulted  by  the  disorderly  conduct  of  some  Mpongwe 
Roman  Catholic  young  men. 

My  ague  chills  continued.  At  4  p.  m.  of  the  21st,  I  was 
shivering  under  blankets.  But,  at  7  p.  M.  I  had  to  rise,  to  go 
to  presbytery,  for  my  duty  as  stated  clerk.  On  request  of  four 
members  of  Gaboon  church,  and  two  of  Benita,  I  was  officially 
directed  to  organize  them  into  the  First  Ogowe  churchy  at 
Kangwe.  Elder  Komanandi  of  Gaboon,  and  Bible-reader  Aka 
were  accepted  as  candidates  for  the  ministry.  [The  former 
subsequently  died  a  miserable  felon  in  jail  at  Duala,  Kamerun.] 
Kongolo,  after  a  long  examination,  was  licensed,  and  appointed 
as  stated  supply  of  the  first  Ogowe  church.  I  spent  some  of  my 
days  teaching  Airs.  Bacheler  Mpongwe,  in  which  Mrs.  Smith  and 
Miss  Jones  sometimes  joined.  The  excellent  Mpongwe  lady,  a 
monitress  in  the  school,  "  Jane  Harrington,"  or  Anyentyuwa, 
sister  of  Njivo,  assisted  me.  (Anyentyuwa  afterward  played  an 
important  part  in  my  Ogowe  life.)  On  the  27th,  my  sister's 
sickness  increased ;  she  was  delirious,  and  I  sat  up  with  her  all 
night. 

As  she  seemed  better  in  the  morning  of  the  28th,  I  left  her  in 
the  afternoon,  and,  in  company  of  Mr.  Murphy  and  Mr.  Carlill, 
paid  my  courtesy  call  on  the  newly  arrived  commandant.  In  the 
evening,  my  sister's  delirium  returned.  The  only  voice  that 
seemed  able  to  quiet  her  was  that  of  her  Benita  pupil,  Petiye. 
.Mrs.  Smith  kindly  relieved  me  in  my  night-watch.  As  the  Hud- 
son had  returned  that  day,  from  her  taking  (on  the  24th)  our 
native  visitors  to  their  homes  at  the  north,  I  was  anxious  to  get 
away.  I  had  had  a  talk  with  Dr.  Bacheler  about  his  taking  my 
place  in  the  Ogowe.  As  my  sister  was  better  on  the  30th,  I  be- 
gan to  arrange  for  our  departure. 

JOURNEY    BACK    TO    OGOWE. 

The  mission  arrangements  that  required  a  semiannual  meet- 
ing was  a  trying  one  for  me  of  the  Ogowe.  But,  it  was  very 
easy  for  whoever  was  occupant  of  Baraka  (where  generally  the 
gathering  was  voted  to  be  held).  The  arrangement  involved  for 
me,  a  week's  exposed  boat-journey  on  the  river,  and  a  painful 
sea-voyage  of  from  three  to  five  days  on  the  slow  Hudson.  Only 
occasionally  did  one  of  the  small  river  trading-steamers'  sailing- 
schedule  coincide  with  my  due  time  for  the  journey.     Also,  the 


3o8  MY  OGOWE 

delay  at  the  Coast,  though  it  gave  change  of  scene,  was  never 
restful,  as  I  was  busy  with  accounts,  purchases,  reports  and 
letters. 

The  month's  stay  at  Baraka  came  to  an  end  on  August  i.  My 
sister,  though  still  weak  (and  myself  not  strong)  was  as  anxious 
as  I  to  get  back  to  our  house,  though  we  knew  that  the  dry  sea- 
son voyage  would  be  a  trying  one.  The  dog  Black  had  been  a 
nuisance  to  my  Baraka  host  and  hostess.  He  ran  away;  was 
stolen  by  some  natives ;  on  his  escape  and  return,  I  chained  him ; 
but,  he  was  missing  at  almost  the  last  moment  before  our  em- 
barcation.  Dr.  Bacheler  joined  us  for  the  sea  trip.  He  enjoyed 
the  sea.  I  was  pleased  to  have  his  company,  but  I  had  to  re- 
quest him  to  refrain  from  smoking,  if  he  came  on  board.  He 
was  a  constant  and  excessive  tobacco, smoker.  Because  of  that, 
he  had  been  refused  an  appointment  of  the  Free-Will  Baptist 
Society  (of  which  he  had  been  a  member)  to  be  associate  with 
his  father,  in  their  Orissa.  East  India  Mission.  In  our  Mission, 
we  had  no  rule  against  the  use  of  tobacco.  All  natives  smoked 
it ;  and  most  of  us  used  tobacco-leaf  as  the  smallest  and  most 
convenient  "  coin  "  in  barter.  But,  none  of  us  smoked.  To- 
bacco smoke  was  especially  offensive  to  me  on  journeys.  It  ag- 
gravated my  invariable  seasickness.  So  it  was  always  under- 
stood that,  when  I  was  a  passenger  on  the  Hudson,  Captain 
Menkel  would  forbid  the  crew  to  smoke  on  the  journey.  Dr. 
Bacheler  assented  to  my  request,  and  with  apparent  willingness 
promised  to  refrain.  On  August  2,  against  wind,  we  ran  rapidly 
all  day  on  a  long  tack  out  to  sea,  in  an  attempt  to  reach  our  south- 
ern goal.  But,  when  we  tacked  back  at  night,  wind  and  current 
had  carried  us  north,  and  we  had  gained  no  farther  south  than 
Kangwe  Point ! 

On  Sunday,  the  3d,  we  ran  in  vain,  part  of  the  day :  broke  our 
bow-sprit;  and  anchored.  On  the  4th,  there  was  just  the  same 
long  tacking.  We  ran  rapidly.  But  I  observed  that  the  native 
steersman,  who  enjoyed  the  motion,  and  who  had  no  interest  in  a 
short  trip,  in  his  vociferous  songs  and  conversation  with  other 
members  of  the  crew  (a  thing  utterly  forbidden  on  all  vessels) 
lost  progress  by  failing  to  keep  the  vessel  up  to  the  wind.  Mr. 
Menkel  too  never  suffered  on  the  sea,  and  allowed  the  native 
assistant  to  take  his  own  happy  way,  while  himself  was  reading 
or  dozing.  It  became  agonizing;  for,  T  could  see  all  the  disorder 
as  T  lav  on  the  deck.  I  complained.  Mr.  Menkel  took  the  rud- 
der himself,  and  we  reached  Round  Hill.  On  Tuesday,  the  5th, 
we  ran  well,  and  reached  Sangatanga.     My  sister,  down  in  the 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  309 

little  cabin,  was  becoming  hysterical  with  the  trials  of  the  jour- 
ney. Dr.  Bacheler's  ability  to  keep  his  promise  failed,  after  the 
fifth  day's  abstinence,  and  he  smoked.  I  had  to  protest.  Mr. 
Menkel  rebuked  him.  The  doctor  felt  humiliated.  The  incident 
strained  our  future  relations. 

On  Wednesday,  the  6th,  a  fine  run  was  made  parallel  with  the 
coast,  both  wind  and  tide  being  favorable,  and  we  anchored  near 
Abun-'awiri  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  I  sent  the  small 
canoe  that  was  always  in  tow  of  the  Hudson,  ashore  to  Ngwa- 
nyani,  asking  him  to  send  his  big  canoe  for  us.  He  did  so. 
And,  just  then,  the  Pioneer  appeared  from  the  river.  I  went 
to  it  in  the  canoe,  and  received  a  letter  from  my  Kangwe  em- 
ployees saying  that  all  was  well  and  no  trouble.  The  careless 
crew  of  the  Hudson  allowed  their  little  canoe  to  go  adrift.  As 
soon  as  I  had  taken  my  sister  ashore  for  the  night,  in  the  big 
canoe,  I  sent  it  back  to  pick  up  and  take  to  the  Hudson  their 
little  one.  On  the  7th,  sent  that  large  canoe  for  Messrs.  Bacheler 
and  Menkel  to  come  ashore,  in  order  that  the  latter  might  help 
me  about  the  repairs  of  the  Nelly-Hoivard,  damaged  by  Petiye 
in  the  previous  June.  Six  of  its  timbers  were  broken.  Made 
temporary  repairs.  Had  a  hearty  meal  ashore  with  the  two 
gentlemen.  And,  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  canoe,  took  them  to 
the  Hudson.  Returning,  I  put  the  boat  in  the  water.  It  leaked 
very  much. 

By  the  next  morning,  Friday,  the  8th,  the  leaks  had  swelled 
shut  somewhat ;  but,  I  had  to  bail  constantly,  all  the  way  up-river. 
We  went  alongside  the  Hudson,  and  loaded  into  the  boat  our 
goods.  It  was  very  crowded  with  them.  Unfortunately,  the  tide 
was  against  us ;  but,  we  started ;  and  ate  our  midday  meal  at  the 
"  One  Palm-Tree."  And,  did  not  reach  Angala  until  8  p.  m. 
The  French  customs  officer  was  at  the  landing.  Mr.  Schultze's 
colored  man  vacated  his  comfortable  house  for  us.  After  buy- 
ing food,  it  was  too  late  for  any  public  services ;  we  were  all  too 
tired ;  and  my  sister  was  trying  to  dry  the  contents  of  her  boxes 
which  had  gotten  wet  in  the  leaky  boat.  The  next  day,  Saturday, 
the  9th,  after  buying  a  quantity  of  food,  and  engaging  a  man, 
Banja,  to  come  to  Kangwe  to  do  carpenter  work,  we  started  late, 
and  stopped  faint  with  hunger,  for  the  noon  meal  at  5Jbmbi, 
where  I  arranged  about  the  boat  Onanga  was  to  make  for  me. 
And,  then,  by  sail  with  dry  season  wind,  reached  !NTango ;  were 
received  kindly  by  Re-Buka  and  his  wife  Mburu.  Discharged 
all  the  boxes,  to  dry  their  contents  over  Sunday.  On  which 
dav,  mv  sister  was  so  exhausted,  that  she  remained  in  bed  all 


310  MY  OGOWE 

day,  and  could  not  admit  any  of  the  people  who  wished  to  see 
her. 

On  Monday,  the  nth,  stopping  for  the  midday  meal  near 
Olende  Island,  we  hasted  on,  partly  by  sail,  but  obstructed  by 
the  tortuous  channels  of  the  dry  season,  and  stopping  for  the 
night,  after  dark,  in  the  German  sub-"  factory "  at  old  King 
Xjagu's  former  town.  The  native  trader  gave  up  his  good 
new  house  for  our  use. 

The  next  day,  Tuesday,  the  12th,  made  a  good  day's  run  with 
only  oars,  to  a  camp  in  the  forest  for  the  night  near  Avanga. 
The  following  day,  stopping  at  Ashuka,  with  Ogula's  people ; 
and,  for  a  few  minutes  at  Mamba's  Igenja's  village,  to  Awora's 
for  the  night.  I  was  suffering  with  a  diarrhea,  and  could  con- 
duct no  services.  But,  I  took  account  of  Awora's  good  report  of 
his  Scripture-reading  work. 

The  next  day,  stopping  at  friend  Azaze's  Nandipo;  and,  on  to 
Oranga  (where  I  left  letters  to  be  taken  into  Lake  Onanga  to 
Njivo)  and  on  rapidly  past  old  Aromba,  and  stopped  for  the 
night  in  .the  forest  at  a  point  opposite  the  small  "  second  en- 
trance "  to  the  lake.  Both  my  sister  and  I  were  sick,  and  neither 
of  us  ate  anything.  The  next  day,  Friday,  the  15th,  we  were 
enlivened  with  the  feeling  that  we  were  nearing  our  house;  and, 
the  crew  pulled  enthusiastically.  We  met  a  kongongo  coming 
from  Messrs.  Sinclair  and  Schiff;  and  its  crew  gave  us  news  of 
Kangwe.  At  Ompomo-nyanda,  took  in  a  new  pupil,  Mbogo. 
And.  at  Zintango's  Atangino  village,  an  Ajumba  friend  Fangi- 
nanga  told  some  evil  news  of  Aveya's  wife,  and  of  a  stolen  canoe. 
At  Ntyege's  Wombalya  village,  heard  of  the  plundering  of  an 
Orungu  canoe.  At  Ginigo,  was  not  pleased  with  the  conduct  of 
Aveya's  people.  At  the  large  "first  entrance"  to  the  lake,  saw 
Re-Vege  and  his  people.  On,  past  Abando  and  some  Akele  vil- 
lages, on  the  main  stream :  and.  at  dark,  stopped  in  the  forest, 
and  made  a  fine  camp  for  ourselves.  My  sister  and  I  were  both 
tolerably  well  again,  and  enjoyed  eating  ashore,  and  chatting 
with  the  crew;  but,  we  slept  in  the  boat.  On  Saturday,  the  16th, 
all  started  in  good  spirit,  for  the  journey's  end  was  so  near. 
About  10  a.  m.,  stopped  at  the  German  Otanga  house,  to  de- 
liver some  mail  to  Mr.  Schiff.  and  also  to  Mr.  Sinclair,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  there.  They  were  discussing  a  "  palaver  "  of  their 
(k)ree  employees  with  some  Ivili  tribe.  The  crew,  desiring  to 
reach  our  Hill,  decided  that  their  eating  should  be  done  in  the 
boat,  halt  of  them  rowing  while  the  other  half  ate.  And,  we 
were  at  Kangwe  before  noon.     The  joy  of  the  young  men  and 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  311 

boys  I  had  left  in  charge  was  enthusiastic.  The  premises  were 
well  cleared  and  in  good  order.  There  was  a  busy  afternoon  of 
putting  away  our  boxes,  etc.,  before  Sunday;  and  in  receiving 
callers  from  Atangina. 

At  night  of  Sunday,  August  17th,  came  Bayio  from  Be- 
lambla,  with  the  startling  news  of  an  attack  on  the  premises,  the 
burning  of  the  boys'  hut,  and  the  murder  of  one  of  them,  Nde- 
mbelembe. The  assault  had  been  by  an  Akele,  on  a  tribal  quarrel, 
and  was  not  directed  against  me  or  Bayio.  Nevertheless,  it  was 
an  outrage  on  our  mission  premises.  The  next  day,  after  settling 
payments  with  the  twelve,  who  had  guarded  Kangwe  during  my 
absence,  and  allowing  Abumba  and  four  other  Igenjas  to  go 
home  on  a  "  vacation,"  and  squaring  my  own  accounts,  I  sent 
Bayio  and  his  two  Bakele  back  to  Belambla,  with  promise  to  fol- 
low them.     Then,  I  was  tired. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

On  the  19th,  I  felt  depressed,  and  dreaded  going.  The  jour- 
neys to  Belambla  had  almost  always  been  connected  with  trouble. 
Stopping  at  Aguma,  I  could  get  no  goods  for  purchase  on  the 
way,  as  Air.  Sinclair  was  absent  at  Mr.  SchifFs  still  discussing 
that  Goree  "  palaver."  I  went  on,  with  the  small  supply  I  hap- 
pened to  have.  Passing  Tazie,  the  people  there  wished  to  sell 
plantains ;  I  promised  to  stop  on  my  return.  Stopped  for  the 
night  at  Anyambe-jena's.  His  village  had  improved  in  quiet 
and  order.  The  next  day,  with  some  caution,  passed  the  village 
of  Akilibonga,  where  lived  the  murderer  of  Ndembelembe. 
Stopping  to  eat  at  Alyangane's,  he  talked  a  great  deal  about  the 
wrong  that  had  been  done  me  at  Belambla.  Arriving  there  in 
the  afternoon,  I  looked  with  distress  at  the  ashes  of  the  boys' 
burned  hut,  as  I  stood  on  the  spot  where  Ndembelembe  fell.  I 
began  to  think  that  further  effort  for  the  Bakele  was  useless ;  and 
determined  to  make  no  display  of  indignation,  and  to  quietly 
abandon  the  place.  I  was  weary  of  protesting  for  my  rights. 
Some  of  the  head-men,  Disingwe,  Walinja,  and  Mokumi  soon 
came  to  see  me.  I  listened  to  their  talk,  but  reserved  my 
reply  for  the  next  day.  On  the  morrow,  the  21st,  I  settled  ac- 
counts with  Bayio  and  the  boys.  The  three  men  returned,  and 
also  Njamikiloma  and  Apekwe.  They  said  that  the  "  palaver  " 
was  theirs,  Akele  with  Akele,  and  not  mine;  and  they  de- 
nounced the  assault  on  my  premises.  It  was  a  satisfactory  talk. 
Kasa's  old  mother  put  in  a  suggestion  that  I  should  allow  a  vil- 
lage to  be  built  on  two  sides  of  my  house  as  a  protection  against 


312  MY  OGOWE 

future  danger.  I  had  little  hope  but  what  some  one  of  those 
very  men  would  some  day  find  it  convenient  to  appropriate  the 
ground  without  my  permission,  and  that  therefore  it  might  be 
wise  to  remove  all  difficulty  by  an  apparently  graceful  gift. 
Moreover,  I  felt  sure  that,  when  my  successor  should  take  my 
place  at  Kangwe,  it  would  be  a  kindness  to  him  to  eliminate  the 
Belambla  problem  from  the  problems  which  would  inevitably 
come  to  him  from  the  growing  Kangwe  work.  So,  I  assented 
to  the  old  woman's  irenic  plea;  and  chose  the  two  most  appar- 
ently friendly  of  those  men.  Disingwe  and  Njamikiloma,  and 
told  them  to  build  on  the  upper  and  lower  sides  of  the  lot  on 
which  the  house  stood.  The  Bakele  had  already  killed  a  person 
at  Kabamba's  village  to  atone  for  Ndembelembe's  death.  (With 
this,  of  course,  I  had  nothing  to  do.  Under  native  idea  of  jus- 
tice, in  their  inability  to  catch  the  actual  murderer,  oriental  cus- 
tom justified  them  in  killing  any  one  of  his  "  family.")  And, 
Jongane  had  gone  down  to  Akilibonga's  with  the  intention  of 
burning  that  village,  for  my  burned  hut.  The  "  palaver  "  was 
gratifying.  I  was  pleased  with  (i)  the  men's  interest  in  my 
property;  (2)  their  desire  that  my  house  and  employees  should 
not  be  removed;  (3)  their  allowing  two  lads,  Kange  and  Kima- 
gwe.  to  go  to  Kangwe  with  me;  (4)  by  a  Nkami  trader,  Agaia, 
putting  two  lads,  relatives  of  his,  into  the  Belambla  school;  (5) 
not  a  single  intimation  had  been  made  by  the  dead  toy's  relatives 
that  I  should  pay  anything  for  the  loss  of  his  life  (a  claim, 
for  which  I  felt  there  was  native  basis,  the  lad  having  been  tech- 
nically under  my  care  on  those  premises). 

As  I  was  leaving  next  day,  Jongane  came  to  see  the  site  I  had 
designated  for  Disingwe.  And.  T  met  Agaia  coming  with  his 
two  little  boys  to  school. 

At  Myangane's,  there  were  no  plantains  for  sale,  the  women 
fearing  to  go  to  their  plantations,  because  of  the  tribal  war, 
which  Ndembelembe's  deatli  had  precipitated.  (The  '*  wars  " 
of  almost  all  the  tribes  were  not  open  attacks,  where  villagers 
could  defend  themselves,  but  ambushes  against  unarmed  women 
on  their  plantations.)  So.  also,  the  women  of  Angambe-jena's 
were  in  fear.  Passed  Akilibonga's  with  my  Winchester  ready. 
Was  welcomed  at  Tazia.  Ate  heartily,  and  bought  a  large 
quantity  of  plantains.  Saw  a  very  large  alligator.  At  Aguma, 
was  told  that  the  Gorees.  unable  to  settle  their  quarrel  with  the 
Tvili  people,  had  gone  to  Gaboon,  to  carry  their  complaint  to  the 
French  commandant  (they  being  French  citizens  of  Senegal). 
After  the  usual  job  of  landing  and  discharging  at  the  Hill,  and 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  313 

the  belated  evening  prayers  and  inquiry  class,  I  went  to  bed  very 
tired. 

On  Sunday,  the  24th,  many  people  were  present  at  morning 
services,  from  villages.  A  lad,  from  Adalinananga  asked  to 
enter  the  inquiry  class. 

On  Monday,  the  25th,  I  finally  marked  the  outlines  of  the  site 
of  the  church,  for  which  I  had  been  collecting  the  beams  for  the 
frame.  In  the  evening,  I  was  surprised  by  the  appearance  of 
Bayio  and  his  aid  Sambunaga,  with  all  their  and  my  Belambla 
goods,  and  reporting  that  they  were  afraid  to  stay  there,  as  the 
Bakele  had  deserted  them.  Even  with  my  slight  confidence  in 
the  Bakele,  that  was  difficult  to  believe;  and,  I  was  displeased 
with  the  two  young  men  for  deserting  their  post.  The  next  day, 
I  directed  them  to  return  to  Belambla. 

It  was  trying,  in  my  Ogowe  life,  that  there  was  no  succession 
of  days  of  quiet  and  rest.  There  was  constant  change;  if  for 
the  better,  I  knew  that,  in  a  few  days  there  would  be  evil.  In- 
deed, a  good  name  for  my  Africa  would  be  "  The  Land  of 
Change."  Heard  that  a  woman  at  Adalinananga  had  been  ac- 
cidentally shot  by  the  Atangina  man  Ambangila.  Word  came 
by  canoe  from  down-river  at  Angala  that  the  Pioneer  was  lying 
there  waiting  for  the  river  to  begin  to  rise.  I  had  fed  myself 
with  a  hope  that  Mr.  Menkel  would  fulfill  a  promise  he  made  me, 
and  would  arrive  to  do  my  church-building;  and  I  was  disap- 
pointed. His  duties,  as  captain  of  the  Hudson  were  not  onerous 
or  constant.  I  was  his  most  frequent  passenger ;  and,  some  com- 
petent native  could  have  been  obtained  to  run  the  vessel  during  his 
absence.  He  had  been  by  trade  a  carpenter;  in  house  building, 
T  was  only  an  amateur.  I  could  better  spend  my  time  in  teach- 
ing and  translating  or  itinerating. 

Three  Fariwe  called  to  see  me,  to  let  me  know  that  they  were 
coming  again,  to  resume  the  place  they  had  deserted  six  months 
previously.  They  knew  that,  though  I  had  prevented  them  from 
locating  at  Andende,  I  favored  their  building  on  some  other  un- 
occupied spot  on  the  river.  The  sills  for  the  church  were  all 
ready;  and,  with  Petiye,  I  began  to  square  the  sleepers  for  the 
floor. 

On  the  29th,  my  Saturday  visit  was  to  the  old  Fanwe  village. 
A  long  sand-bar  extended  out  into  the  river,  and  many  of  the 
Fanwe  came  across  it  to  see  me  in  the  boat. 

Even  at  Aguma,  all  was  not  quiet;  for,  Mr.  Sinclair  gave  me 
an  account  of  a  quarrel  between  two  of  his  Mpongwe  traders 


3i4  MY  OGOW'H 

Owondo  and  Angila-Kukulani.  Then,  almost  a  fight  sprang  up 
between  Adalinananga  and  some  passing  Fanwe.  On  return,  I 
stopped  at  Re-Nkombe's,  to  speak  in  the  interest  of  the  recently 
arrived  Fanwe,  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  remain  and  build. 
There  was  the  pleasant  news  that  Celia  Dorsey,  a  former  Baraka 
pupil,  and  sister  to  Mrs.  Owondo-Lewis,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Kirk- 
wood,  was  to  be  married  to  Mr.  John  Ermy,  with  whom  she 
had  been  living. 

On  Sunday,  August  31,  I  was  too  sick  with  fever  and  head- 
ache to  conduct  any  of  the  services  of  the  day.  Celia  and  two 
other  women  and  Owondo-Lewis  came  for  meeting  and  re- 
mained all  day. 

On  Tuesday,  September  2,  went  with  my  sister,  on  invitation 
of  Mr.  Schiff,  to  "  breakfast "  at  1 1  a.  m.  His  cook  suddenly 
ran  away;  so,  his  table  was  unexpectedly  scanty.  On  Septem- 
ber 5,  there  were  more  letters  from  Libreville,  per  Mr.  Surrv,  who 
had  come  by  canoe  from  the  Pioneer  at  Angala.  The  Gal  was 
finally  allowed  the  Fanwe  to  settle,  by  the  latter  paying  a  lot  of 
goods. 

My  Saturday  visit  of  September  6,  was  to  the  Akele  village; 
they  listened  well ;  and,  to  the  new  Fanwe,  two  of  whom  had 
been  shot  by  their  Bakele  enemies  of  the  Ngunye. 

On  Sunday,  news  came  that  the  Adalinananga  woman  who  had 
been  shot  some  ten  days  previously,  had  died.  And,  there  was 
great  excitement  in  Atangina  about  Ambangila  who  was  threat- 
ened with  capture.  Of  course,  he  was  not  a  murderer,  for  his 
shot  had  been  accidental.  But,  I  had  not  much  pity  for  him ; 
he  was  a  bold,  bad,  violent,  troublesome  man. 

I  reorganized  the  school  classes ;  they  were  under  my  care.  My 
sister's  class  was  under  her  sole  control,  as  to  time,  place,  and 
Fnglish  lesson;  her  pupils  being  the  few  candidates  for  the 
ministry;  and  two  of  them  were  teachers  in  my  vernacular  school. 

On  September  10,  I  made  this  entry  in  my  diary:  "To-day 
completes  nine  years  since  Mary's  death.  The  next  anniversary 
of  this  will  find  me  in  America,  if  I  am  living." 

On  Thursday,  the  nth,  I  sent  cook  Oyembo  and  several  oth- 
ers to  Aguma,  to  assist  Mr.  Sinclair  in  his  kind  making  of  a 
marriage  feast  for  his  trader  John  Ermy.  I  appreciated  his 
christian  interest.  Most  white  traders  had  their  negro  common- 
law  wife.  I  was  pleased  that  he  had  encouraged  his  employee 
to  give  Celia  an  honorable  marriage.  Late  in  the  afternoon, 
accompanied  by  my  sister,  I  went  to  Aguma.  And,  at  sundown, 
I  made  an  interesting  ceremony  in  the  marriage  of  Mr.   Ermy 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  315 

and  Miss  Dorsey.  (He  was  an  American  negro,  from  New 
England,  who  had  been  an  officer's  body-servant  in  the  Civil 
War.  She  was  called  a  "  Mpongwe."  But,  she  was  not.  Her 
father,  Mr.  Dorsey,  was  an  American  negro,  who  had  been  a 
teacher  in  the  Baraka  school  under  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  and  her 
mother  was  of  the  Kru  tribe,  a  pupil  in  the  Cape  Palmas  Mis- 
sion School.  After  Mr.  Dorsey 's  death,  the  widow  was  hon- 
orably married  to  a  white  man,  a  Scotch  trader,  Mr.  Kirk- 
wood.)  The  feast  followed  the  ceremony.  I  had  not,  for  a 
long  time,  so  enjoyed  a  social  event  as  I  did  Mr.  Sinclair's  feast. 
Mr.  Neumann,  Mr.  Schiff's  assistant,  was  present.  I  felt  that 
the  marriage  might  be  a  good  example  in  morality  to  some 
white  men.  It  was  10  p.  m.  when  we  left,  to  return  to  our 
Hill.  Even  at  that  late  hour,  there  were  groups  of  people  on 
the  river  bank,  watching  for  any  demonstration  in  the  matter  of 
Ambangila. 

The  work  for  the  church  building  went  on  slowly  but  surely. 
I  had  been  preparing  the  material.  Finally,  on  the  12th,  I 
staked  out  the  places  for  the  foundation  posts.  But,  the  work 
lagged  when  I  was  not  by  to  superintend.  I  had  to  be  away  in 
the  afternoon,  teaching;  for.  Mbora  said  that  he  was  not  well. 
I  was  pleased  to  hear  that  the  "  palaver  "  about  Ambangila  and 
the  dead  woman  was  to  be  settled,  not  by  blood,  but  by  a  fine. 

On  Monday,  the  14th,  from  the  position  of  the  logs,  the 
young  men  evidently  had  not  worked  on  Saturday  afternoon 
after  I  had  left  them  and  gone  to  school.  So,  I  "  excused  " 
them  all  from  work,  docking  their  wages  for  the  day.  (I  was 
not  often  severe  with  my  employees;  but  I  was  strict;  for 
which  cause,  I  am  aware,  I  earned  the  dislike  of  many  of  them, 
especially  as  some  of  my  mission  associates  were  more  lax.) 
But,  next  day,  all  were  working  admirably.  I  suppose,  to  com- 
pensate for  the  preceding  day's  rebuke.  The  Fan  we,  just  new 
from  the  wild  forest,  had  such  exaggerated  ideas  of  my  wrealth, 
and  of  the  value  of  what  they  brought  for  sale.  Three  able- 
bodied  men  of  them  came  (on  what  was  a  child's  errand)  to  sell 
one  "bush-light"   (a  torch  of  the  okume  mahogany  tree  gum). 

My  sister's  strength  varied.  Even  when  sick,  she  taught  her 
three  candidates.  On  days  that  she  felt  better,  she  visited  the 
women  in  the  villages. 

I  had  to  be  very  strict  not  simply  with  boys,  but  even  with 
men,  in  the  matter  of  obedience.  The  traders  used  violence, 
sometimes  to  an  extreme  degree.  As,  of  course,  I  never  struck 
my  young  men,   I  think  that  they  imposed  on  what  they  may 


316  MY  OGOWE 

have  thought  was  weakness.  I  had  but  few  tools,  and  could 
replace  a  broken  one  not  within  two  months  nor  nearer  than 
Libreville.  I  therefore  required  that  a  tool  should  be  used  for 
no  other  than  its  specific  purpose.  In  the  morning  of  the  17th, 
Obezyo  misused  a  tool  which  I  had  forbidden  him  even  to 
handle;  and,  in  the  afternoon,  after  consideration,  I  told  him 
that  I  would  dismiss  him.  In  the  evening,  he  came  to  seek  par- 
don for  his  disobedience,  and  asked  to  remain.     But,  I  refused. 

As  my  sister's  health  improved,  she  took  off  of  my  hands  the 
Saturday  afternoon  village  visitation,  while  I  was  busy  at  the 
church  building,  having  begun  to  set  the  foundation  posts. 

I  admitted  to  school  only  those  who,  I  thought,  were  really 
interested,  and  on  whom  our  labor  and  expense  (for,  at  that 
time,  the  Mission  still  spent  some  money  in  the  support  of 
boarding  scholars)  would  bring  us  a  probable  return  of  service 
in,  at  least,  civilization.  On  the  28th,  a  lad,  Nambo,  was  mark- 
edly profuse  in  his  thanks  and  demonstration  of  joy,  when  I 
consented  to  enroll  him.  He  came  next  day,  bringing  with  him 
another  boy,  Akaga. 

Black  was  a  pleasant  companion;  but,  he  was  frequently  a 
nuisance  by  following  my  sister  or  myself  in  our  visits.  He 
then  made  confusion  with  other  clogs,  or  with  the  goats.  He 
would  persist  in  swimming  after  the  boat,  until  we  had  to  yield 
to  his  exhaustion,  and  take  him  in.  I  suppose  that  he  remem- 
bered how  he  had  gone  everywhere  with  his  former  master, 
Count  DeBrazza. 

On  October  2,  Mr.  Schiff  sent  us  a  present  of  caviare.  I  ap- 
preciated his  kind  thought ;  but  that  delicacy  has  never  appealed 
to  my  taste.  A  large  company  of  chimpanzees  passed  shouting 
in  the  forest,  in  the  afternoon.  The  females  were  carrying 
babies  astride  of  their  left  hip,  and  their  left  arm  around  the 
baby's  back,  exactly  as  our  native  women  did.  On  the  4th, 
another  step  in  the  erection  of  the  church.  All  the  posts  being 
in  position,  the  men  and  boys  succeeded  in  lifting  the  first  of  the 
seven  sills;  it  adjusted  itself  with  considerable  fitness  to  the 
tops  of  its  six  supporting  posts.  This  pleased  me  for  the  ac- 
curacy  of  my  squaring  and  the  correctness  of  my  measurements 
as  to  height.  Heard  that  Magisi,  whom  the  French  had  exiled 
to  Coree  (Cape  Verde)  for  his  attempt  at  food-boycott  (in 
November,  1878)  had  died  there.  (The  action  of  the  French 
in  that  case  had  had  a  most  salutary  effect  on  the  good  order  of 
the  river.) 

On  October  5,  there  were  a  number  of  people  at  service,  from 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  317 

Adalinananga  (the  town  of  Magisi).  A  little  lad,  Ngawe,  was 
so  desirous  to  come  to  school,  that,  though  he  was  receiving 
wages,  as  table-boy  with  a  Mpongwe  trader,  he  was  willing  to 
leave  his  employ,  and  come  to  Kangwe,  without  any  wage;  and 
was  thankful  to  me  for  accepting  him!  Nambo  also,  I  enrolled 
as  an  inquirer.  Mwarogase  also  asked;  but,  I  did  not  think  him 
ready.  (In  this  matter,  I  differed  from  most  of  my  successors. 
I  hesitated  even  to  enroll  this  lad  in  the  class,  where  he  would 
remain  one  year  before  baptism.  Most  of  my  associates  would 
have  enrolled  him ;  and,  some  would  have  baptized  him  at  once. 
I  think  that,  in  my  caution,  there  was  gain ;  for,  there  was  less 
subsequent  falling  away.) 

The  site  of  the  church,  like  that  of  my  hill  dwelling,  was  on 
a  decided  slope.  Entering  at  the  upper  side  of  the  building,  its 
floor  would  be  only  two  feet  from  the  ground.  With  a  width 
of  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet,  its  lower  side  was  probably  ten 
feet  in  the  air.  Looking  to  permanency,  I  had  chosen  very  thick 
foundation  posts ;  and  had  left  the  sills  unnecessarily  large, 
leveling  them  on  only  two  sides.  I  had  nothing  like  block  and 
tackle  or  crane,  with  which  to  lift  them  into  position,  only  the 
rude  and  utterly  unskilled  arms  of  the  natives.  In  their  lack  of 
skill,  inevitable  blunders  resulted  in  accidents  that  might  have 
been  fatal.  One  day,  when  the  carpenter  Banja  attempted  to 
lift  one  of  those  posts  to  insert  it  into  the  hole  prepared  for  it, 
it  fell  and  sprained  his  wrist  so  that  he  could  not  work.  An- 
other day,  while  one  of  the  sills  was  being  dragged  down  the 
Hill,  it  slid  unexpectedly,  and  almost  crushed  Londo.  Another 
day,  Agaia  almost  crushed  his  leg;  and,  Angeka.  severely  bruised 
a  finger.  He  was  so  angered  by  it,  that  he,  in  spiteful  tribal 
feeling,  accused  the  Nkami  man  Overi  of  purposely  slipping  the 
log!  And,  another  day  Ndembi  unskillfully  got  his  arm  wedged 
between  two  logs  so  severely  that  it  might  have  been  broken.  I 
had  opportunity,  from  time  to  time,  for  collecting  objects  of 
natural  history.  Had  I  been  simply  a  naturalist,  that  period  and 
the  place,  Kangwe,  would  have  been  very  favorable  for  collec- 
tion. But  my  many  duties  gave  me  no  time  for  that,  except  as 
natural  objects  came  to  me  unsought.  One  day,  was  brought  a 
fine  skin  of  an  ipi  (manis)  ;  at  that  time  a  somewhat  rare  ani- 
mal. 

There  were  signs  of  the  coming  rainy  season;  some  rain,  but 
no  thunder  or  lightning.  As  usual,  in  the  case,  the  river  was 
rising,  from  rains  in  the  Interior. 

On  October   10,   some  Fan  we,   of  a  second  migration   from 


318  MY  OGOWE 

inland,  came  to  me,  and  were  persistent  in  their  desire  to  be 
allowed  to  settle  on  the  Andende  premises,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  I  had  an  occupied  hut  there.  (I  had  no  thought,  at 
that  time,  in  how  few  years,  it  would  he  occupied  by  a  white 
missionary's  house!)  I  felt  annoyed  at  their  boldness.  They 
returned  the  next  day,  and  spoiled  the  thought  of  my  forty- 
fourth  anniversary  birthday,  by  trying  to  buy  my  consent  with 
a  tusk  of  ivory.  (That  was  better  and  more  honest  than  Ba- 
kele  stealing.)  But,  I  was  most  careful  never  to  buy  ivory 
from  a  native  lest  I  be  misunderstood  as  a  trader.  Ivory,  the 
tribes  of  the  forest  knew,  was  white  men's  money.  I  drove 
them  away.  Then,  I  went  in  a  boat  to  the  already  built  Faiiwe 
village  of  Otendi,  and  complained  to  him  of  his  tribe's  rudeness. 
And.  then  to  Ndutuma's  Fanwe  village.  There  Re-Nkombe 
followed  me,  to  see  what  I  and  the  Faiiwe  were  talking  about. 
What  tribal  jealousy! 

On  Tuesday,  the  13th,  the  rainy  season  began,  with  rain, 
thunder  and  lightning.  I  sat  on  the  porch  at  night,  and  en- 
joyed watching  the  vivid  flashes.  A  gratifying  note  had  come 
from  Bayio  at  Belambla,  saying  that  all  was  well  there.  On 
the  16th.  I  held  an  examination  of  the  school.  A  few  appeared 
well :  but.  the  majority  unsatisfactory  to  me.  Perhaps,  T  had 
been  expecting  too  much  ;  or.  equally  probable.  T  was  not  a  good 
examiner:  for.  T  had  become  conscious  that  T  did  not  cnjox 
teaching,  as  my  sister  did,  and  thus  could  not  have  been  a  good 
teacher. 

JOURNEY    TO    BKT.AMBT.A. 

On  Friday,  October  17,  in  the  Nelly-Howard,  with  a  crew  of 
nine.  On  the  route.  T  avoided  the  Fanwe  Cor  right)  bank  of 
the  river,  and  touched  at  Tazia.  whose  people  protested  against 
niv  not  coming  oftener.  Of  course,  T  understood  that  their 
wish  for  my  coming  was  that  they  might  sell  their  provisions. 
Reached  Anyambe-jena's  just  in  time  to  escape  a  storm. 

An  employee  of  the  Mpongwe  trader.  Xdeg-oma.  was  there, 
with  his  cask  of  rum.  T  did  not  enjoy  the  night,  under  the  hut's 
leaky  roof.  With  the  sound  of  drunken  voices.  T  slept  very 
little.  T  left  early  the  next  day.  in  a  slight  rain,  against  the 
protest  of  the  chief's  nephew,  who  realized  that  T  was  indignant 
at  the  neglect  T  had  received.  Stopped  at  Akilibonga's.  to  in- 
quire about  compensation  for  my  hut  burned  at  the  late  Be- 
lambla murder.  Tleld  a  short  meeting  at  Avyake's.  Tlis  for- 
mer attitude  of  respectful   friendship  was  changed  by   fear  fas 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  319 

a  result  of  the  misfortunes  of  Belambla)  into  crude  attempts  at 
overpoliteness.  In  the  interest  of  science,  I  bartered  for  a  go- 
rilla skull.  Reached  Belambla  just  in  time  to  escape  another 
storm.  When  Evangasimba  Station  on  Corisco,  was  aban- 
doned, many  years  before,  the  "  Maluku "  house,  which  had 
been  my  first  home  in  1861,  was  torn  down,  and  its  lumber  was 
stored  at  Benita,  and  partly  used  there.  Some  of  it,  I,  later, 
brought  to  the  Ogowe.  The  Maluku  front  door  of  1861  be- 
came the  Belambla  front  door  of  1875.  I  valued  it.  Belambla 
would  never  again  be  occupied  by  a  white  missionary.  I  took 
away  the  old  treasure,  and  replaced  it  with  an  inferior  door. 
Among  the  employees  of  the  outstation  there  had  been  a  young 
man,  Lakitharambyali,  whom  I  had  dismissed  for  very  good 
cause.  Bayio  was  re-employing  him,  as  one  of  the  four  work- 
men.    I  promptly  dismissed  the  young  man  again. 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  the  19th,  he  and  the  other  three  came, 
on  a  strike,  and  said  that  if  one  of  them  was  dismissed,  all  would 
leave.  I  would  never  yield  to  their  conspiracy,  and  said  that 
I  was  willing  to  forgive  the  three  their  threat,  but  that  their 
leader  should  never  again  serve  me  under  any  consideration. 
He  at  once  began  to  plead  for  pardon.  The  following  day,  the 
20th,  I  paid  off  all  four,  and  dismissed  them.  But,  their  rel- 
atives plead  so  for  them,  that  I  took  again  the  three,  but  on 
reduced  wages.  Belambla  was  becoming  very  unsatisfactory. 
The  conduct  of  the  place,  from  its  first  teacher  Kongolo  down 
to  Bayio,  was  a  constant  fall.  As  I  made  out  his  accounts,  I 
even  began  to  doubt  his  honesty.  On  my  down-river  way.  I 
stopped  at  the  island,  to  see  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ermy.  He  gave 
me  two  gorilla  heads,  two  Fanwe  daggers,  and  a  small  ivory- 
tusk,  as  my  marriage  fee !  On  the  shelves  of  a  museum  in 
the  United  States,  that  fee  would  represent  a  pretty  sum  in 
money. 

The  placing  of  the  fifth  and  last  long  sill  for  the  church,  on 
Tuesday,  October  21.  was  a  difficult  and  dangerous  job.  In 
school.  I  started  an  English  class  in  geography,  consisting  of 
Agaia.  Ntyindiorema  and  Akendenge. 

On  Saturday,  the  25th.  the  French  boat  Marabout,  arrived. 
And,  in  the  afternoon,  the  French  deputy  commandant  with 
French  doctor,  and  Messrs.  Schiff  and  Sinclair  came  to  make  a 
call  on  my  sister.  The  commandant  signed  the  deed  of  the 
Kangwe  mission  premises.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ermy  also  called. 
Sunday,  the  26th,  was  a  clear  quiet  day.     The  Galwas  stayed 


320  MY  OGOWE 

in  their  villages,  being-  afraid  of  the  French.  Owondo  and  his 
wife,  Sarah,  and  Mrs.  Ermy,  and  their  retinues  came  to  serv- 
ices, and  remained  to  dinner  and  Sabbath  school. 

On  the  29th,  by  invitation  of  Mr.  Schiff,  I  went  to  11  a.  m. 
breakfast  with  him,  to  meet  the  commandant.  I  did  not  enjoy 
the  occasion.  There  was  much  confusion,  connected  with  the 
quarrels  which  were  brought  to  the  commandant  for  judgment. 

Some  Fanwe  came  to  see  me  on  the  30th,  four  men  bringing 
a  present  of  a  "bush-light!  "  Of  course,  according  to  custom, 
they,  as  visitors,  seeking  the  establishment  of  "  friendship " 
(i.  e.,  that  I  should  make  a  return  gift  some  time  in  the  early 
future)  they  were  in  order  in  bringing  some  gift.  I  did  not 
despise  small  things.  And.  my  returns  were  always  (as  ex- 
pected) larger.  Had  a  child  brought  me  that  torch,  I  would 
have  accepted  it  with  pleasure.  Not  to  accept  a  gift  is  ("the 
world  over)  a  discourtesy.  But,  the  idea  of  four  stalwart  men, 
and  an  almost  worthless  torch !  It  was  almost  insulting.  On 
Saturday.  November  1,  while  out  on  my  visitations.  I  heard 
the  signal-guns  of  the  Mpongwc.  I  hasted  to  the  main  stream, 
to  meet  the  vessel  at  the  German  House.  A  sudden  wind-storm 
came  up.  and  broke  the  boat's  awning.  I  reached  the  steamer's 
side  just  as  she  was  dropping  her  anchor.  And  was  delighted 
to  find  on  hoard  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler.  Mrs.  Smith,  and  a 
christian  Batanga  woman.  Bekalidi.  Rain  overtook  us  as  we 
climbed  Kangwe  Hill.  The  ladies  were  surprised  at  its  height. 
There  was  a  glad  welcome  for  my  guests.  On  Sunday,  the  2d, 
women  came  from  the  villages  to  see  the  visitors.  Even  Fa- 
nwe came  to  Sabbath  school.  And.  in  the  evening,  we  en- 
joyed the  singing  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler.  In  the  evening  of 
Tuesday,  the  4th,  boys  from  the  Nkami  Tgolino  came  in  haste 
to  tell  me  that  they  heard  the  beat  of  the  Pioneer's  paddles 
down  our  branch  of  the  river.  And.  soon,  boys  from  the  water- 
side hut  said  that  they  saw  it  in  sight.  I  gave  the  prayer  meet- 
ing into  Dr.  Bacheler's  hands:  and,  in  the  Nelly-Howard,  fol- 
lowed the  steamer  to  Aguma,  and  found  Mr.  Menkel  on  board. 
T  hoped  that  he  had  come,  though  late,  in  fulfillment  of  his 
promise  to  build  the  church  for  me. 

T  had  just  settled  myself  for  writing  letters  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  6th,  when  Captain  Stephens  of  the  Pioneer,  with  Messrs. 
Sinclair  and  Surry  came  with  Dr.  Bacheler.  who  had  met  them 
at  the  water-side,  where  he  was  getting  out  the  boat  to  go  and 
call  on  them.  They  remained  to  tea.  Tt  was  an  unprecedented 
collection  of  white  people  at  Kangwe.     "With  sister  and  myself 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  321 

as  host  and  hostess,  and  the  three  visitors,  and  my  four  guests, 
there  were  nine  in  all !  In  the  evening,  I  played  a  flute  duet 
with  Dr.  Bacheler. 

On  Saturday,  November  8,  my  ankle,  which  I  had  lamed,  in 
helping  to  house  the  boat  on  the  night  of  the  4th,  became  so 
painful  that  I  could  not  walk.  I  had  to  cease  work,  and  lie 
down.  Dr.  Bacheler  went  in  my  place  for  the  village  visitation. 
And  Licentiate  Kongolo  took  the  Sunday  services. 

It  was  very  trying  that  some  of  the  employees  took  advantage 
of  my  inability.  Dr.  Bacheler  was  only  my  guest,  and,  of 
course,  had  no  authority  to  direct ;  but,  he  reported  to  me  the 
slow  work  of  the  men.  I  had  myself  carried  in  a  hammock 
down  the  Hill ;  lying  in  it,  I  was  able  to  give  some  directions. 
My  sister  also  was  frequently  sick  in  her  room. 

On  the  14th.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler  and  Mrs.  Smith,  on  in- 
vitation, went  to  a  "  breakfast  "  at  Aguma.  My  sister  and  I 
were  too  sick  to  accept.  Sunday,  the  16th,  was  a  beautiful 
clear  day,  and  a  large  number,  about  70,  were  present  at  serv- 
ices. 

The  next  day.  my  foot  was  better,  and  I  was  able  to  limp 
down  the  Hill,  and  inspect  work  on  the  church.  Candidate  Pe- 
tiye  was  very  annoying.  He  was  my  sister's  pupil,  during  half 
of  the  day.  With  her  teaching,  I  did  not  interfere  in  the  slight- 
est manner,  leaving  to  her  the  enjoyment  of  full  control.  But, 
t he  other  half  of  the  day,  her  pupils  were  my  workmen,  under  my 
pay.  I  accorded  them  the  respect  of  not  finding  fault  with 
them  in  the  presence  of  the  other  workmen.  Petiye  played  on 
this,  by  doing  before  me  what  he  knew  I  would  have  rebuked  in 
the  others.  He  soon  learned  also,  that  in  a  complaint  from 
me  to  his  teacher,  sympathy  would  be  accorded  him  by  her. 
For,  as  a  result  of  my  sister's  long  nervous  strain,  her  views 
had  become  abnormal,  and.  wrapped  up  in  her  special  pupils,  she 
seemed  to  think  that  they  could  do  no  wrong.  This  had  a  bad 
effect  on  the  discipline  of  the  station.  Dr.  Bacheler  was  my 
guest,  and.  as  such  I  endeavored  to  make  him  comfortable. 
But.  his  smoking  became  so  great  a  discomfort  to  me,  that  I  had 
to  request  him  not  to  smoke  in  the  house,  but  to  take  a  stroll 
in  the  forest  with  his  pipe.  He  was  sent  for  by  the  German 
house,  to  prescribe  for  Mr.  Neumann,  who  was  sick. 

The  ten  days  from  November  23  to  December  3  were  days  full 
of  excitement.  I  do  not  remember  any  other  seven  consecutive 
days  in  my  African  life,  up  to  that  time,  so  crowded  with  such 
a  series  of  anxieties  and  excitements.     The  schoolbovs,  led  bv 


322  MY  OGOWE 

Nguva  and  Mamba,  had  held,  against  my  advice,  a  play  in 
mockery  of  the  great  Ogowe  superstition  of  Yasi,  a  society 
similar  to  the  "  Ukuku  "  of  the  Benga  tribes.  As  a  result,  the 
angry  heathen  had  proclaimed  a  boycott  against  me,  and  had 
threatened  to  kill  Nguva.  The  young  men  guarded  the  Kangwe 
premises  at  night ;  but,  Nguva  went  away,  believing  that  he 
would  be  safer  at  his  own  village  in  Wombalya.  My  unusual 
company  of  guests,  with  the  three  attendants  they  had  brought 
with  them,  increased  my  responsibilities.  And.  just  before  the 
Yasi  play,  many  new  pupils  had  come  to  school.  Mamba's 
mother  came  with  Ayenwe,  the  betrothed  wife  of  Bayio;  they 
and  their  people,  as  my  guests,  for  some  days,  added  to  my  cares. 
Ayenwe  remained  for  marriage,  and  the  others  returned  to 
Igenja,  to  call  Awora  to  come  to  the  organization  of  the  church. 
He  arrived  on  Monday,  November  24,  with  Sambunaga's  wife 
and  a  company  of  four,  making  my  household  still  larger.  And, 
he  brought  word  that  the  Wombalya  people  were  making  threats 
against  Nguva's  life,  charging  him  with  having  revealed  to  me 
and  to  women  the  secrets  of  their  Yasi  Society.  I  sent  a  crew 
of  five,  in  the  kongongo,  to  Belambla,  to  bring  Bayio  and  Sambu- 
naga,  for  the  church  organization.  That  night,  Nguva's  cou- 
sin. Aveya  and  others  asked  leave  of  absence  that  they  might  go 
to  inquire  about  him. 

Aveya's  company  returned  at  noon  of  Tuesday,  the  25th ;  re- 
porting that  the  quarrel  about  Nguva  was  very  bad.  and  that  his 
life  was  really  in  danger.  In  the  afternoon,  I  took  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Bacheler  and  Mrs.  Smith,  on  excursion  in  my  boat  to  Inenga 
to  see  King  Ra-Noki.  He  was  dressed  in  a  great  deal  of  gaudy 
trappings.  Returning,  we  stopped  at  Aguma.  Dr.  Bacheler 
and  Mr.  Sinclair  were  very  much  excited  about  the  affair  of 
Nguva.  and  they  decided  to  go  to  his  rescue,  in  an  offensive  at- 
tack. I  had  not  the  health  to  go;  and,  moreover,  doubted  the 
wisdom,  in  that  stage  of  the  Mission's  life,  of  resorting  to  arms, 
for  other  than  defense.  In  the  evening,  at  prayer  meeting,  I 
yielded  so  far  as  to  call  for  volunteers  to  go  with  Dr.  Bacheler. 
More  than  fifteen  of  the  young  men  offered!  I  chose  ten  of 
them,  and  gave  them  arms.  It  was  quite  an  exciting  evening. 
I  was  up  late  at  night,  putting  the  boat  in  readiness,  and  pack- 
ing food,  medicines,  and  weapons,  for  Dr.  Bacheler  and  Mr. 
Menkel,  for  their  early  start  next  day.  Early  in  the  morning  of 
Wednesday,  the  26th,  Mr.  Sinclair  arrived  in  his  canoe,  and 
ioined  Dr.  Bacheler  in  my  boat;  and  thev  started  down-river. 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  323 

They  returned  about  1  p.  m.  of  the  next  day,  the  27th,  with 
Nguva  (the  chains  with  which  his  own  people  had  bound  him 
still  hanging  on  him)  and  another  young  man,  Ntyuwa,  having 
rescued  them  both.  The  gentlemen  gave  a  thrilling  account  of 
their  search  for,  discovery  of,  and  rescue  of  Nguva.  [In  my 
"In  an  Elephant  Corral,"  Neale,  1912;  I  give  in  detail  the 
story  of  Nguva's  chain.] 

The  arrival  of  Bayio  and  Sambunaga  from  Belambla  had 
made  the  premises  still  more  crowded.  And,  all  those  days,  I 
was  bearing  an  hourly  anxiety  in  regard  to  my  sister.  She  was 
sick;  unable  to  leave  her  room;  was  in  an  hysterical  state,  op- 
pressed with  hallucinations ;  would  not  take  any  medicine  volun- 
tarily, nor  could  be  forced  by  any  of  us  to  take  any.  Petiye  was 
the  only  one  who  could  influence  her.  Also,  we  were  all  under 
great  excitement,  expecting  that  the  Galwas  would  assault  Ka- 
ngwe,  in  revenge  for  Dr.  Bacheler's  attack  on  their  village. 

Friday,  November  28.  was  a  notable  day.  Like  Nehemiah.  I 
was  laying  church  foundations  "  in  troublous  times."  As  com- 
mittee, by  direction  of  presbytery,  in  the  afternoon,  I  held  a 
meeting,  and  formally  organized  the  First  Ogowe  Church.  The 
seven  charter  members  were.  Mbora,  Mamba,  Abumba,  and 
Awora,  with  letters  from  the  Gaboon  church ;  Nguva  and 
Aveya.  with  letters  from  the  Benita  church;  and  Dr.  Bacheler 
with  letter  from  Summit,  N.  J.,  in  the  United  States.  The  or- 
der of  exercises  was: — 1,  A  hymn;  2,  Prayer;  3,  Reading  of 
Scripture,  Nehemiah,  parts  of  chapters  6  and  7;  4,  Statement 
of  presbvterial  action,  and  calling  of  the  roll  of  the  seven  ap- 
plicants for  organization;  5.  Prayer  of  organization;  6,  Address 
to  the  church,  giving  to  it  Licentiate  Kongolo,  as  its  stated  sup- 
ply; 7,  Benediction.  After  a  short  recess,  I  held  a  congrega- 
tional meeting;  and  Dr.  Bacheler  was  elected,  ordained,  and  in- 
stalled as  ruling  elder.  The  order  of  exercises  was: — 1,  Hymn; 
2,  Scripture:  3.  Explanation  of  the  office  of  ruling  elder;  4,  Elec- 
tion of  Dr.  Bacheler;  5,  Ordination  and  installation:  (1),  Read- 
ing of  1.  Tim.  3;  (2),  The  Form,  from  the  Book  of  Order;  (3), 
Address  to  Dr.  Bacheler:  (4),  Prayer;  (5),  Doxology. 

After  another  recess,  Bayio  and  Ayenwe,  and  Sambunaga  and 
his  wife  were  married  in  christian  ceremony.  Messrs.  Sinclair 
and  Surry  were  present.  It  was  a  great  day  in  the  history  of 
the  Ogowe  Mission ;  and  a  long  step  in  the  civilization  of  the 
Ogowe  River. 

On  Saturday  evening,  a  session  meeting  was  held,  Licentiate 


3-4  MY  OGOWE 

Kongolo  present  by  invitation.  Six  applicants  for  baptism 
were  examined ;  and  three  of  them,  Agaia,  Bayio,  and  Sambu- 
naga  were  accepted. 

In  the  afternoon,  I  had  visited  and  preached  at  Adalinananga ; 
and  had  warned  the  old  men  al>out  their  threats  against  the 
Kangwe  schoolboys  and  young  men. 

Sunday  the  30th,  was  a  glad  day.  The  three  young  men  were 
baptized.  But,  we  had  to  refrain  from  singing,  on  account  of 
the  state  of  my  sister's  head.  During  the  following  days,  the 
various  companies  scattered  to  their  usual  homes. 

On  Saturday,  December  6,  I  escorted  Mrs.  Smith  and  Mr. 
Menkel,  to  Aguma,  as  passengers  on  the  .Pioneer  (which  had 
arrived  from  Gaboon  on  November  29),  to  be  ready  for  its  early 
start  next  morning  back  to  Libreville. 

In  the  very  early  hours  of  Sunday,  December  7,  I  was  awak- 
ened by  the  firing  of  guns,  apparently  near  the  Nkami  Igolino. 
Thinking  that  it  was  an  attack  by  the  Yasi  people.  I  hasted  there 
with  my  rifle,  accompanied  by  Aveya,  Mbora,  and  Petiye.  But, 
we  found  that  the  firing  was  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river 
at  a  Shekani  village  near  Atangina.  My  sister's  health  began  to 
improve,  and  my  anxiety  for  her  was  relieved.  But,  the  school 
still  had  some  fears  about  the  result  of  the  Yasi  "  palaver." 

As  the  days  passed,  stfeady  work  was  resumed  on  the  church, 
the  frames  of  the  walls  being  up,  and  the  bamboo  being  rapidly 
tied  on  them.  And  Fan  we  became  more  frequent  and  friendly 
in  their  visits.  .And.  Re-Nkombe  resumed  his  professed  friend- 
ship, that  had  been  interrupted  by  the  Nguva  affair. 

By  December  10,  other  distractions  lessened  the  public  feel- 
ing on  that  matter.  The  Yasi  people  themselves  seemed  to  be- 
gin to  be  afraid.  The  center  of  the  ill-feeling  toward  me  was 
not  in  the  Kangwe  region,  but  down-river  in  the  Wombalva 
villages.  T  saw  the  canoe  of  the  Yasi  delegates  from  there  de- 
part down-river,  as  if  they  were  retiring  from  the  contest.  And, 
those  people  had  even  a  quarrel  among  themselves.  Also,  the 
Bakele  on  the  Xgunve  had  attacked  and  wounded  one  of  Mr. 
Sinclair's   Mpongwe  traders,  and  killed  one  of  his  crew. 

By  the  16th,  the  church  walls  were  strong  enough  for  me  to 
begin  to  put  on  the  bamboo  ntci'c  (rafters)  of  the  roof;  and,  a 
few  days  later,  the  ngonja  (thatch)  were  placed  on  half  of  it. 
I  wished  to  have  it  under  cover  before  my  journey  for  the  an- 
nual meetings  at  Libreville.  And  the  inevitable  preparatory 
journey  was  to  be  made  to  Belambla. 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  325 


JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

On  Thursday,  December  22,  as  I  started  from  my  landing,  I 
saw  the  Pioneer  coming  slowly  up  our  branch,  on  its  return  from 
Gaboon.  It  towed  me  the  mile  to  Eyenano;  and,  as  it  there 
turned  into  the  main  stream,  I  cast  off,  and  went  on  my  way, 
reading  a  mail  which  the  steamer  had  brought.  Stopped  for 
the  night  on  Katya  Island.  And,  the  next  day,  at  my  usual  after- 
noon hour,  was  at  Belambla.  I  hastily  began  to  take  accounts 
with  Bayio.  Nothing  special  happened,  except  that,  the  next 
day,  an  Akele,  in  pursuing  two  boys  for  some  offense,  followed 
them  on  to  my  premises,  where  they  had  taken  refuge.  I  re- 
turned to  Kangwe  that  day. 

I  did  not  think  of  "  Christmas  "  on  the  25th.  All  day,  I  was 
busy  settling  accounts  with  the  employees,  and  arranging  for 
those  who  were  to  guard  the  premises  during  my  absence  at 
Libreville.  At  night,  as  Dr.  Bacheler  was  probably  to  be  my 
successor,  he  was  interested  in  helping  me  take  the  annual  stock 
of  goods,  etc.  This  occupied  me  until  2  a.  m.  of  Friday,  the 
26th.  In  the  afternoon  of  which  day,  Dr.  Bacheler  held  the 
school  final  examination  for  me.  Both  the  Pioneer  and  the 
Mpongzue  were  in  the  river ;  and,  though  I  had  expected  to  make 
the  Gaboon  journey  in  the  Nelly-Howard,  and  had  made  the 
usual  engagement  with  Mr.  Menkel  to  meet  me  at  the  river's 
mouth  on  a  certain  date,  it  was  decided,  because  of  my  sister's 
weak  state  of  health,  to  go  by  the  Pioneer,  which  was  to  start 
Sunday  morning,  the  28th.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler,  and  my  sis- 
ter and  I  went  on  board  Saturday  evening,  the  27th,  with  my 
crew  of  seven,  and  Petiye  and  another  young  man,  and  my  boat 
in  tow. 

But  Sunday  travel  was  so  repugnant  to  my  feelings,  espe- 
cially as  there  was  no  opportunity  for  services  on  board  the 
Pioneer,  that  during  the  afternoon  of  the  28th,  I  cast  off  the 
boat  with  my  crew,  and  went  ashore  to  Nango,  for  a  meeting. 
But  there  were  only  four  people  there;  the  remainder  were  all 
away.  My  friend  Re-Buka  and  his  amiable  wife  Mburu  were 
gone.  She  was  in  chains,  on  a  witchcraft  charge !  I  was  in- 
dignant that  that  superstition  should  have  touched  that  kind 
woman !  And  went  on  to  Onanga's  Rango,  and  held  a  meet- 
ing there. 

On  Monday  the  29th,  went  on  to  Angala,  and  was  welcomed 
by  old  King  Esongi,  and  carpenter  Banja.     Was  told  that  the 


326  MY  OGOWE 

Pioneer  had  passed  down  during  the  morning.  I  remained  there, 
writing  my  annual  report. 

During  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  the  30th,  to  my  agreeable 
surprise,  the  Mpongwe  came  down.  Leaving  one  of  my  men  in 
charge  of  the  boat  at  Angala.  the  others  and  I  took  passage  on 
the  Mpongwe.  At  the  river's  mouth,  met  and  saluted  the  Hud- 
son, directing  it  to  follow  us ;  and,  on  the  Mpongwe,  ran  all  night 
in  a  cold  rain.  By  early  daylight  of  Wednesday,  the  31st,  en- 
tered Libreville  harbor.  The  first  news  was  the  sight  of  the 
Pioneer  at  anchor,  and  its  flag  at  half-mast.  Mr.  Surry  had 
died  on  the  journey.  And,  at  Baraka,  where  I  found  my  sister 
safe,  were  also  Mrs.  Bushnell  and  a  new  missionary,  Miss  Cam- 
eron, who  had  arrived  from  the  United  States,  on  Saturday, 
December  27.  But,  Dr.  Bushnell  had  died  of  pneumonia  on  the 
African  steamer,  on  December  2,  and  had  been  buried  at  Sierra 
Leone.     In  the  afternoon,  we  buried  Mr.  Surry. 

On  Thursday,  January  1,  1880,  I  did  not  bid  any  one,  "  Happy 
Xew  Year,"  I  was  sad  for  Mrs.  Bushnell.  She  had  brought  me 
a  letter,  almost  a  year  old,  from  a  dear  friend,  Mrs.  Williams, 
of  Detroit,  and  her  lovely  daughter.  Miss  Louise.  I  said  to  my- 
self, I  shall  see  her  when  I  go  to  America! 

On  Sunday,  January  4,  I  preached  for  Mr.  Murphy,  making 
a  memorial  of  Rev.  A.  Bushnell,  D.D.,  on  the  words,  "  If  I  will 
that  he  tarry  till  I  come  .  .  .  follow  thou  Me."  An  excellent 
monthly  concert  in  the  afternoon.  And  a  helpful  native  serv- 
ice in  the  evening.  The  subsequent  days  were  busy  ones.  Pres- 
bytery organized  on  evening  of  the  5th. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  Candidate  Petiye  was  licensed,  and 
sent  to  Batanga  Church.  On  Wednesday  evening.  Licentiate 
Xtaka  Truman  was  ordained.  So  few  were  our  numbers,  and 
changes  and  removals  so  frequent,  that  his  ordination  seemed 
necessary  simply  for  the  preservation  of  the  presbytery's  organic 
life.  And,  in  mission  meeting,  my  sister  and  I  were  given  fur- 
lough to  the  United  States,  and  Mrs.  Smith  was  appointed  with 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler  to  Kangwe.  Mr.  Murphy's  term  of  serv- 
ice was  ended ;  and  he  decided,  as  soon  as  Rev.  Wm.  Walker 
should  arrive,  to  return  to  the  United  States.  It  was  necessary 
to  have  a  minister  in  charge  of  Gaboon  Church. 

Though  the  surprising  news  had  come  that  Rev.  Wm.  Walker 
was  returning  to  Africa  (after  an  absence  of  nine  years)  ap- 
]K)inted  by  our  Presbyterian  Board,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  com- 
pleting the  translation  of  the  Mpongwe  Scriptures,  it  was  not 
expected  that  he  would  have  any  other  functions  in  the  mission, 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  327 

and  certainly  not  in  the  presbytery.  As  to  the  church,  of  course, 
he  would  preach ;  but  he  could  not  be  given  charge  of  the  session. 
For,  he  was  a  hearty  Congregationalist,  and  had  refused  to  even 
formally  join  our  presbytery  (as  I  had  advised  him  to  do,  in 
some  correspondence  he  and  I  had  had  on  the  subject  of  his 
return).  So,  it  was  deemed  proper  to  place  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tru- 
man in  charge  of  Gaboon  Church. 

On  Sunday,  January  n,  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya,  of  Corisco,  preached 
in  the  morning;  and  Rev.  Mr.  Truman  held  Sabbath  school. 

JOURNEY    TO    NAZARETH    BAY. 

On  Thursday  evening,  January  15,  leaving  my  sister  at  Ba- 
raka,  I  boarded  the  Hudson  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler  and 
Airs.  Smith.  It  was  necessary  for  me  to  go  to  Kangwe,  to  bring 
away  some  of  our  possessions.  And,  I  thought  it  kind  and  de- 
sirable for  me  formally  to  hand  over  the  station  affairs  to  Dr. 
Bacheler.  But,  subsequent  events  at  Kangwe  made  me  feel  that 
my  going  there  at  that  time  was  unwise. 

The  voyage,  as  usual,  was  a  trying  one.  Though  I  was  not 
as  severely  seasick  as  formerly,  Air.  Menkel's  rudeness  and  vio- 
lence were  a  great  test  on  my  patience.  To  him,  the  voyages 
were  pleasure  excursions.  That  they  were  long  did  not  trouble 
him.  He  lost  many  opportunities  of  progress  by  desirable 
changes  in  wind  and  tide,  which  I  keenly  saw,  as  I  lay  wearily 
on  deck,  taking  only  snatches  of  sleep  at  intervals  of  day  and 
night,  but  which  he  did  not  see  in  his  solid  sleep  in  the  berth 
below. 

As  the  tide  was  against  us,  we  made  only  the  ten  miles  across 
the  width  of  the  Gaboon  estuary,  that  night,  anchoring  on  King 
William's  side  at  1  a.  m.  of  Friday,  the  16th.  I  lay  awake  watch- 
ing signs.  When,  at  4.30  a.  m.,  I  saw  that,  though  the  tide  was 
still  against  us,  the  wind  was  favorable,  I  ventured  to  waken  Mr. 
Menkel,  and  asked  him  to  take  up  anchor.  With  the  wind,  aided 
by  oars,  we  rounded  Pongara  Point ;  and  then  the  wind  took  us 
out  to  sea.  Then  there  was  the  usual  succession  of  days.  Fri- 
day, the  1 6th,  Saturday,  the  17th,  Sunday,  the  18th,  tacking  with 
variations  of  wind  and  calm,  rough  sea  and  smooth,  heat  and 
rain,  passing  Gangwe  Point,  Round  Hill,  and  Sangatanga ;  un- 
til, at  midnight  of  Monday,  the  19th,  we  anchored  in  Nazareth 
Bay.  to  await  the  turn  of  the  tide.  Lying  restlessly  awake  on 
the  deck,  I  saw,  by  5  a.  m.  of  the  20th,  that  although  the  wind 
was  against  us,  the  tide  had  turned.  Again,  I  ventured  to  waken 
Air.  Menkel,  and  begged  him  to  take  up  anchor,  and  allow  the 


328  MY  OGOW'R 

tide  to  drift  us  to  the  river's  mouth.  He  kept  too  far  from  shore, 
and  tacked  back  and  forth  over  a  mud  bank  where  the  water  was 
so  shallow  that  occasionally  the  keel  touched.  I  protested  to 
him  that  I  knew  that  the  deeper  channel  was  near  shore.  He 
gave  me  an  insulting  reply,  because  of  his  "  captaincy."  How- 
ever, he  consented  to  throw  the  lead,  and  was  surprised  at  the 
shallowness.  Then,  he  turned  the  rudder,  and,  in  a  short  time 
we  were  in  the  safe  deep  channel  of  which  I  had  informed  him. 
I  sent  the  large  canoe,  for  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler  and  Mrs. 
Xgwa-nyani,  at  Abun-awiri,  to  ask  for  his  large  canoe,  in  which 
to  take  us  ashore.  After  a  long  while,  a  canoe  came;  but,  it 
was  not  the  large  one  I  had  wished  for  the  ladies.  T  went  ashore 
without  them;  and  was  detained  there  by  a  rain-storm.  Then. 
I  sent  the  large  canoe,  for  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler  and  Mrs. 
Smith.  While  waiting  in  the  village,  I  bargained  with  Xgwa- 
nyani  for  a  canoe  and  crew  of  seven  men  and  boys,  to  carry  me 
to  Angala.  He  saw  my  necessity,  and  took  advantage  of  it,  to 
ask  big  pay.  As  soon  as  the  other  canoe  returned  with  the 
ladies  and  Dr.  Bacheler  from  the  Hudson,  leaving  them  in 
Xgwa-nyani's  care.  I  took  it,  with  my  own  six  crew  and  the 
other  seven  hired  Orungu.  back  to  the  vessel,  and  loaded  part 
of  our  goods.  Mr.  Menkel  was  in  a  better  frame  of  mind,  and 
apologized  for  his  rudeness,  as  I  left  the  vessel's  side  at  dusk,  to 
make  the  all-night  pull  up  the  river.  The  united  crews  were 
fresh,  had  well  eaten,  and  pulled  well  until  midnight,  when  the 
younger  ones  tired.  But,  we  kept  on.  and  reached  Angala  at 
daylight  of  Wednesday,  the  21st.  After  the  two  crews  had 
eaten  their  breakfast.  I  paid  and  dismissed  the  seven  Orungu, 
and  they  returned  with  their  canoe  down-river.  And,  then,  my 
own  crew  got  out  the  Xclly-Howard  that  had  been  left  in  King 
Ksongi's  care:  and  I  sent  them  back  to  Abun-awiri,  to  bring  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Bacheler  and  Mrs.  Smith.  "W  nile  they  were  away,  I 
rested  ;  and  went  in  a  canoe  to  55ombi,  to  see  whether  the  boat 
Onanga  was  making  for  me  was  finished.  As  it  was  not.  I  re- 
turned to  Angala. 

On  Thursday,  the  22d,  bargained  with  Esongi  for  a  native 
boat  of  his  son  Ndambenje  and  crew  to  Kangwe.  He  was  mark- 
edly different  from  Xgwa-nyani.  in  the  aid  he  gave  me.  At  sun- 
down, the  Nelly-Howard  and  company  arrived  safely. 

JOURNEY    UP    THE   RIVER. 

On  Friday,  the  23d,  was  busy  putting  seats  into  XTdambenje's 
boat.     And  began  the  up-river  journey,  Dr.  Bacheler  in  charge 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  329 

of  the  Nelly-Hozvard;  I  of  the  other  boat.  At  ffango,  was  glad 
to  hear  that  friend  Re-Buka's  wife,  though  still  a  captive  on  the 
witchcraft  charge,  was  not  in  danger  for  her  life. 

On  Saturday,  the  24th,  reached  Esira,  where  we  were  well  re- 
ceived for  the  night  and  over  Sunday.  On  Monday,  the  26th, 
after  having  given  gifts,  and  made  good-bys,  we  went  on. 
Stopped  in  the  forest  for  noon  meal,  near  a  new  village,  the 
head-man  of  which  came  to  us  with  his  little  boy  Re-Nkagu,  as  a 
pupil  for  the  school.  Passing  Ngumbi,  we  stopped  for  the  night 
at  a  village  near  Avanga. 

On  Tuesday,  January  27,  on  to  Ashuka,  in  Re-Teno's  Ivili 
village.  My  friend  Njivo's  aunt  Anyure  was  there  with  a 
brother  of  Laseni,  who  was  sick  with  leprosy.  I  left  a  note 
with  her  for  Njivo,  to  be  sent  into  the  lake.  Heard  word  also 
from  Kangwe,  that  there  was  scarcity  of  food  there.  So,  I 
bought  food  on  the  way.  Spent  the  night  at  Awora's  Igenja 
village.  On  Wednesday,  the  28th,  pulled  on  rapidly,  lunching  in 
the  forest;  and,  passing  Nandipo,  and  Oranga,  and  Aromba, 
stopped  for  the  night  opposite  to  the  lake's  second  entrance.  I 
slept  on  the  beach,  giving  up  the  boat  to  Mrs.  Smith,  who  was 
protected  from  threatened  rain,  by  two  old  sails  I  had  brought 
from  the  Hudson.  Only  a  little  rain  fell.  The  spot  where  we 
camped  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  the  village  of 
Dr.  Bacheler's  rescue  of  Nguva,  but,  hidden  from  its  view  by  a 
projecting  point  of  land.  On  Thursday,  the  29th,  we  pulled 
past  that  village  with  some  caution,  remembering  threats  which 
had  been  made  by  its  people  against  me.  (According  to  native 
point  of  view,  I  was  held  responsible  for  the  acts  of  my  guest, 
Dr.  Bacheler. )  But.  nothing  unpleasant  was  said  or  done;  the 
people  saluted  us  with  apparent  cordiality,  and  wished  us  to  stop 
and  buy  provisions.  But,  the  ladies  desired  to  haste.  After  9 
a.  m.  breakfast  in  Zintango's  Wombalya  village,  where  a  new 
girl  was  given  Mrs.  Bacheler  for  school,  we  hasted  on,  the  ladies 
urging  us  to  finish  the  journey  that  day.  For  that  reason,  we 
stopped  only  at  Ginigo,  to  take  on  board  Aveya's  wife.  To  my 
surprise,  my  native  boat  kept  ahead  of  the  other.  At  dusk,  we 
were  in  sight  of  Kangwe  Hill,  and  ate  in  the  forest.  I  do  not 
know,  to  this  day,  why  Dr.  Bacheler  seemed  displeased  at  me. 
I  was  willing  to  defer  to  him  as  my  successor;  and,  he  seemed 
to  insist  that  I  should  still  take  precedence.  But,  our  lunch  was 
not  a  happy  one.  Mrs.  Bacheler  was  admirable  in  tactful 
smoothing  of  difficulties.  We  pulled  on  in  the  dark;  and,  as  we 
passed  Atangina,  in  full  view  of  Kangwe,  rain  fell.     And,  at 


33Q  MY  OGOWE 

9  p.  m.,  we  landed,  with  a  trying  job  of  climbing  the  slippery  hill, 
and  tired  crews  carrying  our  goods  to  secure  them  from  farther 
wetting.  Went  to  bed  late.  As  a  final  duty,  before  handing 
over  the  station  to  Dr.  Bacheler,  I  was  to  go  to  Belambla,  to 
remove  Bayio,  and  place  there  some  one  more  reliable.  When, 
at  morning  prayer  of  Saturday,  the  31st,  I  asked  for  volunteers, 
I  was  disappointed  that  there  was  no  prompt  response.  Mamba 
finally  consented. 

JOURNEY    TO    BELAMBLA. 

Starting  with  only  Mamba  as  volunteer,  on  February  2,  I  re- 
quired Nkange  and  Overi  to  go  as  his  associates,  for  one  month, 
until  Awora  should  arrive  from  Igenja.  Reached  Belambla  at 
the  usual  afternoon  hour  of  the  next  day.  The  house  and 
grounds  were  deserted,  the  grass  over-grown,  and  white  ants  in 
the  house ;  Bayio  having  gone  to  live  in  one  of  the  villages,  and 
teaching  the  boys  there.  In  the  evening,  I  paid  him  and  the  as- 
sistants, and  dismissed  him  from  Belambla,  but  allowed  him  to 
return  to  Kangwe.     He  was  disposed  to  be  impertinent. 

The  next  day,  leaving  Mamba  with  goods  for  his  support,  I 
returned  to  Kangwe.  It  was  a  sad  ending  of  my  hopes  for  Be- 
lambla. 

The  next  day,  Thursday,  February  5,  I  paid  off  all  obliga- 
tions and  accounts,  preparatory  to  handing  the  affairs  of  the  sta- 
tion over  to  Dr.  Bacheler.  Which  I  formally  did  next  day,  at 
morning  prayers,  in  the  presence  of  the  entire  household.  And, 
at  once,  I  went  to  my  own  jobs  of  packing.  In  the  afternoon, 
Dr.  Bacheler  was  sent  for  by  Mr.  Sinclair,  who  was  sick ;  and, 
he  asked  me  to  attend  to  the  giving  out  of  .the  daily  rations. 
And,  then  began  a  great  sorrow.  As  long  as  Dr.  Bacheler  had 
been  my  guest,  I  held  control  of  all  the  affairs  of  the  station. 
Knowing  that  Africans  recognize,  between  two  or  more  white 
employers,  only  one  as  master,  I  had  retained  my  authority,  only 
occasionally  asking  his  assistance  as  a  favor,  in  substitution. 
But,  when  I  laid  down  that  authority  to  him  as  my  successor,  I 
did  it  definitely  and  unqualifiedly.  I  was  still  willing  to  do  any- 
thing; but,  carefully  would  not  assume  to  do  without  request.  I 
willingly  gave  out  the  rations ;  but,  as  the  Doctor  had  said  noth- 
ing about  evening  prayer  and  inquiry  class,  I  did  not  attend  to 
them.  I  thought  then,  and  think  still,  that  I  was  right.  The 
tables  of  authority  and  responsibility  had  utterly  been  turned. 
If  he,  in  failure  of  courtesy,  or  in  forgetfulness,  or  for  any  other 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  331 

reason,  did  not  request  me,  I  had  no  right  to  assume  to  act.  I 
was  a  stranger,  and  only  his  guest.  But,  on  their  return  at  night, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler  were  annoyed  that  I  had  not  assumed  to 
take  charge. 

The  next  Saturday  afternoon,  Dr.  Bacheler  was  away  again; 
and  I  gave  out  the  day's  rations  of  plantains,  and  of  salt  as  usual 
the  amount  for  one  week.  Food  was  scarce;  and  I  had  to 
shorten  the  ration.  And,  of  salt  there  was  none.  So,  in  kind- 
ness ( as  I  thought ) ,  I  gave  out  some  coarse  rock-salt  from  the 
bottom  of  a  meat-barrel.  It  was  perfectly  good  for  food.  I 
would  have  eaten  it  myself.  Only,  it  was  dark;  but,  its  meat 
odor  was  not  of  putrefaction.  Even  if  it  had  been,  that  should 
have  been  no  ground  of  objection  from  boys  who  in  their 
villages,  frequently  ate  decayed  meat.  And,  only  ten  years  be- 
fore, to  those  same  natives,  salt  had  been  such  a  rarity,  that,  gen- 
erally, they  had  had  none. 

On  the  Sunday  morning,  I  preached  my  good-by  sermon.  Dr. 
Bacheler  conducted  Sabbath  school  in  the  afternoon.  In  the 
evening,  when  he  gave  out  the  day's  rations,  I  ventured  to  advise 
him  to  shorten  them,  and  substitute  farinya  (which,  though  not 
preferred,  was  frequently  used  in  all  the  river,  on  emergencies) 
until  more  plantains  could  be  gotten  next  day.  He  did  so.  The 
boys  took  the  food  derisively;  and,  an  hour  or  so  later,  Agaia, 
followed  by  Mwarogaso,  Pendiningani,  and  Zintango,  came 
hastily  back,  and  deposited  their  plantains,  farinya  and  salt  on 
the  ground  near  the  kitchen.  And,  Agaia  came  to  me,  and  in- 
solently informed  me  that  they  refused  the  food.  There  was 
evidently  bad  blood ;  of  which  I  had  had  no  suspicion.  At  even- 
ing prayers,  none  of  the  Galwas  came,  only  the  coast-tribe  as- 
sistants, Licentiate  Kongolo,  and  Teachers,  Mbora,  Melumu,  and 
Yaka,  and  the  new  little  Nkami  lad  Re-Nkagu.  After  prayers, 
Dr.  Bacheler  and  I  went  out  to  the  kitchen,  to  lock  it  for  the 
night.  Cook  Oyembo  offered  to  do  it,  but  the  Doctor  promptly 
told  him  that  his  work  for  him  was  at  an  end.  I  felt  gratified 
at  his  defense  of  me. 

At  Monday  morning  prayers,  February  9,  Dr.  Bacheler  took 
a  list  of  all  who  had  refused  the  rations.  Everyone  of  the  Ga- 
lwas, young  and  old,  even  the  church  members,  admitted  that 
they  were  in  the  conspiracy.  To  prove  that  it  was  a  conspiracy, 
Agaia  arose,  and,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  company,  insultingly 
denounced  me.  I  made  only  a  mild  reply ;  for,  I  thought  that  it 
was  the  part  of  the  new  head  of  the  station  to  defend  his  guest 
by  punishing  some  of  them.     He  did  not  do  so.     He  told  me  that 


332  MY  OGOW'K 

he  did  not  wish  his  administration  to  begin  with  the  scattering  of 
the  school ;  that  it  ought  to  be  saved  at  any  cost.  He  went 
around  among  the  boys  during  the  day.  I  never  knew  what  he 
said  or  did.  But,  in  the  evening,  when  the  boys  came  for  food, 
he  gave  it  to  them,  without  having  required  them  to  first  make 
an  apology  to  me.  Before  we  retired  for  the  night,  I  made  a 
polite  protest  to  him.  against  his  leaving  me  thus  exposed  to  in- 
sult. To  guard  a  guest,  had,  with  me,  been  a  greater  duty  than 
to  protect  one's  self. 

The  next  morning,  Tuesday,  the  ioth,  Dr.  Bacheler,  deciding 
that  the  mass  of  the  school  were  innocent  (which  probably  was 
true)  reinstated  them  all,  excepting  Agaia,  Bayio,  Akendenge. 
and  Oyembo.  Presently,  he  pardoned  the  latter  (which  also  I 
requested,  Mrs.  Bacheler  needing  him  in  the  kitchen).  Then, 
the  other  three  came  and  asked  my  forgiveness.  That  was  not 
according  to  divine  order;  they  had  already  been  forgiven,  with- 
out expression  of  repentance.  They  said  that  they  were  sincere. 
I  believed  that  their  acknowledgment  was  perfunctory;  and  it 
came  too  late.  But.  they  being  professed  Christians.  I  had  to 
accept  them,  on  the  "  seventy-times-seven "  rule.  However, 
Agaia's  wound  in  my  heart  never  healed.  Mr.  Sinclair  kindly 
sent  a  canoe  for  my  many  pieces  of  baggage.  And,  in  the  after- 
noon, he  sent  his  boat  and  special  crew  for  myself.  For,  after 
their  bitter  words  to  me.  in  utter  disregard  of  all  I  had  done  for 
them,  I  did  not  wish  the  Kangwe  boys  to  take  me.  I  reflected : 
—  Perhaps  their  rebellion  was  inevitable.  I  had  held  them  long 
with  a  consistently  firm  (but,  never  severe)  hand.  (For  the 
reason  that  the  negro,  in  any  company,  recognizes  but  one  as 
master,  Livingstone  had  never  allowed  another  white  man  to 
travel  with  him.  Most  of  Stanley's  sorrows  arose  from  his 
white  associates.)  In  Dr.  Bacheler,  the  boys  at  once  saw  a 
hand  that  though  sometimes  more  severe  than  mine,  was  usually 
lax.  Perhaps  also  with  a  few.  some  old  revenge  had  been 
lighted  as  a  spark  by  the  incident  of  the  salt.  Schoolboy  sym- 
pathy had  allowed  it  to  spread.  And,  the  Doctor's  offer  of  con- 
ciliation to  them,  in  advance  of  any  regrets  from  them  to  me, 
had  left  me  defenseless.  But,  negroes  are  very  mercurial. 
With  equal  facility  they  forget  both  kindness  and  unkindness. 
And,  the  parting  at  the  Kangwe  boat-shed  was  a  tearful  one. 
The  tears  which  T  most  valued  were  Mrs.  Smith's.  In  the  en- 
tire lamentable  affair,  she.  from  the  first,  gave  me  her  pronounced 
sympathy.  Some  of  the  boys  wished  to  accompany  me:  but,  I 
accepted  only  little   Re-Xkagu. 


ON  THE  KANGWE  HILL-SIDE  333 

At  supper  at  Aguma,  were  Mr.  Ermy,  and  the  German  cap- 
tain, Oestenvold.  At  night,  Dr.  Bacheler,  in  the  Nelly-How- 
ard, followed  me,  and  took  me  to  the  Pioneer,  which  was  lying 
out  in  the  main  stream,  near  the  German  house.  There,  I  bade 
good-by  to  him,  to  Mr.  Sinclair  and  Mr.  Ermy,  and  to  the 
Kangwe  crew  which  consisted  of  Ogula,  Joktan,  Bwelo,  Re- 
Ganjwe,  Pendaningani,  and  little  Re-Xkagu. 

After  they  were  gone,  I  went  ashore  with  the  captain,  to  say 
good-by  to  Mr.  Schiff  at  the  German  house.  And,  on  returning 
to  the  Pioneer,  I  found  there  awaiting  me,  to  assure  me  of  their 
repentance,  Aveya  and  Sambunaga.  I  believed  that  they  were 
sincere.  Also,  the  Benita,  Yaka,  had  come  with  his  sympathy. 
I  was  wearied  with  my  emotions.  I  had  entered  the  river  in 
1874.  with  a  prejudice  against  the  Galwa  tribe,  and  therefore 
had  gone  to  the  Bakele.  Subsequently,  while  I  found  that  there 
were  real  bases  for  that  prejudice,  I  saw  that  the  Bakele  were 
even  worse ;  and  had  learned  to  love  the  Galwas,  especially  of 
the  Igenja  district.  The  cruel  assault  of  Agaia  and  his  asso- 
ciates was  a  bitter  cup  for  me.  But,  I  continued  to  love  and 
serve  the  tribe,  in  later  years. 

LEAVING    MY    OGOWE. 

On  Wednesday,  February  it.  at  sunrise,  the  Pioneer  started 
down-stream.  With  a  heavy  heart  I  was  leaving  the  loved  river, 
on  the  same  vessel  that,  more  than  five  years  before,  had  brought 
me,  in  such  buoyant  hopes,  to  its  shores  and  its  tribes.  As  we 
steamed  rapidly  with  the  current,  I  took  last  sharp  looks  at  each 
village  that  we  passed.  Passing  Oranga,  I  was  recognized  by 
Akai  and  the  other  boys  who  were  on  vacation  at  their  homes 
there.  And.  at  Igenja.  was  recognized  by  Awora.  Eliva-ntyani, 
and  other  former  employees.  By  7  p.  m.,  anchored  at  Angala. 
I  hesitated,  in  my  mixed  emotions,  to  go  ashore,  and  remained 
on  the  vessel.  On  the  12th,  we  emerged  at  the  river's  mouth 
safely,  with  the  tide  at  half-ebb.  And.  out  to  a  sea  that  now  was 
smooth  and  pleasant.  (How  much  T  had  suffered  from  it,  in 
the  Hudson!)  And.  anchored,  in  sight  of  Gumbe  Point  before 
dark. 

On  Friday,  the  13th,  entered  the  Gaboon  estuary;  and  was  at 
anchor  in  Libreville  harbor,  by  1 1  a.  m.  Went  to  Mrs.  Bush- 
nell  at  the  "  upper  "  Baraka  house,  and  rested.  My  sister  was 
not  there.  During  my  absence  at  Kangwe,  she  had  gone  on  the 
Hudson,  to  see  her  loved  Benita.  In  the  afternoon,  I  called  on 
Mr.   Murphy  at  his   "  lower  "   Baraka  house.     And,  making  a 


334  MY  OGOWE 

courtesy-call  on  Mr.  Jobet,  the  agent  of  H.  &  C,  he  kindly 
furnished  me  a  canoe  and  crew  with  which  to  land  my  goods 
from  the  Pioneer;  his  people  faithfully  carried  them  for  me  to 
Baraka. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

ON   A   FURLOUGH FEBRUARY,    1880-DECEMBER,    1 88 1 

PRACTICALLY,  my  furlough  began  with  my  arrival  at 
Libreville.  For,  though  I  was  detained  there  a  month, 
waiting  for  a  Liverpool  steamer,  I  was  free  all  that  time, 
without  duty  or  responsibility.  But,  it  was  not  an  idle  time. 
There  then  began  a  long  suffering  from  piles,  induced  by  the 
mental  excitement  and  irregular  eating  of  the  previous  two 
weeks  that  made  my  voyage  to  the  United  States,  and  for  many 
months  after  my  arrival  there,  a  daily  physical  agony;  that 
made  sitting  a  distress,  and  that  interfered  with  the  comfort  of 
anything  I  did  in  visits,  church  going,  addresses,  entertainments, 
and  everything. 

While  waiting  for  an  expected  ocean-steamer,  the  Benin,  for 
the  voyage  to  Liverpool,  I  occupied  myself  in  Fafiwe  transla- 
tions, with  Rev.  Mr.  Truman ;  and  collecting  African  photo- 
graphs from  the  photographer  Joaque ;  and  buying  leopard  skins 
and  many  other  curios  for  gifts  to  friends  in  the  United  States. 

About  10  p.  m.  of  the  17th,  after  I  had  retired,  Mr.  Menkel 
knocked  at  my  door,  saying  that  he  had  just  arrived  with  the 
Hudson  from  Benita,  with  my  sister;  and  that,  she  was  "com- 
fortable." That  being  so,  I  thought  it  would  be  kind  not  to 
disturb  her  at  the  late  hour,  and  advised  that  she  remain  there 
until  the  morning.  But,  after  some  delay,  Mr.  Murphy  sent  to 
the  vessel,  and  brought  her  and  Mrs.  Sneed,  Mr.  Menkel's 
mother-in-law,  ashore. 

By  9  a.  m.  of  the  18th,  the  Benin  came  in  from  the  north, 
having  on  board  Rev.  Wm.  Walker,  and  Count  DeBrazza.  That 
steamer  was  to  go  on  south,  and  would  not  return  for  several 
weeks.  So,  there  was  ample  time  for  my  sister  to  get  every- 
thing ready  for  our  voyage  to  Liverpool.  On  Sunday,  the  29th, 
after  supper,  I  enjoyed  singing  with  Miss  L.  B.  Walker  (no  rela- 
tive of  Rev.  Wm.  Walker).  Some  one  remarked  on  the  fact 
of  that  month  having  had  five  Sundays ;  and,  then  the  assertion 
was  made  that  that  would  not  occur  again  for  40  years,  in  1920. 
On  Wednesday,  March  3,  two  American  sailing  vessels  came  in, 
the  Cardenas,  Captain  Yates,  and  the  Liberia,  Captain  Fawcett. 

335 


336  MY  OGOWE 

Mr.  Walker's  goods  had  been  brought  by  those  vessels,  and 
were  being  landed  on  the  4th.  And,  I  sent  on  board  the  Liberia, 
some  of  my  boxes  and  a  number  of  parrots.  Count  DeBrazza 
called  on  the  ladies  at  the  upper  Baraka ;  and  I  took  him  to 
see  rny  sister  at  the  lower  house. 

On  the  evening  of  Friday,  the  12th,  I  had  a  particularly  pleas- 
ant time,  singing  with  my  sister,  and  the  Misses  Jones  and 
Walker,  in  Miss  Walker's  room.  Saturday,  the  13th,  was  an  anx- 
ious day.  The  two  sailing  vessels  were  to  leave  within  a  week. 
Mr.  Walker  advised  us  to  go  by  one  of  them,  instead  of  by 
steamer.  But,  both  the  Pioneer  and  Mpongzve  were  expected  in 
a  few  days,  and  they  might  have  mail  for  us  from  Benita  or 
Ogowe.  And.  the  Benin  was  expected  daily.  If  we  decided  to 
take  passage  on  it  should  we  go  on  board  on  a  Sunday?  After 
serious  consultation,  my  sister  and  I  decided  that,  after  all  our 
careful  regard  for  the  Sabbath,  and  entire  avoidance  of  Sunday 
travel,  we  would  not  begin  our  long  journey  to  Liverpool,  on  the 
Benin,  if  it  should  arrive  the  next  day  and  leave  on  the  same  day. 

So,  on  Sunday,  the  T4th.  we  had  a  quiet  restful  day:  we  felt 
that  we  had  done  well  in  our  decision.  And.  the  Benin  did  not 
come.  But,  in  the  evening,  came  the  Mpongzce  from  Elobi. 
with  part  of  a  mail  from  the  north.  It  brought  me  a  letter 
from  my  friend  Rev.  Dr.  Kellogg  of  Pittsburg,  urging  the  ad- 
vance of  our  Mission  info  the  Kongo  River.  T  sympathized 
deeply  in  his  interest  for  Africa  (particularly  as  his  own  work 
had  been  in  India).  But.  T  could  do  nothing,  as  I  was  on  the 
very  eve  of  temporarily  leaving  the  African  continent.  And. 
that  advance  was,  for  us.  too  late;  it  should  have  been  made  in 
\R~2  (but.  the  Mission  had  refused  at  that  time).  It  might  still 
have  been  made  by  me  in  T874  (instead  of  the  Ogowe)  if  the 
Mission  had  consented.  Tn  the  interim,  other  christian  bodies 
had  entered  the  Kongo,  and  were  dong  work  there. 

Mrs.  Bushnell  had  sad  news:  the  ocean  steamers  refused  (be- 
cause of  seamen's  superstitions)  to  disinter  Dr.  Bushnell's  body, 
and  bring  it  from  Sierra  Leone  to  Libreville. 

Karlv  in  the  morning  of  March  17.  the  Benin  came  in  from 
the  south.  Hastily,  Mr.  Murphy  took  my  boxes  off  to  the  ves- 
sel :  and  returned  with  word  that  it  would  not  leave  until  the 
next  day. 

VOYAGE    TO    LIVERPOOL. 

As  I  am  writing  only  the  story  of  my  Ogowe,  I  shall  make 
only  hasty  reference  to  the  places  and  persons  and  incidents  met 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  337 

during  my  absence  from  it,  on  the  route  to,  and  in  the  United 
States.  Early  in  the  morning  of  Thursday,  March  18,  sister 
and  I  went  to  the  beach  to  embark  on  the  Benin,  accompanied 
by  Mrs.  Bushnell,  Mr.  Murphy,  Misses  Jones  and  Walker,  and 
some  of  the  larger  schoolgirls,  among  them  Mrs.  Bushnell's 
trusted  native  assistants,  Mrs.  Julia  Green  and  Jane  Harrington, 
elder  sister  of  my  friend  Njivo.  The  little  schoolboys  wished 
to  crowd  into  the  boat  to  accompany  us  to  the  steamer,  but  Mr. 
Murphy  gave  the  seats  to  the  Misses  Jones  and  Walker.  The 
master  of  the  Benin  was  Captain  Thomas,  the  purser  was  Mr. 
Denny.  There  were  only  a  few  other  passengers,  Messrs.  Find- 
ley  and  Schwartz,  and  a  Swiss  of  Gaboon,  and  a  Mr.  Foster  from 
Ambriz.  Captain  Jonathan  Holt,  a  Gaboon  merchant,  was  on 
board,  endeavoring  to  embark  some  of  his  produce.  I  watched 
with  interest  our  steaming  into  Corisco  Bay,  past  Corisco  Island, 
around  it,  and  near  Mbangwe  Point  on  the  north  mainland 
shore,  the  former  home  of  the  native  pastor  of  the  Corisco 
church.  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya.  And,  then  to  anchor  at  Elobi  Island,  op- 
posite the  mouth  of  river  Muni,  where  great  quantities  of 
ivory  were  being  taken  aboard.  On  Friday,  19,  the  steamer 
moved  slowly  with  the  low  tide  out  of  the  bay,  around  Cape  St. 
John,  and  out  to  sea;  out  of  sight  of  land,  so  that  we  got  no 
view  of  either  the  Benita  or  Batanga  coasts,  and  passed  Fer- 
nando Po  Island  at  night,  keeping  straight  on  to  Bonny,  on  the 
Niger  coast,  where  we  anchored  in  afternoon  of  the  20th.  In 
the  captain's  boat,  I  went  ashore,  and  made  a  call  at  the  British 
Established  Church  Mission,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Crowther,  son  of  the  distinguished  negro  Bishop 
Crowther.  The  next  day.  Sunday  2T,  I  again  went  ashore, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Findlev,  to  attend  church,  at  the  Mission 
where  I  met  a  Mr.  Campbell,  of  Lagos,  and  a  Rev.  Mr.  Boyle. 
At  Bonny,  was  anchored,  as  a  trading-hulk,  the  home  of 
white  men,  rather  than  on  the  low  marshy  grounds  ashore,  the 
Adriatic,  formerly  an  American  trans-Atlantic  passenger  vessel. 
On  the  22(1.  T  supplied  myself  with  a  quantity  of  the  hand- 
somely wrought  Bonny  grass  basket-ware,  for  gifts  to  friends 
in  the  United  States.  The  steamer  left  in  the  afternoon.  That 
dav.  the  wind  was  so  strong,  and  sea  so  rough,  that  the  port- 
holes had  to  be  closed.  Doctor  Bennett  gave  me  a  medicine 
(whose  name  he  would  not  tell  me,  but  it  sounded  like  prussie 
acid)  that  relieved  my  seasickness  more  than  any  medicine  I  had 
ever  taken  for  that  purpose.  At  night,  the  steamer  stopped, 
uncertain  of  its  bearings. 


338  MY  OGOWE 

And,  at  daylight  of  the  24th.  proceeded  to  Lagos,  arriving 
there  early  in  the  morning.  All  day,  it  was  loading  palm- 
kernels,  lying  several  miles  from  shore  in  the  road-stead ;  for, 
Lagos  had  no  harbor.  On  the  25th,  the  steamer  lay  idle  half 
the  time;  for,  the  small  freighter  Gaiser,  that  was  assisting  us, 
took  away  half  of  its  boats,  in  order  to  serve  a  rival  steamer. 
This  annoyed  the  captain  very  much.  And  it  was  trying  to  me, 
with  nothing  to  distract  me  from  the  constant  sickening  roll  of 
the  vessel  under  the  heavy  swell  of  the  sea.  And,  on  the  26th,  it 
being  Good  Friday,  very  little  work  was  done.  Yet,  all  those 
same  vessels  would  have  worked  all  day  of  a  Sunday! 

On  the  27th,  Captain  Thomas  kindly  interested  himself  to  ob- 
tain for  me  passage  ashore  on  the  Gaiser,  himself  taking  me  on 
board  that  vessel,  that  I  might  have  the  adventure  of  crossing 
the  dangerous  Lagos  bar.  and  see  something  of  Lagos  town ; 
giving  me  also  letters  of  introduction  to  merchants  ashore,  sev- 
eral of  whom  thereby  showed  me  much  hospitality.  Made  a  call 
on  Rev.  and  Mrs.  David,  of  the  American  Southern  Baptist  Mis- 
sion ;  and  met  a  negro  clergyman.  Rev.  Mr.  Cansby.  Called  also 
at  the  English  Wesleyan  Mission ;  and.  at  Mr.  Campbell's.  I 
was  entertained  at  the  home  of  an  English  merchant,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hood. 

From  whose  home,  on  Sunday,  the  28th,  I  went  to  the  Epis- 
copal church.  And,  from  there,  was  entertained  at  dinner,  at  the 
home  of  a  courtly  American  gentleman,  Mr.  Arthur  H.  Porter. 
And,  in  the  afternoon,  I  preached  in  Rev.  Mr.  David's  church. 
On  the  Monday,  when  I  was  given  passage  on  the  English  Gov- 
ernment harbor-steamer,  Nellie,  Captain  Waite,  to  return  to  the 
Benin,  the  bar  was  so  quiet,  that  I  was  sure  I  could  have  crossed 
it  myself  in  safety  in  our  mission-boat.  I  wrote  special  letters 
of  thanks  to  Messrs.  Porter  and  Hood. 

On  Tuesday,  March  30,  the  two  discharge  steamers.  Gaiser 
and  Furtades,  anchored  near  us,  loading  the  Benin  with  palm- 
kernels.  The  sea  was  smooth,  and  the  boats  worked  rapidly;  so 
that  by  1 1  p.  m.  the  vessel  started  again  on  her  journey.  This 
was  a  great  relief  to  Captain  Thomas  and  his  passengers,  after 
the  seven  davs'  delav  at  Lagos.  On  Wednesday.  March  31. 
passed  Little  Popo,  Whydah,  and  some  other  places.  I  marked 
the  low  line  of  coast,  fringed  with  palm-trees.  Stopped  at 
Ouita.  near  Jella  Coffee,  for  mails  and  passengers.  But,  our 
rival.  Coriseo,  which  had  delayed  us  at  Lagos,  was  lying  at  Quita, 
and  had  again  supplanted  our  captain,  by  taking  the  passengers 


A   BUNCH    OF   PALM-NUTS 


Facing  page  338 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  339 

who  had  been  awaiting  him.  In  the  evening,  on  deck,  with  my 
guitar,  I  sang  some  ballads  for  the  passengers. 

On  April  1,  the  Corisco  was  seen  at  anchor  behind  us  at  Ad- 
dah.  She  pursued,  overtook,  and  passed  us,  and  anchored  at 
Accra,  in  advance  of  us.  While  we  were  lying  there,  came  in  a 
steamer  from  the  north,  carrying  the  flag  of  Captain  Davis,  the 
commodore  of  the  fleet  of  the  British  and  African  Steam  Navi- 
gation Co.  Captain  Davis,  a  typical  seaman,  though  of  rough 
exterior,  was  the  soul  of  honor  and  integrity.  Invalid  ladies 
going  from  England  to  the  Canaries,  were  often  put  under  his 
care,  in  preference  to  any  other  captain. 

My  sister  had  been  brought  from  Liverpool  to  Corisco  in  1868, 
under  his  special  care:  and,  he  ever  afterward  regarded  her  with 
a  paternal  interest.  With  the  engineer  and  Purser  Denny,  sister 
and  I  went,  in  one  of  the  steamer's  boats,  to  call  on  Captain 
Davis.  He  received  her  with  a  warm  welcome ;  and,  I  handed  to 
him  a  letter  which  Mrs.  Bushnell  had  entrusted  with  me  in  ref- 
erence to  the  removal  of  Dr.  Bushnell's  remains  from  Sierra 
Leone.      [Which   he  subsequently  accomplished."] 

On  April  2.  we  were  out  of  sight  of  land  all  day,  in  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea.  The  water  was  blue;  the  first  blue  sea  met  with 
that  far  on  the  voyage.  About  7  a.  m.  of  Sunday  the  4th,  an- 
chored at  Cape  Palmas,  to  land  a  crowd  of  Kru-men  passengers. 
I  looked  ashore  with  deep  interest,  remembering  my  Sunday 
ashore  in  August,  1861,  at  Hoffman  Station  of  the  American 
Episcopal  Mission,  when  I  had  gone  ashore  for  the  day  from 
the  Ocean  Eagle.  Stayed  on  deck  at  night,  to  watch  a  storm 
that  was  following  us.  The  flashes  of  lightning  grew  more  and 
more  vivid,  the  line  of  black  cloud  extending  wider  its  wings  ;  and 
finally  came  the  crashes  of  thunder  and  gusts  of  wind.  But,  the 
rain  did  not  over-take  us.  But,  on  Monday,  the  5th,  the  storm 
had  turned  and  was  in  our  faces.  I  had  the  vessel's  carpenter 
prepare  for  me  a  board,  onto  which  with  tacks,  I  fastened  the 
name  of  Dr.  Bushnell,  with  which  to  mark  his  grave,  if  I  should 
find  it  without  mark.  On  Tuesday,  the  6th,  anchored  at  Sulima, 
the  disputed  boundary  between  Liberia  and  Sierra  Leone.  Ill 
fortune  still  pursued  our  captain ;  the  Volta  had  been  before  us. 
and  had  taken  what  produce  the  Trading-house  ashore  had ; 
there  was  little  left  for  us. 

By  Wednesday.  April  7,  Freetown,  the  capital  of  Sierra  Leone, 
was  in  sight.  The  colony-law  made  pilotage  compulsory.  The 
neero  pilot  was  received,  but  with  ill  grace ;  for  the  harbor  is  not 
difficult  of  entrance,  and  the  captain  thought  him  and  his  services 


340  MY  OGOWE 

an  unnecessary  expense.  I  went  ashore  with  sister  to  the  store 
of  Captain  M.  YV.  Tobey,  acting  in  place  of  American  consul,  J. 
A.  Lewis.  Captain  Tobey  gave  me  a  messenger  to  guide  me  to 
the  sexton  of  the  cemetery.  This  old  sexton  was  polite;  he  sum- 
moned the  gravedigger  to  assist  in  identifying  the  spot  of  Dr. 
Bushnell's  grave.  He  showed  me  a  recent  mound  of  earth, 
which  he  asserted  was  the  grave  of  a  missionary  buried  some  five 
months  previously.  (I  had  narrated  to  him  the  circumstances.) 
I  did  not  doubt  that  it  was  Dr.  Bushnell's  grave.  (If  there  was 
error,  it  lay  with  those  two  men.)  And,  I  marked  it  with  the 
l)oard  I  had  prepared,  for  the  aid  of  Captain  Davis,  in  his  later 
coming.  Neither  Consul  Lewis,  nor  the  clergyman.  Rev.  Mr. 
Lamb,  who  had  buried  Dr.  Bushnell.  had  taken  enough  interest 
to  mark  the  spot.  On  the  way  back  to  Captain  Tobey,  I  called 
at  the  late  residence  of  Mr.  Lamb.  At  Captain  Tobey's  there 
was  a  Mr.  Buxton,  who  had  formerly  been  a  missionary  among 
the  Mendi  people,  but  who  with  his  wife  was  in  charge  of  the 
Anna  Welsh  Memorial  Female  Seminary  in  Freetown.  He  in- 
vited us  to  visit  the  seminary. 

Xext  day,  April  8.  went  ashore  with  sister,  and  leaving  our 
bundles  at  Captain  Tobey's,  found,  on  one  of  the  streets,  a  per- 
ambulator-chair for  hire,  near  Mr.  Lamb's  house.  Sister  had 
become  very  tired,  and  was  glad  of  the  chair.  I  sent  her  on  to 
Mr.  Buxton's,  while  I  went  on  errands  to  the  post-office  and  else- 
where. And.  was  at  the  wharf,  by  the  appointed  hour,  11.30 
a.  M.  to  await  sister's  coming.  On  our  return  to  the  Benin,  the 
Lualaba  came  in,  from  the  north:  and  several  gentlemen,  of  her 
passengers,  came  to  call  on  Captain  Thomas.  Among  them  was 
a  Captain  Monroe  whom  T  remembered  as  second  mate,  of  the 
sailing  vessel  Moultan,  that  in  1863,  had  carried  Mrs.  Mary 
C.  Nassau,  in  company  with  Rev.  \V.  H.  Clark,  from  Gaboon  to 
Liverpool.  There  was  added  another  passenger,  an  English- 
man, as  companion  in  my  cabin,  a  Mr.  Deane,  a  trader  at  Sher- 
bro.  Friday,  April  9th.  the  steamer  out  at  sea:  wind  cold;  sea 
rough'. 

On  Saturday  the  tenth,  saw  several  steamers:  one,  the 
Ambriz  from  the  north,  passed  so  near  that  we  could  read 
her  name.  Sister  and  T  calculated  on  the  possibilities  as  to 
whether  our  fellow  missionaries.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  De  Heer  were  on 
board,  returning  from  their  furlough,  or  whether  we  might  meet 
them  at  Madeira,  or  at  Liverpool.  At  night.  T  saw  the  North 
Star!  The  first  sight  of  it  in  six  years!  Tt  seemed  like  Hear- 
ing home. 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  341 

Sunday  the  nth.  In  cold  winds.  I  had  to  put  on  my  thick- 
est clothing.  Monday  the  12th;  entered  the  land-locked  harbor 
of  the  town  of  Dakar,  near  Goree  Island,  at  Cape  Verde,  in  or- 
der to  get  coals.  The  opposing  winds  of  the  previous  two  days 
had  so  prevented  progress,  that  the  captain  was  sure  our  supply 
obtained  at  Freetown,  would  not  last  us  to  Teneriffe.  Went 
ashore  with  Dr.  Bennett  and  five  other  passengers ;  walked  about 
the  town ;  and  lunched  at  one  of  the  restaurants.  I  realized  that 
I  was  approaching  a  northern  latitude ;  for,  with  the  palm-trees, 
I  saw  also  pine  trees  growing.  On  our  return  to  the  steamer,  the 
purser  was  not  in  a  good  humor,  because  we  had  gone  off  in 
the  morning  without  him.  Frenchmen  from  Cape  Verde  took 
passage  on  our  steamer.  Tuesday  the  13th,  on  our  way  to 
Teneriffe,  the  sea  was  so  rough,  and  the  head-winds  so  strong, 
and  progress  so  slow,  that  fear  was  entertained  that  our  coals 
would  not  last  us  even  to  Teneriffe.  Almost  all  the  passengers, 
and  even  the  captain  were  sick.  I  was  suffering  daily  with  the 
piles,  and  almost  every  day,  more  or  less,  with  the  ever-pres- 
ent seasickness.  Most  tobacco  smokers,  in  other  ways  gentle- 
men, seem  to  me  to  have  their  perceptions  stunted  by  the  weed, 
and  become  inconsiderate  of  the  feelings  of  others.  The  smoke 
always  aggravated  my  nausea.  On  the  African  steamers,  pas- 
sengers, following  the  lawlessness  of  Africa,  dared  to  be  more 
regardless  of  rules  than  on  trans-atlantic  steamers.  There  were 
clearly  printed  notices,  forbidding  smoking  in  the  saloon. 
Smokers  had  liberty  of  not  only  the  smoking-room,  but  also  the 
entire  deck,  and  even  of  their  own  cabins. 

On  Sunday,  the  18th,  I  was  suffering  very  much,  and  came  to 
the  saloon  for  refuge.  There,  I  found  Mr.  Foster  and  other 
passengers  smoking.  I  spoke  to  him  of  it.  He  seemed  to  take 
my  protest  properly,  and  promised  to  cease  the  offense. 

There  was  a  splendid  very  distant  view  of  the  snow-clad  peak 
crowned  with  a  rosy  hue  from  the  setting  sun,  as  the  island  was 
sighted  in  the  evening.  It  is  one  of  the  great  memories  in  my 
life.  Monday,  the  19th,  as  we  entered  the  harbor,  we  were  put 
in  quarantine,  because  we  had  come  from  Dakar  (which  had  a 
bad  reputation  for  yellow  fever).  But,  though  we  were  not  al- 
lowed to  go  ashore,  no  hindrance  was  placed  on  the  vessel's  coal- 
ing or  purchasing.  I  bought,  from  a  boat  alongside,  a  little  white 
Teneriffe  dog  [which,  in  the  United  States,  I  gave  to  my  niece, 
Lida  Gosman]. 

By  daylight  of  Wednesday,  the  21st,  we  were  at  anchor  in 
the  Bav  of  Funchal,   Madeira   Island.     There   was   some  hesi- 


342  MY  OGOWF 

tation  on  the  part  of  the  authorities;  but,  they  yielded,  and 
we  were  permitted  communication.  Immediately,  the  deck  was 
crowded  by  men  and  hoys  and  women  from  boats  alongside, 
with  articles  for  sale ;  ornamental  baskets,  inlaid  boxes,  lace,  ar- 
tificial Mowers,  etc.,  etc.,  also,  barbers  and  hair-dressers.  The 
French  passengers  from  Dakar,  left,  being  dissatisfied  with  the 
poor  attendance  on  board. 

Months  before,  I  had  decided  with  myself,  that,  even  if  there 
was  no  reason  of  impaired  health  for  my  furlough  to  the  United 
States,  I  would  have  gone,  for  the  sole  reason,  that,  after  ten 
years  of  widowerhood,  1  felt  the  duty  of  re-marriage.  1  even 
had  gone  over  in  my  mind,  the  names  of  several  ladies  whom  I 
had  known,  and.  I  had  tried  to  guess  where  my  best  hope  for  suc- 
cess and  happiness  might  lie.  I  reduced  their  number  to  three. 
And  I  bought  a  basketful  of  handsome  artificial  flowers;  saying 
to  myself  that  they  should  go  to  the  hand  which  T  should  find 
most  gracious  to  my  plea. 

I  wrent  ashore  with  sister.  Hearing  from  Mr.  Reid,  the  hotel 
proprietor,  that  Mrs.  Burton  of  Freetown,  was  in  the  house,  we 
called  on  her.  And,  with  her,  we  went  to  the  Miles  Hotel,  to 
see  Mr.  and  Mrs.  White,  of  the  Scotch  Calabar  Mission. 

On  our  way  back  to  the  beach,  to  return  to  the  steamer  in  time 
for  its  leaving,  we  met  a  Miss  Thompson,  who,  as  stewardess  on 
the  Sudan,  had  been  very  helpful  to  sister  on  one  of  her  voyages. 
After  leaving  Madeira,  the  discomfort  and  roughness  of  the  sea 
increased.  The  steamer,  its  officers  fearing  to  force  its  ma- 
chinery, could  go  only  half-speed.  Daily,  we  met  vessels  going 
southward  under  full  sail ;  and  some  steamers,  going  northward, 
passed  us.  to  our  chagrin.  The  offense  of  smoking  in  the  saloon 
increased  in  frequency.  One  day,  about  the  24th  or  26th,  I  saw 
Messrs.  Deane  and  Foster  with  the  ship's  doctor,  openly  break- 
ing the  rule.  Unable  to  endure  it,  I  went  to  the  captain,  and 
complained.  He  promptly  came  down,  and  rebuked  the  three. 
After  this,  Messrs.  Deane  and  Foster  ceased  to  speak  to  me. 
But,  in  various  mean  ways,  for  which  I  could  not  call  them  to 
account,  they  and  Dr.  Bennett  tried  to  insult  me  and  even  my 
sister. 

About  the  29th  and  30th,  my  nausea  and  headache  were 
extreme.  I  took  various  medicines,  bromide  of  potassium, 
strychnine,  pyretic-saline,  brandy.  But,  no  relief.  Finally,  qui- 
nine relieved  the  headache.  The  weather  was  very  cold;  the 
thermometer  down  to  $7°  ;  very  trying,  after  my  living  for  six 
years  at  85    !     One  day,  there  was  hail  on  deck.     A  leak  sprung 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  343 

in  the  stern,  by  the  vessel's  pitching  violently  day  after  day;  so 
that  water  crept  into  the  saloon,  and  a  fire  was  kindled  in  the 
stove  there,  to  dry  the  floor.  The  sea  was  particularly  rough  off 
of  Cape  Finisterre.  So  short  was  the  coal  supply  that  there 
was  doubt  whether  we  could  reach  Havre;  and,  a  question 
whether  we  might  need  to  put  in,  at  Plymouth.  All  these  doubts 
made  me  anxiously  think  of  change  in  my  own  plans  of  route  to 
the  United  States. 

But,  on  Saturday,  May  1,  the  Ushant  light-house  was  plainly 
in  sight,  and  the  sea  became  comfortably  smooth.  And,  on  Sun- 
day, a  pilot  came  on  board.  I  felt  an  exhilaration  in  watching 
the  French  coast  toward  Havre,  and  in  feeling  that  I  was  again 
approaching  civilization.  There  was  a  large  crowd  of  people  on 
their  Sunday  promenade  of  the  pier,  as  the  Benin  drew  into  the 
dock.  Purser  Denny  sighted  his  wife  and  two  other  ladies 
watching  for  him  (having  come  for  that  purpose  from  Liver- 
pool).    Mrs.  Denny  came  on  board  for  supper. 

Captain  Thomas  was  at  once  handed  a  telegram  from  London, 
ordering  him  to  go  to  Liverpool  to  take  charge  of  a  new  vessel 
in  the  South  African  trade.  He  departed  in  the  evening,  with 
our  good  wishes  for  his  promotion.  But,  we  were  left  uncer- 
tain how  we  were  to  reach  Liverpool.  In  the  evening,  every- 
body went  ashore  except  Third  Officer  Comby,  Mr.  Schwartz, 
and  my  sister.  I  went,  to  try  to  find  a  Protestant  church;  but, 
fearing  to  lose  my  way,  I  did  not  go  far,  and  returned. 

There  was  great  confusion  next  day;  the  warehouse  people, 
ready  for  discharging  were  on  hand,  but,  the  first  officer  did  not 
appear  for  their  direction;  and,  many  of  the  crew  were  drunk. 
Mr.  and  Airs.  Denny  had  invited  us  to  "  breakfast."  At  9.30 
a.  m.  the  cargo-master  summoned  for  me  a  cab,  and  we  went  to 
the  Hotel  de  l'Europe  on  the  Rue  Paris.  At  the  hotel  with  Airs. 
Denny  were  two  other  ladies,  Airs.  Kent  and  Mrs.  Batty,  wives 
of  officers  of  the  steamship  company.  Airs.  Denny  played  for 
me  on  the  piano.  I  had  not  heard  a  piano,  for  years.  Her  third 
selection  was  from  the  (then)  new  opera,  "Pinafore";  Little 
Buttercup's  bum-boat  song,  and  Captain  Corcoran's  song  to  the 
moon!  Airs.  Denny  took  us,  with  other  ladies,  on  a  long  beau- 
tiful drive  through  the  streets  and  parks  and  flower-gardens,  and 
back  to  the  Benin. 

Very  late  that  night,  Dr.  Bennett  and  Air.  Foster  returned 
drunk,  from  the  shore.  On  the  4th,  I  took  sister  in  a  cab  again 
to  the  hotel,  and  with  the  other  ladies,  she  did  some  shopping. 
After  our  return  to  the  hotel,  we  bade  good-by  to  Airs.  Denny 


344  MY  OGOWE 

for  her  kindness ;  and  sister  and  I  went  to  a  lunch-room,  and  then 
walked  to  the  Benin,  having  been  notified  that  the  steamer  would 
leave  at  5.30  p.  m.  Dr.  Bennett  and  Mr.  Foster  again  came  on 
board  drunk,  especially  the  doctor,  who  hastily  began  to  pack  up 
his  belongings ;  and,  swearing  and  with  drunken  shoutings,  he 
deserted  the  vessel. 

The  ladies,  Mrs.  Batty  and  Mrs.  Kent,  joined  the  vessel,  as 
passengers.  The  first  officer,  Mr.  Houghton,  skilfully  avoided 
some  dangers  in  emerging  from  the  dock;  and,  we  started  down 
the  Channel  for  Liverpool.  At  evening  dinner,  Foster  was  still 
so  intoxicated  as  to  reveal  it  at  the  table.  Wednesday,  May  5, 
almost  the  last  day  of  the  voyage,  was  the  best ;  sea  smooth,  wind 
fair,  sun  genial.  Several  of  the  passengers  remarked  that  "  our 
Jonah,"  Dr.  Bennett,  had  done  well  in  leaving  us.  My  own  per- 
sistent nausea  seemed  to  have  exhausted  itself.  Feeling  very 
comfortable,  I  was  able  to  be  of  some  service  to  Mesdames  Batty 
and  Kent,  who,  notwithstanding  the  smooth  sea,  were  afflicted 
with  the  usual  "  channel  "  sickness.  Sighted  the  two  bright  elec- 
tric lights  of  the  lighthouse  at  Lizard  Point.  But,  before  that, 
had  seen  the  houses  themselves  (exactly  when  the  sun  was 
setting)  precisely  in  the  line  of  the  sun's  disk,  so  that  they  looked 
as  if  they  were  really  in  the  sun,  like  "  the  man  in  the  moon." 
It  was  said  by  the  seamen  to  be  a  very  rare  sight. 

In  the  evening,  I  was  reading  Jules  Verne's,  "  The  Blockade 
Runners."  On  May  6,  the  engines  were  put  at  their  full  speed, 
in  hopes  of  gaining  the  in-going  tide  to  the  Mersey  of  next  day. 
Busy  gathering  together  my  loose  packages.  On  Friday,  the  7th, 
there  were  the  final  packings,  and  tire  necessary  tippings.  When 
the  tender  came  alongside  to  land  us,  and  the  health  officials  dis- 
covered that  there  was  no  doctor  aboard,  they  were  very  angry, 
and  threatened  the  vessel  with  quarantine ;  but,  they  passed  us, 
on  explanation. 

On  the  dock,  awaiting  us,  was  Mr.  Fred.  Davis  fa  son  of  the 
captain,  and  who,  since  then,  has  succeeded  him  in  captaincy], 
lie  took  sister,  as  his  mother's  guest,  to  their  home.  T  went  to 
the  Board's  agent,  Mr.  Christie,  who  kindly  and  efficiently  looked 
after  my  baggage,  and  sent  me  to  a  comfortable  lodging-house. 
At  his  office,  I   found  many  letters  awaiting. 

The  next  three  days,  Saturday,  Sunday,  and  Monday,  were 
busy  days  witli  baggage,  purchasing,  visiting,  church-going,  and 
deciding  on  the  steamer  for  the  United  States.  The  man  in 
whose  care  I  had  placed  dog  "  'Fenny  "  on  the  Benin,  had  left  the 
vessel,  taking  the  dog  with  him.      1  followed  him  to  a  sailors' 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  345 

home,  and  thence  to  his  own  home,  and  recovered  the  dog. 
But,  the  transatlantic  steamer  refused  to  allow  dogs  on  board. 
Finally,  $5  was  paid,  and  the  puppy  was  to  be  kept  hidden  fore- 
ward  in  the  butcher's  hands. 

FROM   LIVERPOOL   TO   NEW   YORK. 

On  the  afternoon  of  May  12,  with  our  baggage  in  order,  and 
with  friends  to  say  good-by,  Mr.  Christie  and  his  clerk  Mr.  Rob- 
ertson, and  sister  with  Mrs.  Davis  and  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Thompson,  we  went  on  board  the  White  Star  Celtic.  Other 
friends  kindly  came  to  see  us,  as  the  steamer  cast  off,  and  started 
down  the  Mersey.  On  the  12th,  we  stopped  at  Queenstown. 
Made  a  few  acquaintances  on  the  steamer,  a  Mr.  Dickinson  of 
Philadelphia,  in  my  room;  a  Mrs.  Kendall  with  two  children  in 
sister's  room ;  an  old  lady,  Mrs.  Hobson ;  and  a  Mr.  Stetson  from 
Brazil. 

On  Friday,  the  14th,  a  babe  of  one  of  the  Swedish  emigrants 
died,  and  was  buried.  The  ship's  doctor,  Isdell,  invited  me  to  be 
present,  but,  I  was  not  asked  to  take  any  part.  The  purser  read 
the  burial  service.  The  poor  mother  could  not  understand  any 
English. 

On  Sunday,  the  16th,  my  sister  had  another  of  her  nervous 
attacks,  and  was  not  able  to  be  present  at  the  short  religious  serv- 
ice of  the  Church  of  England  read  by  the  purser  and  doctor.  I 
was  not  asked  to  take  any  part.  In  the  afternoon,  sister  feeling 
better,  with  two  gentlemen,  she  and  I  sang  hymns  at  the  piano. 
But,  this  so  exhausted  her,  that  she  was  not  able  to  go  to  her 
stateroom.  I  asked  the  purser  permission  for  her  to  remain  for 
the  night  in  the  ladies'  saloon.  He  refused.  But.  on  application 
to  the  doctor,  the  latter  allowed  it,  as  a  medical  necessity.  On 
the  Monday,  she  was  still  weak  and  nervous.  I  succeeded  in 
getting  her  on  deck,  where  much  sympathy  was  offered  her  by 
the  fellow-passengers.  I  sat  in  the  cold  wind,  protecting  her 
with  her  wraps.  On  Tuesday,  the  18th,  there  were  icebergs.  In 
the  evening  there  was  music  in  the  saloon.  I  was  asked  to  sing 
"  Juanita,"  to  piano  accompaniment  of  a  Miss  Janion.  Before 
the  large  company,  I  was  seized  with  stage-fright,  and  sang  out 
of  tune.     Nevertheless,  I  sang  it  through. 

Dr.  Isdell  told  me  that  there  were  on  board,  over  100  children, 
more  than  he  had  ever  seen  before  on  ship;  and,  of  them,  more 
than  half  were  infants  under  eighteen  months.  On  Friday.  May 
21,  at  Q  a.  m.,  the  Celtic  docked;  and  we  were  welcomed  by  my 
sister  Letitia  and  her  husband  Rev.  A.  Gosman,  D.D.,  and  my 


346  MY  OGOWE 

son  William.  After  the  usual  business  with  the  customs  house, 
and  Mission  house,  we  all  went  on  to  Lawrenceville,  N.  J.,  to  the 
church  parsonage  (which  was  to  be  my  home  while  on  furlough) 
where  also  was  my  sister  Elizabeth,  guardian  of  my  eldest  son. 
To  my  Aunt  HamiU's,  at  my  uncles'  high  school.  And,  in  the 
evening,  a  quiet  moonlight  visit  to  the  graves  of  my  parents. 

SEEKING    FOR   A    WIFE. 

Then,  on  Saturday,  the  22d,  to  Philadelphia,  to  see  my  son 
Charles,  at  his  guardians,  my  excellent  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wm.  Patten.  On  Sunday,  the  23d,  to  church,  where  the  Latta 
family  attended.  And,  in  afternoon,  back  to  Mrs.  Patten's,  and 
to  her  old  Spring  Garden  church  Sabbath  school. 

I  had  my  credentials  of  commissioner  from  Corisco  Presby- 
tery to  the  General  Assembly  that  already  had  been  in  session 
several  days  at  Madison,  Ind.  I  hasted  on  Monday,  the  24th, 
and  reached  Madison  at  4  a.  m.  of  the  26th.  And,  had  an  un- 
comfortable time ;  for,  until  Assembly  should  open  for  the  day,  I 
could  not  present  my  certificate,  or  claim  hospitality.  And,  when 
I  had  been  received  by  the  committee,  and  was  handed  over  to 
the  entertainment  committee,  the  lady,  at  whose  home  I  had 
been  billeted,  said  that,  as  I  had  come  so  late,  it  would  not  pay 
her  to  receive  me!  At  the  "  Park  House,"  there  was  no  room 
for  me.  I  sat  disconsolate;  and  lunched  there.  Rev.  John  N. 
Freeman,  of  Peekskill,  N.  Y.,  happening  to  see  me,  and  learning 
of  my  straits,  asked  a  friend  of  his,  a  fellow  commissioner,  Rev. 
M.  Henry  Calkins  [now,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Calkins,  of  Mifflenberg, 
Pa.]  to  share  his  room  with  me.  He  was  quite  willing;  and 
requested  permission  of  his  host,  General  Herndon  (of  the  Fed- 
eral troops  who  had  captured  Jefferson  Davis,  in  our  Civil  War), 
who  kindly  consented.  And,  I  rested  then  during  the  afternoon, 
preparing  an  address,  as  I  was  told  that  had  been  announced  in 
the  Assembly,  for  the  Foreign  Mission  program.  In  the 
evening,  T  spoke  from  the  platform,  with  Format!  of  India, 
Mateer  of  China,  Bassett  of  Persia,  and  Blyden  of  Liberia. 

During  the  day,  the  man  Schorsch,  who  had  returned  from 
.Africa  to  the  United  States,  was  seen  acting  in  an  insane  way, 
in  the  audience  and  speaking  threateningly  of  me.  A  plain- 
clothes policeman  had  been  directed  to  watch  him.  But,  in  the 
evening,  he  insinuated  himself  on  to  the  platform,  but  did  not 
attempt  to  speak. 

I  will  not  delay  this  story  of  my  Ogowe,  with  accounts  of  visits 
and  incidents  in  the  United  States,  however  agreeable  most  of 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  347 

them  were  to  me.  There  were  many  pleasant  greetings  at  Madi- 
son, but,  they  did  not  wipe  out  the  painful  impression  of  the  first 
day.  I  learned  never  again  to  go  as  a  member  of  a  great  con- 
vention in  its  later  hours;  one  is  unable  to  keep  up  with  the 
flood. 

I  will  simply  mention  the  names  of  places,  persons,  my  host  or 
hostess,  and  times  of  visits  to  churches,  relatives,  friends,  Sab- 
bath schools,  societies,  receptions,  anniversaries,  etc.  All  these 
journeys  and  visits  were  on  invitation ;  and  all  my  addresses,  ser- 
mons and  talks  were  on  mission  topics.  To  them  all  I  carried 
my  daily  pain  and  physical  distress,  no  one  knowing  that  I  was 
suffering.  And,  at  all  these  entertainments,  I  held  constantly  the 
hope  of  meeting  some  lady  who  would  become  my  wife.  I  had 
thought  of  two;  and.  I  said  I  would  go  first  to  them. 

At  the  gateway  of  the  mansion,  I  met  the  mother,  out  for  a 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  meeting.  On  inquiring 
of  her  where  was  her  daughter,  she  replied  that  she  had  gone 
with  her  husband  to  California.  I  had  not  known  that  she  was 
married ! 

With  the  other  lady,  I  took  a  delightful  stroll.  She  was 
beautiful  and  gracious;  I  do  not  suppose  that  she  was  aware  of 
my  sentiments.  We  returned  to  lunch  at  her  mother's.  My 
constant  talk  was  of  Africa.  Perhaps  I  dwelt  too  much  on  its 
dark  side.  I  have  never  thought  that  the  mother  intended  her 
words  as  a  bar  to  me  when  she  exclaimed :  "  I  don't  see  how 
any  man  who  loves  a  woman  would  take  her  to  such  a  country!  " 
If  I  had  been  braver,  the  words  should  not  have  deterred  me. 

I  was  at  sea.  Everywhere  thinking  of  a  wife.  But,  how 
could  one  know,  on  acquaintance  of  only  a  few  days,  the  tastes 
and  fitnesses  necessary  for  a  life  companionship?  In  that  most 
important  event  of  life,  clergymen  are  in  a  very  trying  situation. 
Any  other  young  man  may  pay  attentions  to  a  lady  for  months. 
And,  if,  finally,  he  withdraws  them,  there  is  no  censure.  But, 
if  a  clergyman,  known  to  be  seeking  a  wife,  shall  make  three 
special  visits,  and  then  not  declare  himself,  Mrs.  Grundy  has 
much  to  say.  Everywhere,  the  knowledge  of  the  special  object 
of  my  coming  to  the  United  States  was  known.  Busy  relatives 
and  ministers  and  other  friends  were  anxious  to  assist  me.  They 
mentioned  names  of  active  church  workers,  and  invited  me  to 
meetings  where  those  ladies  would  be  present,  and  to  whom  I 
was  to  be  introduced. 

It  was  all  too  bold,  for  my  sentiments.  I  resented  their  plans. 
I  quietly  decided  on  an  unreasonable  plan :  —  I  would  make  no 


348  MY  OGOWE 

advances ;  I  would  wait  for  Providence,  without  any  human  plan- 
ning, to  lead  me  to  some  one  whose  face,  voice,  manner,  and  life 
should  at  once  impress  me.  Then,  I  would  seek  to  know  her 
more  intimately.  I  may  have  been  unreasonable.  I  was  ex- 
pecting to  reap  without  using  plans  or  means,  other  than  constant 
expectancy  for  the  Voice  to  speak. 

From  Madison,  went  to  Milton,  to  visit  relatives  of  Rev.  Wm. 
Walker  of  Africa.  Thence,  to  Burlington,  Iowa,  to  my  brother, 
W.  W.  Nassau,  M.D.,  and  his  wife  and  daughter;  and  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  Rev.  Mr.  McClintock.  Thence,  on 
June  7,  to  Chicago;  to  Fort  Wayne;  and  to  Detroit.  Thence,  on 
June  II,  to  Pittsburg,  to  Rev.  Dr.  Kellogg,  formerly  of  India. 
Met  Miss  Davis,  going  to  Japan.  Also,  Rev.  Dr.  Vedder.  On 
the  1 6th,  back  to  Philadelphia,  to  Mrs.  Patten's.  To  French- 
town,  N.  J.,  to  my  friend,  Mr.  J.  H.  Reading,  who  wished  to 
return  to  Africa.  To  Trenton,  to  my  cousin,  Mr.  H.  H.  Hamill. 
And,  to  Lawrenceville. 

On  Sunday  evening,  the  20th,  preached  for  Dr.  Gosman.  At 
my  father's  former  Female  Seminary,  then  under  charge  of  my 
cousin,  Rev.  R.  II.  Davis,  Ph.D.  And,  at  the  high  school  of 
my  uncles.  Rev.  Drs.  H.  and  S.  M.  Hamill.  On  June  23,  at 
Princeton  University  commencement.  At  the  Lawrenceville 
Seminary  and  High  School  commencements.  June  25,  placed 
my  son,  William,  in  Princeton  University.  In  Trenton,  Sunday, 
the  27th,  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Rev.  Air.  Kennedy;  and 
Sabbath  school  of  First  church,  Rev.  Dr.  Hall ;  and,  in  evening, 
at  church  of  Rev.  Walter  A.  Brooks,  D.D. 

To  New  York,  for  consultation  at  the  Mission  House;  and  on 
to  Peekskill,  to  my  sister  Hannah,  and  her  husband,  Edward 
Wells.  Esq. 

Desirous  as  I  was  for  marriage,  there  were  very  few  with 
whom  I  was  willing  to  consult.  Mrs.  Wells  was  one.  She  sug- 
gested the  names  of  several  ladies;  but,  I  was  unable  to  bring 
myself  to  fall  in  with  her  "  plans.''  On  July  1,  returned  to  New 
York.  In  interest  of  science,  had  a  long  consultation  at  the 
Central  Park  American  Museum,  with  Dr.  A.  S.  Bickmore. 
Bought  a  communion  set  for  the  First  Ogowe  Church.  At  the 
Bible  House,  consulting  with  Secretary  Oilman  about  printing 
my  revision  of  the  Benga  New  Testament.  To  Summit,  N.  J., 
to  visit  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dean,  parents  of  Mrs.  Bacheler  of  Africa. 
At  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Rev.  Mr.  Mcllvaine.  To  Camden, 
N.  J.,  Rev.  L.  C.  Baker,  a  university  classmate ;  remaining  with 
him  over  Sunday,  and  with  Judge  and  Mrs.  Woodhull. 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  349 

To  Tacony,  Pa.,  where  were  Mrs.  Patten  and  Charles;  and 
Mr.  R.  J.  Wright;  and  Rev.  Mr.  Hotchkin,  of  Bustleton. 

To  Trenton;  and  found  my  African  boxes  arrived  from  the 
customs  house.  To  Lawrenceville.  To  Tacony;  to  Philadel- 
phia.    On  the  1 6th,  at  Old  Pine  Street  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  Allen. 

To  Frenchtown,  N.  J. :  Mr.  Reading.  To  Woodbury,  N.  J., 
on  Sunday,  the  18th,  church  of  Rev.  E.  Dillon.  To  Bingham- 
ton,  N.  Y.,  and  on  to  Warsaw,  the  home  of  my  brother,  Rev.  J. 
E.  Nassau,  D.D.,  where  also  my  sister  Elizabeth  and  son  Wil- 
liam were  visiting.  On  Sunday,  the  25th,  addressed  my  broth- 
er's and  the  Congregational  churches.     To  Niagara,  and  return. 

To  Perry,  on  Silver  Lake,  for  Sunday,  Aug.  1,  Rev.  C.  Dibble. 
To  Warsaw,  on  Sunday,  August  8,  in  my  brother's  pulpit,  told 
a  story  of  an  African  girl,  which,  a  year  later  I  enlarged  into  a 
mission  novelette,  "  Mawedo."  Met  the  Rev.  Dr.  Z.  Sheffield, 
of  China.  On  Saturday,  the  21st,  to  Batavia,  to  visit  my  sister 
Emma,  and  her  husband,  Rev.  Wm,  Swan,  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

On  Saturday,  September  4th,  to  Leroy,  Rev.  Mr.  Parsons. 
And,  on  the  6th,  returned  to  Batavia.  There,  I  was  promised 
a  little  boat  which  would  suit  for  short  journeys  better  than  the 
Nelly-Howard.  It  was  to  be  named  Swan.  And  returned  to 
Warsaw. 

To  Rochester:  Rev.  Mr.  Riggs.  Made  a  call  on  the  parents 
of  Mrs.  Smith  of  Kangvve,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lush.  On  Sunday, 
the  12th,  in  churches  of  Rev.  Drs.  Riggs  and  Campbell.  In 
church  of  the  latter,  gifts  were  made  for  a  boat  for  Mrs.  Smith, 
to  be  called  Christine.  Tuesday,  the  14th,  to  Wolcott,  guest  of 
B.  Wilson,  M.D.  At  the  Presbytery  of  Lyons,  with  its  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society.  Returned  to  Batavia.  Monday, 
the  20th,  returned  to  New  York ;  and  to  Trenton,  at  a  Wickliffe 
celebration ;  and  to  Lawrenceville. 

On  22nd,  with  Dr.  Gosman  to  Princeton;  and  back  in  Law- 
renceville for  a  festival  on  the  23d.  At  the  high  school  on  the 
24th.  On  Sunday,  the  26th,  to  Pennington:  Rev.  D.  R.  Foster. 
Back  to  Lawrenceville;  and  to  Philadelphia.  On  28th,  to  at- 
tend the  council  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance. 

On  Thursday,  the  30th,  to  Honeybrook,  Chester  County,  Pa. ; 
Rev.  \Y.  Totheroh.  Back  to  Philadelphia,  and  to  Tacony,  and 
Philadelphia  again.  On  Sunday,  Oct.  3,  in  the  South  Church, 
Rev.  Dr.  R.  M.  Patterson,  a  theological  seminary  classmate;  and 
Rev.  J.  S.  Malone.  Monday.  October  4,  to  New  York,  at  Mis- 
sion House  and  Bible  Society.     On  the  5th,  to  Elmira;  and  to 


350  MY  OGOWE 

Penn  Yan  on  the  6th,  to  meeting-  of  Synod  of  New  York ;  guest 
of  Mrs.  E.  W.  Mills.  Returned  to  Philadelphia;  and  in  after- 
noon of  the  7th,  went  to  Salem,  N.  J.  I  went  there  on  invitation 
of  Mrs.  Ware,  president  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 
Society ;  guest  of  Mr.  Thomas  Craven ;  Rev.  Dr.  Bannard.  There 
T  met  Miss  Mary  Brunette  Foster,  a  teacher  at  Barnegat,  N.  J. 
T  believed  T  had  found  the  lady  for  whom  I  had  been  searching. 

Returned  to  Philadelphia.  On  Saturday,  the  Qth,  went  to 
Troy,  N.  Y. :  Rev.  Teunis  Hamlin.  On  Tuesday,  the  12th,  to 
Glenn's  Falls,  meeting  of  synod.  On  the  14th,  to  Albany,  guest 
of  Mrs.  James  H.  Pratt :  church  of  Rev.  Dr.  Dowling.  On  Sat- 
urday, the  1 6th.  with  Mr.  Pratt,  rode  to  Nassau,  to  visit  the 
Broughton  family,  relatives  of  Mrs.  Bushnell  of  Africa.  At 
Mrs.  Pratt's  again ;  she  was  one  of  the  few  in  whom  I  confided. 
She  urged  me  to  visit  two  sisters  in  a  certain  town.  But,  I  was 
thinking  of  Miss  Foster.  (One  of  those  ladies  subsequently 
went  alone  to  a  foreign  field.)  To  Peekskill  on  the  iqth.  And, 
then  to  New  York,  to  arrange  about  the  boat  Cliristinc.  And, 
thence  to  Camden.  N.  J.,  and  to  Bridgeton,  for  meeting  of  my 
synod  of  New  Jersey.  There  I  met  Rev.  E.  J.  Pierce,  formerly 
of  Africa;  and  Elder  Julius  Foster,  brother  of  Miss  Foster. 
And  my  friend  and  university  classmate,  Rev.  Dr.  F.  Chandler 
(of  whom  I  made  a  confidant).  Arranged  with  Rev.  Allen  H. 
Brown,  for  an  appointment  to  preach  at  Barnegat.  Returned  to 
Philadelphia  on  22d.  On  23d.  to  Peekskill ;  and  was  busy  cor- 
recting proofs  of  the  Benga  Gospel  of  John.  On  the  29th,  back 
to  Trenton  and  Lawrenceville.  On  November  2,  voted  for 
President ;  and  returned  to  Philadelphia. 

Tn  all  those  six  months  of  wandering.  I  had  carried  with  me 
the  daily  physical  pain.  And,  to  its  source,  had  been  added  an 
anal  fissure,  whose  distress  was  at  times  excruciating.  On  Wed- 
nesday. November  4th,  T  went  to  the  office  of  my  friend.  Thomas 
G.  Morton,  M.D.,  who  examined  the  ulcer,  and  arranged  for  an 
operation,  which,  he  said  would  not  require  a  knife,  and  which 
he  believed  would  not  prevent  my  traveling.  The  next  day.  at 
a  dentist's.  T  was  given  nitrous  oxide  gas.  which  only  partly  made 
me  unconscious ;  and  Dr.  Morton  performed  his  operation.  T 
rode  in  a  cab.  in  great  pain,  to  Mrs.  Patten's.  The  doctor's  diag- 
nosis and  choice  of  operation  was  doubtless  correct.  Bur,  in  my 
low  state  of  health,  my  blood  did  not  respond  to  his  expectation 
of  "  healing  by  the  first  intention."  For  some  ten  days.  T  was 
confined  to  the  house,  and  walked  with  difficulty.  As  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Patten  were  to  be  absent  on  a  long  journey,  I  removed,  on 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  351 

November  18,  to  the  home  on  Girard  Avenue  of  Rev.  J.  S.  Ma- 
lone,  (whose  wife  was  a  cousin  of  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Nassau). 
Though  not  entirely  recovered  from  the  wound  of  the  operation, 
T  went  on  November  26,  to  visit  my  uncle  Rev.  Dr.  H.  Hamill, 
at  Newark,  Del. :  Rev.  Mr.  Porter,  pastor  of  the  church.  On 
Sunday,  the  28th,  at  White  Clay  Creek  Church:  Rev.  W.  D. 
Mackey,  a  theological  seminary  classmate;  and  back  to 
Newark. 

But,  these  activities  aggravated  the  local  irritation ;  and,  when 
I  left  Newark  on  Thursday,  December  2,  for  Philadelphia,  I  went 
at  once  to  Dr.  Morton.  He  said  that  a  more  radical  operation 
would  be  necessary.  We  both  were  disappointed.  And,  his 
professional  pride  was  aroused.  He  very  decidedly  asserted  that 
"  this  time  "  there  would  be  no  doubt  about  success.  At  once, 
I  had  to  give  up  engagements  in  Pennsylvania,  at  Huntingdon, 
Warriorsmark,  and  Pittsburg.  On  Friday,  December  3,  Dr. 
Morton,  accompanied  by  Drs.  Hunt  and  Wetherill,  came  to  Mr. 
Malone's.  I  was  chloroformed.  The  doctor  dissected  away  the 
ulcerated  surfaces  of  the  wound  he  had  made  four  weeks  before, 
and  ligated  several  hemorrhoidal  tumors.  For  a  week,  I  was  con- 
fined to  bed,  suffering  much  pain ;  but,  was  attended  most  kindly 
by  Mr.  Malone.  By  the  nth,  I  was  able  to  sit  up ;  and  gradually 
grew  stronger.  On  the  18th,  a  newspaper  reporter  called;  and 
I  gave  him  an  interview  about  gorillas,  etc. 

Went  to  church  on  the  19th,  and  visited  Dr.  Morton  on  the 
20th.  His  operation  was  a  perfect  success.  On  the  23d,  he 
invited  me  to  dinner,  to  meet,  Drs.  Leidy,  Fricke,  Hunt,  Allen, 
and  others,  and  Editor  Wells  of  the  Bulletin.  On  the  24th, 
went,  with  son  Charles  for  Christmas,  to  Lawrenceville.  And, 
on  the  27th,  with  both  my  sons,  went  to  Peekskill,  N.  Y. 

On  Wednesday,  the  29th,  a  letter  from  Rev.  Allen  H.  Brown, 
gave  me  the  dates  for  my  services  at  Barnegat.  December  30, 
was  a  bitterly  cold  clay,  to  take  my  boys  to  Philadelphia  and  Mr. 
Malone.  And,  on  Friday,  the  31st,  I  returned  to  New  York,  to 
take  a  train  on  the  N.  J.  Central  R.  R.  On  Saturday,  January  1, 
1 88 1,  to  Forked  River.  It  was  a  bitterly  cold  ride  in  a  baggage- 
car.  On  the  morning  of  the  2d.  I  preached  at  Forked  River. 
And,  in  the  afternoon,  was  driven  in  a  sleigh  to  Barnegat,  to  the 
home  of  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Brown.  I  held  my  afternoon  service  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  for  only  ten  people.  It  was  without 
an  ruling  elder,  and  consisted  of  eleven  women,  whose  prayer 
meeting  was  led  by  Miss  Foster;  and  Rev.  A.  H.  Brown  came 
once  a  month  to  encourage  the  weak  organization.     Miss  Foster 


352  MY  OGOWK 

was  absent,  having'  gone  for  the  holidays  to  her  brother's  home 
in  the  Lakewood  Pines  at  Holmanville.  (I  was  not  aware, 
at  that  time,  that  she  was  purposely  lengthening  her  absence  from 
Rarnegat.)  I  attended  faithfully  to  the  prayer  meeting  and 
monthly  concert  evenings,  being  encouraged  by  Mrs.  Gulick. 
And,  made  myself  agreeable  to  the  little  boys  and  girls  with  sleds 
on  the  ice  and  snow.  Having  time  on  my  hands,  began  to  write 
the  story,  which  later  was  published  as  "  Mawedo."  I  was  care- 
ful not  to  mention  Miss  Foster's  name.  But,  everybody  else  was 
constantly  praising  her.  her  teaching,  her  music,  and  her  good- 
ness in  the  church.  Saturday,  January  8,  went  by  railway  to 
Forked  River,  to  Captain  Holmes,  for  the  morning  service  of 
next  day:  at  which  was  an  audience  of  forty.  While  at  dinner 
on  Sunday,  a  wagon  came  for  me  from  Barnegat.  At  first,  lo- 
calise of  the  cold,  the  Barnegat  people  had  hesitated  to  send  for 
me.  So.  the  wagon  was  late.  And,  it  was  an  open  wagon  !  But 
fortunately,  the  temperature  rose,  and  rain  began  to  fall. 
Reached  Barnegat  in  time  for  Sabbath  school,  and  a  sermon  after 
school ;  and  followed  it  with  a  congregational  meeting,  with  ref- 
erence to  calling  a  pastor. 

Baffled  in  my  effort  to  see  Miss  Foster.  I  returned  on  the  TOth 
to  Philadelphia  to  Mr.  Malone's.  On  the  T2th,  bought  my  first 
spectacles.  T  had  injured  my  eyes  in  proofreading  the  Benga 
Cios]>els.  and  Fan  we  vocabulary,  by  flickering  gaslight,  the  while 
T  was  in  a  poor  state  of  health.  On  the  13th.  began  to  learn  to 
play  on  a  cornet.  On  the  17th.  by  arrangement  with  Dr.  Mor- 
ton, addressed  the  "  Pennsylvania  Society  for  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  Children":  the  other  speakers  were  Judge  M.  R. 
Thayer,  of  Philadelphia.  Rev.  Samuel  Ames  of  Boston  (Uni- 
tarian). Rev.  Dr.  Currie  of  Philadelphia  (Episcopalian),  and 
Fditor  Wells  (of  the  Bulletin').  On  January  19.  went  to  St. 
Georges.  Del.,  to  the  funeral  of  a  cousin.  Mr.  J.  B.  TTow.  And 
returned  to  Philadelphia.  On  Saturday,  the  22d.  to  Woodbury. 
X.  J.,  guest  of  Mrs.  Rogers,  sister  of  Mrs.  Reading.  On  Sun- 
day, at  church  of  Rev.  E.  Dillon.  Returning  to  Philadelphia  on 
the  24th.  I  joined  a  class  in  French,  under  Madame  Cuthbert :  for 
use  in  Africa.  On  February  1,  again  visited  Woodbury,  for  the 
day. 

On  Sunday,  the  6th,  in  the  evening,  at  church  of  Rev.  F.  L. 
Robbins.  D.D.  On  Tuesday,  the  8th,  to  Trenton;  my  cousin, 
H.  H.  llamill;  and  to  Eawrenceville ;  and  returned  on  the  10th. 
And.  on  the  1  rth.  again  to  Woodbury,  for  the  day.  Evening 
of  Sunday,  the  13th,  at  Columbia  Avenue  Church,  Rev.  W.  IT. 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  '      353 

Hodge.  On  the  16th,  to  Newark,  Del.,  to  my  uncle,  Rev.  H. 
Hamill,  D.D.,  for  the  day. 

On  Saturday,  the  19th,  to  Woodbury,  returning  to  Philadel- 
phia on  the  2 1  st.  On  Friday,  the  25th,  in  another  effort  to  see 
Miss  Foster,  went  to  Barnegat,  to  the  little  hotel.  I  sent  a  note 
to  her  school,  asking  permission  to  call  on  her.  In  the  mean- 
while, I  sat  in  the  cold  hotel  parlor,  where  was  a  child  sick  with 
measles,  and  spent  the  afternoon  writing  on  my  "  Mawedo." 
And,  was  received  by  Miss  Foster  in  the  evening  at  her  boarding- 
house.     Returned  to  Philadelphia  on  Saturday. 

On  Sunday,  the  27th,  at  the  Kensington  Immanuel  Reformed 
Episcopal  Church  Sabbath  School  anniversary.  Thursday, 
March  3,  went  to  Peekskill,  to  consult  with  my  sister,  Mrs.  Wills. 
I  knew  that  she  would  give  me  sympathy  and  not  jokes.  She 
had  never  seen  either  Miss  Foster  or  another  lady  whom  I  named 
to  her.  She  advised  me  to  seek  the  other  lady.  But,  I  could 
not  do  it :  and  returned  to  Philadelphia. 

On  Thursday,  the  10th,  to  Greencastle,  Pa.,  to  the  anniversary 
meeting  of  the  Presbyterial  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety. And,  back  to  Philadelphia,  on  the  12th.  Sunday  even- 
ing, February  13th,  at  anniversary  meeting  of  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  of  Princeton  Church,  West  Philadelphia, 
Rev.  Dr.  Addison  Henry.  On  the  14th,  again  to  Woodbury. 
On  Wednesday,  the  23d,  went  to  Lawrenceville ;  and,  after  even- 
ing prayer  meeting,  walked  with  my  cousin,  Miss  Maude  Hamill, 
and  asked  her  advice ;  for  I  did  not  know  what  to  do,  so  hope- 
less were  my  matrimonial  prospects,  after  nine  months'  search. 
On  the  24th,  to  New  York,  on  business  at  the  Bible  Plouse,  and 
returned  to  Philadelphia.  And,  next  day,  to  Woodbury,  for 
the  day. 

At  the  request  of  Mrs.  Allen,  wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Allen,  on  the 
30th  of  March,  went  to  her  at  the  Colonnade  Hotel,  and  at  her 
urgent  request  promised  to  write  a  sketch  of  our  African  mission, 
and  to  outline  a  map,  for  the  Philadelphia  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society.  [That  "  sketch  "  is  the  basis  of  all  subse- 
quent histories  that  have  appeared  of  the  Mission]. 

And,  went  to  Newark,  Del.  Returning  to  Philadelphia  on 
the  31st,  I  went  to  Barnegat.  by  way  of  Camden  and  Whitings. 
Called  at  Miss  Foster's ;  but  she  was  not  well,  and  could  not  re- 
ceive me.  I  called  again  the  next  day,  April  1,  and  made 
my  plea ;  and  requested  her  to  give  me  no  answer  until  it  could 
be  an  assent.  And,  returned  to  Philadelphia.  On  April  2,  to 
Pittsburg,  guest  of  Rev.  Dr.  Kellogg.     On  Sunday,  at  churches 


354  MY  OGOWE 

of  Rev.  Drs.  Scovel  and  Thompson.  And.  on  Monday,  the  4th, 
attended  to  the  special  object  for  which  I  had  gone  to  Pittsburg, 
viz:  —  Secretary  Lowrie,  of  our  Foreign  Mission  Board,  had 
asked  me  to  give  advice  to  four  young  men  in  the  Allegheny 
Theological  Seminary,  who  were  thinking  of  coming  to  Africa. 
In  the  afternoon,  they  came  to  me,  Messrs.  Gault,  Robinson,  Pee- 
ples,  and  Good.  [  They  subsequently,  came  to  Africa,  except  Mr. 
Peeples,  who  went  to  Siam."|  In  the  evening,  in  Rev.  Dr. 
Thompson's  church  parlor,  took  part  with  a  few  prominent  gen- 
tlemen in  a  meeting  to  start  a  subscription  of  $10,000  of  $39,000 
needed  for  Riddle  University,  N.  C.  On  Tuesday  morning,  at 
a  meeting  of  the  theological  students.  And.  then  to  Mr.  Pee- 
ples' room,  for  further  consultation  desired  bv  Messrs.  Gault  and 
Robinson.  On  the  6th,  left  Pittsburg  for  Tyrone,  and  to  my 
sister,  Matilda's,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Lowrie,  Warriorsmark.  Pa. 

On  the  7th,  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  to  Xew  York,  to 
the  Bible  House.  On  Friday,  the  8th.  after  errands  at  the  Mis- 
sion House:  down  to  Ramegat;  and  spent  the  evening  with  Miss 
Foster.  And,  on  the  9th,  back  to  Philadelphia.  On  Sunday,  the 
10th.  at  church  of  Rev.  Dr.  Robbins,  with  four  other  clergymen, 
assisted  at  the  Communion,  where  my  son  Charles  made  his  pro- 
fession of  faith.  It  was  a  glad  day  for  me!  On  the  11th.  re- 
moved from  Mr.  Patten's  to  Mr.  Malone's  as  the  Pattens  were 
expecting  to  go  on  a  European  tour. 

On  the  23d.  to  Freehold,  X.  J..  Rev.  F.  Chandler.  D.D.,  a  uni- 
versity classmate.  Miss  Foster  had  been  visiting  there,  and  was 
leaving  on  the  train  just  as  I  arrived.  On  Sunday,  the  24th. 
made  two  addresses.  On  Monday,  at  Mr.  Richardson's  Female 
Seminary  (of  which  Miss  Foster  was  a  graduate),  addressed  the 
pupils.  On  the  26th.  to  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  com- 
mencement, and  returned  to  Philadelphia.  On  the  27th.  to  Law- 
renceville.  And.  on  the  28th.  to  Stockton.  X.  J.,  to  visit  Mrs. 
Hendricks,  formerly  of  Africa.  And.  back  to  Philadelphia.  On 
Saturday,  the  30th.  to  New  York  and  Mission  House:  and 
printer.  And.  to  Jersey  City,  to  my  university  classmate.  S.  R. 
Forman,  M.D..  a  ruling  elder  in  church  of  Rev.  Dr.  French: 
whose  church  I  addressed  the  next  day.  They  had  been  the 
movers  in  the  donation  of  my  Nelly -Howard  boat.  Returned  to 
Philadelphia  and  on  the  3d  of  May.  addressed  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  on 
"Liquor  Traffic  Hindrances  to  Foreign  Missions." 

On  Wednesday.  May  4.  to  Barnegat.  As  I  was  expected.  Mr. 
Gulick  met  me  at  the  station,  and  invited  me  to  his  parlor  where 
Miss  Foster  was  awaiting  me.  as  more  convenient  than  her  board- 


OX  A  FURLOUGH  355 

ing-house.  Saturday,  the  7th,  in  Philadelphia,  at  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church;  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  chil- 
dren's missionary  meeting.  On  the  10th,  with  Rev.  Mr.  Malone's, 
gave  an  address,  "  Voices  of  a  West  African  Tropic  Night."  May 
10.  to  Barnegat,  for  the  evening.  And,  back  to  Lawrenceville. 
On  the  18th,  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  for  the  19th,  at  General  Assem- 
bly: guest  of  Mr.  M.  L.  Crittenden. 

On  Wednesday,  the  25th,  Foreign  Missionary  evening,  ad- 
dressed the  Assembly.  With  me  on  the  program  were  Dr. 
Nevins  and  Mr.  Fitch,  of  China.  Mr.  Polhemus  of  Mexico,  Hol- 
combe  of  India,  Green  of  Japan,  and  Bassett  of  Persia.  And, 
on  the  26th,  at  the  Sabbath  school  class  of  Miss  Lucy  Crittenden. 
After  the  adjournment  of  Assembly,  went  to  Batavia ;  and,  on 
June  1.  at  Mr.  Swan's  monthly  concert.  On  Saturday,  June  4th. 
to  Bergen,  Rev.  D.  D.  McCall,  and  a  lovely  company  of  twenty 
little  girls,  the  missionary  "  Busy  Bees."  And  in  his  church  on 
Sunday.  And,  returned  to  Batavia.  On  Tuesday,  the  7th.  to 
Wyoming,  to  installation  of  Rev.  Mr.  Congdon.  On  the  8th, 
returned  to  Batavia,  and  visited  the  public  school.  To  Warsaw 
on  June  1 1,  feeling  much  depressed  at  no  answer  from  Miss  Fos- 
ter.    On  Sunday,  the  12th.  at  Perry,  Rev.  C.  H.  Dibble. 

On  Monday,  the  13th,  came  back  to  Warsaw.  On  arrival  at 
my  brother's  house,  he  handed  me  a  letter  from  Barnegat,  from 
Miss  Foster.  A  letter  of  consent!  On  Wednesday,  the  15th,  to 
Rochester,  Rev.  Dr.  Riggs.  And  back  to  Warsaw.  On  the 
T/th,  returned  to  Philadelphia  and  to  Lawrenceville.  On  Sun- 
day, the  19th.  with  the  pupils  of  the  high  school;  and  at  the 
church.  On  the  20th,  to  Princeton,  guest  of  my  cousin,  Mrs. 
Mary  Wood.  On  the  21st,  the  various  exercises  of  the  univer- 
sity commencement.  At  night,  with  ten  other  members  of  the 
university  class  of  1854.  held  a  supper,  and  remained  until  5.30 
a.  m.  of  the  next  dav  in  class  reminiscences.  Back  to  Lawrence- 
ville. 

On  Friday,  the  24th.  to  Xew  York,  at  Mission  House.  On 
Saturday,  the  25th.  to  Jamesburg.  X.  J.,  guest  of  my  theological 
seminary  classmate.  Rev.  B.  S.  Everett,  D.D.,  and  at  his  church 
on  the  26th.  And  he  drove  me  to  Hightstown  for  the  evening, 
in  church  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Davis.  D.D.  On  Monday,  the  27th.  to 
Lakewood,  where  (by  appointment)  Miss  Foster,  coming  from 
Barnegat.  met  me :  and  we  rode  the  four  miles  out  through  the 
Lakewood  Pines,  to  her  brother's  house,  "  Cosy  X'ook,"  at  Hol- 
manville.    On  the  29th,  to  Lawrenceville.  the  commencement  ex- 


356  MY  OGOWE 

ercises  of  the  Female  Seminary,  and  30th,  at  the  high  school. 
Friday,  July  1,  to  Philadelphia,  to  Mr.  Malone's. 

Saturday,  July  2,  with  my  two  sons,  to  Warriorsmark,  Pa. 
On  the  3d,  with  the  Birmingham  and  Warriorsmark  congrega- 
tions. Rev.  Mr.  Francis.  And,  on  Sunday,  the  10th,  again  at 
Birmingham ;  and  at  Warriorsmark,  in  the  Methodist  church  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Geyer.  Saturday,  the  16th,  to  Penna.  Furnace,  guest 
of  Rev.  J.  C.  Kelly;  in  his  church  on  the  17th,  a.  m.,  and  in 
evening,  at  Penna.  Furnace.  On  the  18th,  returning  to  War- 
riorsmark, found  a  letter  awaiting  me  from  Miss  Foster,  wish- 
ing me  to  come  and  consult  about  our  plans  for  the  summer. 
Leaving  that  evening,  and  traveling  all  night,  was  at  Philadel- 
phia, next  day.  And,  by  various  changes  of  train  and  wagon, 
was  at  Mr.  Foster's  by  noon  of  that  day. 

On  the  20th,  at  Holmanville  prayer  meeting.  On  the  21st, 
back  to  Philadelphia  and  Warriorsmark  by  the  22d.  On  the 
27th,  with  my  two  sons,  to  visit  my  uncle  Rev.  Robert  Hamill, 
D.D.,  of  Oak  Hall,  Pa.  And.  on  Sunday,  the  31st,  at  his  La- 
mont  church  and  country  schoolhouse.  On  Monday,  August  1, 
to  Lamont;  and,  at  Mr.  Wm.  Thompson's,  to  a  large  W Oman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  forty  ladies.  News  came  of  the 
death  of  my  uncle.  Rev.  Dr.  H.  Hamill,  at  Xewark,  Del.  Re- 
turned to  Warriorsmark  on  the  2d.  On  the  3d.  to  Tyrone,  at 
prayer  meeting  of  Rev.  Dr.  Moore.  And,  at  night,  on  to  Phila- 
delphia and  Xewark,  for  the  funeral  of  Dr.  Hamill  on  the  4th. 
And,  back  to  Philadelphia  to  Mr.  Malone's. 

On  the  5th,  to  Lakewood,  Holmanville,  and  Miss  Foster,  at 
the  church  outdoor  festival.  On  Sunday,  the  8th,  to  Lake- 
wood  church.  Rev.  Dr.  Dashiell ;  and  back  to  Holmanville  Sab- 
bath school. 

On  leaving  Warriorsmark,  I  had  placed  some  apples  in  the 
pocket  of  my  overcoat.  And,  at  my  arrival,  for  the  night,  at 
"  Willow  Grange,"  the  home  of  Rev.  Isaac  Todd,  I  hung  the 
coat  in  the  hall.  Next  morning,  the  pocket  was  empty.  The 
usually  reserved  Miss  Foster  revealed  a  humorous  side  of  her 
nature,  in  a  great  deal  of  laughter  with  her  cousin,  Miss  Har- 
riet Todd,  about  the  missing  apples,  for  which  I  wrote  her  an 
acrostic  on  her  name: — 

Many  a  time  I've  mourned  all  sadly 

Adam's   fate  for  Eva's  sin, — ■ 
Regretted  for  him  such  a  failure, — 

Yearning  for  what  might  have  been. 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  357 

But,  the  hand  that  plucked  that  old  fruit, 

Rosy  on  forbidden  bough, 
Unto  following  ages  stretching, 

Nerves  new  hands  to  venture  now. 
Even  gossip,  late,  authentic, 

Tells  of  maid,  who,  'neath  a  stair, 
Through  coat-pockets  wildly  searching, 

Emptied  them  of  fruit  hid  there. 

Fair  dear  culprit !  whose  name's  twisted 

Occult  in  this  rhyme  of  mine. 
Sinful  Eden's  fate  seems  lightened, 

Transformed,  by  a  love  like  thine. 
Eden's  gate  should  outward  bar  me, 
Rather  than  divide  me  from  thee. 

On  the  8th,  rode  with  Miss  Foster  to  Lakewood,  to  Dr.  Dash- 
iell ;  and  thence  with  him,  we  went  to  Asbury  Park,  to  a  meet- 
ing at  Educational  Hall.  On  the  9th,  with  Miss  Foster,  at  the 
ladies'  meeting.  And,  at  the  children's  meeting.  On  the  12th, 
left  Asbury  Park,  and  with  Miss  Foster,  returned  to  her  broth- 
er's home.  On  the  13th,  back  to  Philadelphia  to  Mr.  Malone's. 
And,  in  his  pulpit  on  the  14th.  On  the  15th,  at  the  office  of 
the  American  line  of  steamers,  with  arrangements  to  sail  for 
Liverpool  in  October.  On  the  16th,  to  Lawrenceville.  On  the 
2 1st  in  pulpit  of  Rev.  Dr.  Gosman,  on  Psalm,  42,  3.  In  after- 
noon, my  uncle,  Rev.  S.  M.  Hamill,  D.D.,  drove  me  to  the 
New  Jersey  Lunatic  Asylum,  where  I  addressed  the  inmates. 
The  matron,  Mrs.  Hill,  told  me  that  my  text,  "  At  the  Name  of 
Jesus  Every  Knee,  etc.,"  was  the  same  as  the  last  one  my  father 
had  spoken  from  at  the  home,  several  years  before.  And  back 
to  Lawrenceville. 

Saturday,  the  27th,  Rev.  Dr.  Gosman  went  to  Albany,  N.  Y., 
and  left  me  in  charge  of  his  pulpit.  On  the  28th,  in  the  morn- 
ing at  the  church ;  and  in  the  afternoon,  at  the  little  Clarksville 
station,  with  an  audience  of  sixteen  persons.  On  Tuesday,  the 
30th,  my  two  sons  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and,  I  went  to  New 
York,  to  consult  with  Secretary  Lowrie :  and  with  him  to  Or- 
ange, N.  J.,  his  guest  for  the  night.  On  Wednesday,  the  31st, 
in  New  York,  buying  furniture  for  Africa;  and  back  to  Phila- 
delphia. 

On  Thursday,  September  1,  to  St.  Georges,  Del.,  visiting  my 
cousins,  Mrs.  Garman  and  Mrs.  Stewart.  Saturday,  Septem- 
ber 3,  busy  making  out  lists  of  invitations   for  my  marriage! 


358  MY  OGOW'E 

Rode  to  Port  Perm,  and  called  on  the  families  of  former  Phila- 
delphia friends,  Gallaher,  Boyd,  and  Cleaver.  On  Sunday,  Sep- 
tember 4,  at  the  St.  Georges  church,  all  day.  During  the  fol- 
lowing week,  completed  my  "  Mawedo."  When  I  returned  to 
Philadelphia  on  Saturday,  the  10th,  I  happened  to  meet  my  be- 
loved brother,  William,  from  Burlington,  Towa,  at  Dr.  Morton's 
office.     I  never  saw  him  again. 

On  Tuesday,  September  13,  by  appointment,  met  Miss  Foster 
and  her  cousin.  Miss  Scott,  of  India,  and  escorted  them  on  a 
shopping  tour.  And,  on  Friday,  the  16th.  escorted  Miss  Foster 
to  Lakewood,  arriving  late  at  her  brother's  home  at  flolman- 
ville.  On  the  17th,  to  New  York,  purchasing  for  my  return  to 
Africa.  And.  back  to  Holmanville.  with  a  heavy  cold.  On 
Sunday,  the  18th.  at  the  Holmanville  church  and  Sabbath  school. 
Rev.  Isaac  Todd,  Miss  Foster's  uncle.  On  the  19th,  to  Tren- 
ton, guest  of  my  cousin,  Mr.  Hamill.  And.  the  next  day  to 
Lawrenceville.  Where,  on  Sunday,  the  25th,  in  company  with 
Rev.  Drs.  Worden  and  Hinsdale.  I  addressed  the  Sabbath  school 
anniversary.  In  the  evening,  at  the  parsonage,  there  was  tender 
hymn-singing,  as  it  was  my  last  Sunday  there  before  my  sail- 
ing. 

On  Monday,  the  26th.  in  Trenton,  the  stores  were  closed  for 
the  funeral  ceremonies  of  murdered  President  Garfield :  and,  T 
had  difficulty  in  getting  from  the  jeweler  my  ring  for  Miss 
Foster,  which  had  been  returned  for  change  in  size.  And  on 
to  Philadelphia.  On  the  28th.  to  Woodbury ;  and.  -by  appoint- 
ment with  Miss  Foster,  met  her  on  a  passing  train,  and  returned 
to  her  the  ring.  By  a  later  train.  I  followed  her  to  her  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  meeting  at  Clayton.  X.  J.  At  night 
in  the  church :  and  guest  of  Dr.  Buckingham. 

On  the  29th,  escorted  Miss  Foster  to  Philadelphia.  As  she 
and  her  cousin.  Miss  Scott,  preferred  to  do  their  shopping  alone. 
I  left,  and  went  to  Newark.  Del.,  for  the  day:  and  returned  to 
Mr.  Malone's.  The  next  morning.  I  was  agreeably  surprised  to 
find  Miss  Foster  in  the  house.  After  she  had  bidden  Miss  Scott 
good-by  on  the  previous  day.  she  had  missed  her  train  to  Lake- 
wood;  and  availing  herself  of  the  generous  courtesies  that  Mrs. 
Malone  had  shown  her.  she  bad  come  there  for  refuge.  And 
Mrs.  Malone  joined  her  in  her  shopping. 

On  Saturday.  Octol>er  1,  to  Bustleton,  Trenton,  and  Princeton, 
truest  of  mv  cousin.  Mrs.  Mary  Wood.  On  Sunday,  in  the 
First  Church  at  Princeton.  On  the  3d,  to  Lawrenceville,  for 
mv  final  packings.      On  the  5th,  closed  all  by  boxes,  and  went 


ON  A  FURLOUGH  359 

to  New  York.  There  heard  of  the  death  of  Miss  Susan  Dews- 
nap.  When  I  left  Kangwe,  she  was  at  Benita,  but,  had  been 
transferred  to  Kangwe.  The  first  missionary  death  in  the 
Ogowe.  In  evening  at  church  of  Rev.  Dr.  Marling.  On  Octo- 
ber 7,  with  good-bys  at  the  Mission  House,  went  to  Freehold, 
Rev.  Dr.  Chandler,  and  with  Miss  Foster  dined  with  Mrs.  Ex- 
Governor  Parker,  president  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society,  of  which  Miss  Foster  was  secretary.  And  in  the 
afternoon,  with  her  at  a  reception  at  Mr.  Richardson's  female 
seminary,  where  was  the  presentation  of  a  parlor  organ,  as  a 
marriage-gift,  by  Miss  Foster's  friends  of  the  Monmouth  Pres- 
bytery Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  And,  I  returned 
to  Philadelphia. 

On  Sunday,  the  9th,  in  the  morning,  to  the  Woman's  For- 
eign Missionary  Society  of  church  of  Rev.  Dr.  Johnstone,  Ken- 
sington. And,  in  the  evening,  with  Rev.  Drs.  Johnstone,  and 
R.  M.  Patterson,  my  farewell,  at  Mr.  Malone's  church.  In  the 
audience  were  my  sister,  and  Misses  Jones  and  Walker,  recently 
arrived  from  Africa,  the  latter  on  furlough.  That  farewell  ad- 
dress rounded  out  a  list  of  almost  200  addresses  that  I  made  in 
the  United  States  during  my  less  than  eighteen  months  fur- 
lough in  the  United  States. 

On  October  10,  I  left,  for  Lakewood.  In  its  admiration  for 
Miss  Foster,  Lakewood  had  taken  the  marriage  arrangements 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  Foster  family,  and  she  was  to  be  mar- 
ried from  the  home  of  Rev.  Dr.  Dashiell.  The  ceremony  was 
held  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  evening,  at  the  hands 
of  Rev.  Isaac  Todd,  assisted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Dashiell  and  Rev. 
A.  H.  Brown. 

I  made  a  public  acknowledgment  of  thanks,  through  the 
Lakewood  paper. 


CHAPTER  XX 

A   HONEYMOON,  OCTOBER-DECEMBER,    l88l 

OX  Tuesday,  October  n,  I  was  forty-six  years  of  age. 
After  signing  of  some  documents  before  a  notary  pub- 
lic, Mrs.  Nassau  and  I,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Ex- 
Governor  Parker  went  to  Jersey  City,  where  was  a  meeting  of 
her  Xew  Jersey  Synodical  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
ciety. And,  thence  on  to  Philadelphia,  guests  of  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
J.  S.  Malone. 

TRANS-ATLANTIC    VOYAGE    TO    LIVERPOOL. 

On  Wednesday,  October  12,  with  some  final  errands,  and 
much  difficulty  about  baggage,  Mrs.  X^assau  and  I  were  at  the 
pier,  of  the  American  liner  Ohio,  where  more  than  seventy 
of  our  friends  were  awaiting  us.  Among  our  fellow  passengers 
for  Africa  were  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  C.  Gault,  and  Rev.  W.  H. 
Robinson.  Of  the  days  on  the  steamer.  I  kept  little  distinct 
memory.  It  was  a  stormy,  seasick  passage.  One  day  was 
clear:  and.  covered  with  coats  and  shawls.  Mrs.  Xassau  and  I 
sat  on  deck  studying  French.  The  captain,  Morrison,  was  a 
Roman  Catholic,  and  showed  us  little  attention. 

On  the  first  Sunday,  the  16th.  the  purser,  Williams,  pro- 
posed having  a  religious  service ;  which,  at  his  request  ( as 
Messrs.  Gault  and  Robinson  were  not  feeling  well)  I  conducted. 
But,  during  the  rest  of  the  way.  I  also  was  too  nauseated  to 
either  read  or  write.  We  passed  days,  shut  in,  sitting  at  the 
top  of  the  companion-way,  to  escape  from  the  close  saloon. 
There  was  a  succession  of  storms  and  gales.  One  day,  three 
sails  were  torn  away,  and  two  boats  were  slightly  damaged. 
For  several  hours,  one  day,  we  "  lay  to,*'  and.  part  of  the  time, 
we  went  southeast,  out  of  our  route,  to  escape  the  direction  of 
the  waxes.  On  the  second  Sunday,  the  23d,  there  was  no  op- 
portunity given  for  a  religious  service.  This  was  so  unsatis- 
factory to  Mrs.  Xassau,  that,  in  the  evening,  she  and  I,  with 
the  other  three  missionaries,  and  four  other  ladies,  gathered 
around  the  saloon  piano,  and  sang  to  Mrs.  Xassau's  playing  of 

hymns. 

360 


A  HONEYMOON  361 

The  next  day,  we  reached  Queenstown,  and  were  told  that  we 
had  escaped  the  worst  storm  that  the  British  coasts  had  known 
for  years.     On  Tuesday,  the  25th,  we  landed  at  Liverpool. 

IN    LIVERPOOL. 

The  very  efficient  agent  of  our  board,  Mr.  Christie,  had 
thoughtfully  sent  his  clerk,  Mr.  Robertson,  to  await  the  steam- 
er's arrival  at  the  dock,  to  assist  us  with  our  baggage,  and  to 
direct  us  to  the  boarding-house  chosen  for  us.  I  had  promised 
Mrs.  Nassau  that  she  should  see  London.  But,  we  were  dis- 
appointed when  told  that  there  would  be  no  time,  with  our  many 
shoppings  in  Liverpool,  as  our  African  steamer,  Corisco,  was 
to  sail  on  the  following  Saturday.  In  the  evening,  I  took  our 
entire  party  to  a  philharmonic  concert.  The  music  was  very 
fine,  and  the  audience  fashionable.  In  leaving  Philadelphia,  a 
photograph  was  desired  of  Airs.  Nassau  in  her  wedding-dress ; 
but,  the  dress  had  been  left  at  Lakewood.  I  promised  her 
brother  that,  if  he  would  send  it  by  a  fast  New  York  line,  it 
would  reach  Liverpool  before  us,  and  I  would  have  the  photo- 
graph taken  there.  The  dress  was  awaiting  us.  But,  we  had 
to  go  to  Photographer  Vandyke  twice  before  he  could  find 
weather  clear  enough  in  Liverpool's  fog.  Then,  it  was  a  suc- 
cess. On  Thursday,  the  27th,  my  associates  took  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau and  myself  on  a  day's  outing  to  Old  Chester. 

VOYAGE    FROM    LIVERPOOL    TO    LIBREVILLE. 

On  Saturday,  the  29th,  there  were  still  incompleted  errands ; 
and,  we  hurried  to  the  dock,  for  the  tender,  to  the  steamer  Co- 
risco. Among  the  passengers,  there  was  the  pleasure  of  having 
seven  other  clergymen  besides  myself  and  my  two  associates. 
From  the  British  Wesleyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society,  Rev. 
\Y.  T.  Pullen,  for  Gambia;  Rev.  G.  Lowe,  for  Bathurst;  Rev.  H. 
Williams,  for  Sierra  Leone ;  Rev.  M.  J.  Elliott,  for  the  Niger ; 
and  Rev.  G.  W.  Baxter,  for  Lagos.  From  the  LT.  P.  Church  of 
Scotland,  Rev.  Messrs.  David  Williams  and  David  Marshall  of 
Edinburgh.  These  two  gentlemen  were  going  on  a  visit  of  in- 
spection of  their  Calabar  Mission. 

On  Sunday,  October  30,  at  the  morning  service,  I  preached, 
assisted  by  Messrs.  Elliott  and  Marshall.  Captain  Hamilton 
was  a  kind  fatherly  man.  He  gave  Mrs.  Nassau  the  seat  of 
honor.  The  voyage  across  the  Bay  of  Biscay  was  stormy.  On 
Saturday,  November  5,  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Funchal,  Madeira 


362  MY  OGOWE 

Island.  We  all  went  ashore,  and  breakfasted  at  a  hotel ;  and 
saw  the  sights  of  the  streets  of  the  town. 

On  Sunday,  the  6th,  at  the  morning  service,  Rev.  Mr.  Lowe 
preached.  Splendid  watching  of  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe.  An- 
chored in  the  afternoon:  but,  Mrs.  Nassau  and  I  did  not  go 
ashore.  On  Monday,  the  7th,  reached  Las  Palmas,  Grand  Ca- 
nary, and  wished  to  go  ashore;  but,  the  captain  said  that  his  stay 
would  be  too  short.  On  Friday,  the  nth,  entered  the  Gambia 
River,  anchoring  after  dark.  The  pleasant  sounds  of  church- 
bells  ringing. 

November  12,  Saturday,  we  all  went  ashore,  on  invitation  of 
Mr.  1  Milieu.  Mrs.  Nassau  was  exceedingly  interested  in  the 
strange  and  varied  sights  of  people,  customs,  animals,  trees, 
flowers,  etc. ;  especially  the  new  experience  of  being  carried  ashore 
from  the  boat,  like  a  baby,  in  the  arms  of  one  of  the  native  boat- 
men. While  we  were  at  the  "  breakfast  "  of  the  Wesleyan  Mis- 
sion House,  Mandingo  ponies  (for  which  I  had  inquired  of  Mr. 
Pullen)  came  for  sale.  I  bought  one  for  $70,  for  Mrs.  Nassau. 
(That  was  part  of  a  marriage-present  of  $100  from  Mr.  Wm. 
Patten,  which  I  had  tried  to  divide  with  her.  But,  she  had  re- 
fused to  accept  it  before  marriage.)  While  Mrs.  Nassau  and 
the  others  returned  to  the  steamer,  I  remained  to  buy  fodder  for 
the  horse,  and  to  make  arrangements  for  the  animal's  being  sent 
on  lxiard.  An  English  trader  consented  to  do  it,  as  a  favor; 
and,  I  expected  it  to  be  done  that  day. 

November  13,  was  not  like  Sunday.  The  decks  in  confusion, 
and  goods  being  received  from  shore.  In  a  lighter  alongside 
was  lying  my  horse,  dead.  The  sling,  which  the  English  trader 
used  around  the  animal's  body,  when  the  crane  at  the  pier  lifted 
it.  to  deposit  it  in  the  lighter,  was  old  and  rotten.  It  tore;  and, 
the  horse  fell,  breaking  its  neck.  Nolxxly's  fault!  Not  the 
captain's:  he  was  not  responsible;  for,  it  had  not  readied  his 
deck.  Nor  the  trader's;  for,  he  had  been  doing  the  job,  only  as 
a  favor.  Mr.  Pullen \s  native  church-member  was  on  board,  hold- 
ing me  to  my  promise,  to  pay  him  on  the  steamer.  It  was  un- 
pleasant Sunday  work  "paying  for  a  dead  horse";  but,  I  re- 
lieved Mrs.  Nassau's  anxiety  by  promptly  paying  it.  Captain 
Hamilton  gave  permission  for  services  in  the  afternoon.  Rev. 
Mr.  Williams  preached,  assisted  by  Messrs.  Gault  and  Baxter. 

November  15,  Tuesday,  in  the  harbor  of  Freetown,  Sierra 
Leone.  American  consul,  Mr.  J.  A.  Lewis,  came  off  to  us,  and 
took  ashore  Mrs.  Nassau.  Mrs.  Gault,  Mr.  Robinson  and  my- 
self;   and    we    visited    Mr.    May's    Wesleyan    high    school;    ex- 


A  HONEYMOON  363 

amined  classes ;  listened  to  boys'  speeches  and  singing ;  and  made 
speeches  ourselves.  Consul  Lewis  took  Mrs.  Nassau  and  my- 
self to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burton's  Annie  Walsh  Memorial  Female 
Seminary,  where  we  were  most  courteously  received  as  guests 
for  the  night.     Returned  to  the  steamer  next  day. 

On  Thursday,  the  17th,  reached  Cape  Mesurado,  of  the  city 
of  Monrovia,  Liberia.  I  went  ashore  with  Mr.  Elliott:  made 
a  number  of  visits  on  prominent  individuals ;  and  we  brought 
back  with  us  as  a  visitor,  a  Methodist  missionary  lady,  Miss 
Sharpe,  to  meet  our  missionary  company. 

Friday,  the  18th,  the  steamer  stopped  for  a  little  while  at 
Bassa  on  the  Liberian  coast.  There  was  lying  there  the  Senegal 
from  the  south.  It  brought  news  of  the  death  of  Miss  Suther- 
land of  Scotch  U.  P.  Calabar  Mission.  And,  I  sent  letters,  with 
some  orders  from  Mrs.  Nassau,  to  America.  That  evening,  as 
we  sat  on  deck,  we  saw  the  North  Star  low  down  near  the  hori- 
zon. Perhaps  we  would  never  see  it  again!  (She  did  not.) 
We  thought  of  the  distant  friends,  in  another  hemisphere,  for 
whom  it  never  sank.  By  Saturday,  the  19th,  we  were  near 
Grand  Cess ;  and,  while  there,  the  steamer  slowed,  fired,  and 
whistled ;  and,  a  crowd  of  Kru-men  came  off,  to  be  hired.  But, 
not  enough  of  them.  So,  we  anchored  off  Cape  Palmas;  and 
another  crowd  came.  Mrs.  Nassau  was  exceedingly  interested 
in  watching  the  excited  paddling  of  canoes,  the  shouts  of  the  half- 
naked  men,  and  the  purser's  enrolling  of  40  of  them,  who  were 
to  do  all  the  ship's  work  of  loading,  discharging,  and  stoking 
while  on  the  hot  west  coast,  the  white  crew  being  given  but 
little  labor  there.     Off  again,  at  6  p.  m.,  into  the  Gulf  of  Guinea. 

Sunday,  November  20,  at  morning  service,  Rev.  Mr.  Elliott 
preached,  assisted  by  Messrs.  Robinson  and  Baxter.  The 
steamer  stopped  for  a  little  while  in  afternoon,  at  Cape  Lahu; 
and,  in  the  evening,  at  Half-Jack.  I  sang  hymns  during  the 
day  with  Mrs.  Nassau.  And,  at  night,  until  late  in  the  night, 
our  entire  ministerial  company  continued  the  singing.  Monday, 
the  2 1  st,  for  a  little  while,  at  both  Grand  Bassam  and  Assinee. 
An  awning  was  fixed  over  the  quarter-deck  where  we  could  sit 
in  shawls  and  coats,  even  in  cold  rains.  The  homeward  bound 
Bengucla  took  letters  for  us. 

On  Tuesday,  the  22(1.  at  Axim.  and  at  Elmina.  On  Wed- 
nesday. November  2^,  in  the  morning  at  Cape  Coast  Castle,  with 
its  old  Fort  Nassau,  so  named  when  possessed  by  the  Dutch; 
now  a  British  possession.  There,  Mr.  Elliott  left,  to  go  to  his 
station.     In  the  evening1  at  Winnebah. 


364  MY  OGOWE 

Thursday,  the  24th.  The  partings  from  America  were  fre- 
quently in  Mrs.  Nassau's  memory.  There  is  no  Thanksgiving 
Day  on  the  ocean ;  but,  I  wrote  a  little  special  letter  for  her  that 
pleased  her.  In  the  afternoon,  with  Mr.  Robinson.  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau and  I  went  ashore  at  Accra  (the  location  of  Bishop  Heber's 
"  Where  Afric's  Sunny  Fountains  Roll  Down  Their  Golden 
Sands  " )  ;  to  the  trading-house  of  the  German  Basel  Mission,  of 
a  Mr.  Rottmann,  who  entertained  us,  until  at  night  we  went  back 
in  a  boat  that  was  most  skilfully  handled  through  the  surf. 

On  Friday,  November  25,  at  Addah,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Volta.  And,  in  the  afternoon,  to  Quitta,  just  beyond  Jellah 
Coffee,  where  the  steamer  bought  large  quantities  of  fowls,  eggs, 
and  vegetables.  And,  at  night,  on  toward  Lagos.  Saturday, 
the  26th,  at  Lagos.  Mr.  Baxter  went  ashore  to  his  mission. 
Remembering  my  pleasant  experiences  at  Lagos  in  1880,  I 
wished  to  take  Mrs.  Nassau -ashore.  But,  our  captain  was  sick, 
and  no  arrangements  could  be  made. 

Sunday,  the  27th :  The  farther  that  we  went  on  our  way 
from  civilization,  the  good  manners  of  the  steamer  lessened. 
Our  christian  company  had  diminished.  But,  though  work  of 
loading  and  discharging  was  going  on,  we  nevertheless  held 
morning  service.  Rev.  Mr.  Marshall  preached,  and  I  assisted. 
A  passenger.  Dr.  O'Reilly  and  the  ship's  doctor  were  drinking 
to  excess.      In  the  afternoon,   rapidly  toward    Bonny. 

Monday,  the  28th.  passed  the  Nun  mouth  of  the  Niger;  and 
rapidly  entered  another  mouth  of  the  Delta,  the  Bonny,  and  an- 
chored just  at  dark.  On  deck  in  the  evening,  with  my  guitar, 
singing  for  Mrs.  Nassau.  It  was  the  seventh  weekly  return  of 
our  marriage  day.  Next  day,  a  small  steamer,  the  Mpongzuc, 
was  seen  at  anchor.  It  belonged  to  Gaboon.  I  went  to  it.  and 
'  heard  news  of  our  mission:  and.  of  Mrs.  Bacheler's  safe  confine- 
ment at  Libreville.  Returning  to  the  Corisco,  Captain  Hamilton 
gave  his  own  gig,  with  a  special  crew  of  six,  and  two  extra  bear- 
ers, and  sent  me  and  Mrs.  Nassau  with  Messrs.  Robinson  and 
Marshall  ashore  to  the  English  Episcopal  Mission  of  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Crowther,  taking  our  ways  through  streets  and  paths  that 
gave  Mrs.  Nassau  a  wonderful  revelation  of  native  scenes.  On 
the  30th.  started  in  afternoon,  slowly  toward  the  old  Calabar 
River. 

Thursday,  the  31st,  up  the  Calabar  River.  On  anchoring  at 
Duketown,  Rev.  Mr.  Ross  came  promptly  on  board,  and  invited 
us  all  to  go  ashore  to  his  house.  ( He  was  the  missionary,  whose 
doings  the  Scotch  delegation  had  come  to  investigate.)      Pres- 


A  HONEYMOON  365 

ently,  a  great  sight  was  seen,  King  Eyo's  boat  (a  christian  king), 
a  six-oared  gig,  with  his  large  68-foot  war  canoe  with  drums, 
flags,  cannon,  rattles,  songs,  etc.,  containing  himself  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Edgerly,  from  Creektown.  They  were  coming  to  welcome 
the  delegation.  Mr.  Edgerly.  finding  Mrs.  Nassau,  accorded 
her  the  courtesy  which  she  had  been  receiving  on  the  entire  jour- 
ney, as  a  bride.  He  placed  the  delegation  in  the  canoe  with 
the  King,  and  took  Mrs.  Nassau  and  myself  in  the  gig  with  him- 
self. And,  the  two  crafts  sped  their  triumphant  way  over  the 
two  miles  to  Creektown,  and  to  the  homes  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ed- 
gerly, and  Miss  Edgerly,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goldie,  and  Miss 
Johnston.  We  were  overwhelmed  with  christian  and  mission- 
ary hospitality.  A  walk  through  the  premises,  with  its  trees  and 
flowers,  and  gardens  was  intensely  gratifying  to  Mrs.  Nassau. 

The  next  day,  leaving  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edgerly's  generous  home, 
we  visited  the  old  King,  who,  with  marked  politeness,  provided 
the  boat  for  our  return  to  the  Corisco,  first  making  a  short  call 
at  Air.  Ross',  before  embarking  again  on  the  steamer. 

Calabar  is  a  most  unhealthy  river.  Even  foreign  animals 
suffered  from  its  heat.  An  English  trader  there,  a  Mr.  Gillis, 
brought  on  board  a  handsome  English  dog,  to  be  taken  away 
from  the  trying  climate.  We  missed  the  companionship  of 
Messrs.  Williams  and  Marshall.  As  we  left  the  hot  river,  and 
reached  the  sea,  its  cool  breeze  was  fine. 

Saturday,  December  3,  reached  the  Santa  Isabel  harbor  of 
the  Spanish  island  of  Fernando  Po.  The  homeward  bound 
steanler,  Mayumba,  was  lying  there;  and  we  wrote  hasty  notes 
for  America.  Continuing  the  southward  journey,  out  of  sight 
of  land,  in  the  Bight  of  Biafra,  I  noted  the  points  of  time  when 
we  would  be  passing  the  stations  in  our  mission  regions  of 
Batanga  and  Benita.  On  Sunday,  December  4th,  we  were  en- 
tering Corisco  Bay  towards  Elobi  Island,  places  whose  waters 
and  shores  were  full  of  memories  for  me,  as  I  pointed  them  out 
to  Mrs.  Nassau.  As  our  original  christian  company  of  eleven 
was  reduced  to  less  than  half,  the  remaining  five  held  a  private 
Bible-reading  study,  instead  of  any  attempt  at  preaching  service. 
Leaving  Elobi  in  the  afternoon,  we  rounded  to  seaward  of  Co- 
risco Island,  and  down  to  the  Gaboon  mouth  for  the  night. 

On  Monday,  December  5,  our  two  months'  voyage  ended  in 
the  Libreville  harbor.  A  new  missionary,  Rev.  G.  C.  Camp- 
bell, in  the  mission  boat,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Bacheler,  came  off 
to  take  us  all  ashore.  Stopping  at  the  lower  Baraka  house  to 
salute  Mrs.  Bacheler  and  baby  Otis,  we  were  finally  rested,  with 


366  MY  OGOWE 

Mrs.  Bushnell  and  Mrs.  Ogden,  in  the  upper  house.  (The  lat- 
ter was  a  fellow  New  Jersey-woman,  from  Mrs.  Nassau's  own 
Monmouth  Presbytery.)  In  the  evening,  was  held  a  pleasant 
prayer-meeting,  of  welcome. 

AT    ANNUAL    MEETINGS. 

On  evening  of  the  6th,  another  prayer  meeting  was  held  at 
Mr.  Campbell's ;  led  by  Rev.  Win.  Walker.  In  evening  of  Wed- 
nesday, the  7th,  the  usual  church  prayer  meeting  was  led  by  Rev. 
W.  H.  Robinson.  After  which  Dr.  Bacheler  and  I  had  flute 
duets.  On  Thursday,  the  8th,  nine  of  our  mission  company 
went  to  the  Plateau,  to  make  the  official  call  of  the  new  arrivals 
on  the  French  commandant.  (As  a  very  rare  thing  on  the 
African  coast,  he  had  with  him  his  wife  and  children  from 
France.)  On  the  10th.  we  had  an  amusing  time  at  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's. He  wished  to  weigh  and  measure  the  entire  mission. 
The  entire  twelve  men  and  women  weighed  T500  pounds,  of 
which,  mine  were   144,  and  Mrs.  Nassau's  130. 

Sunday,  the  nth,  Rev.  W.  C.  Gault  preached  in  the  morning, 
and  I  in  the  evening.  At  night,  I  recognized  again  the  low  wail- 
ing cry  of  the  night  animal  that  had  so  distressed  me  when  I 
first  went  to  Benita  in  October.  1865.  I  was  never  able  to  dis- 
cover what  it  was.  There  was  a  native  legend  about  it,  for 
which  I  called  it  "  the  transformed  matricide." 

All  those  days,  we  were  waiting  for  Rev.  Messrs.  De  ITecr 
and  Ibiya  to  arrive,  for  annual  meetings  of  Mission  and  Presby- 
tery. The  latter  arrived  on  the  T2th.  While  waiting  for  them, 
I  had  painted  the  Swan,  the  little  four-oared  boat,  a  wedding- 
present  to  Mrs.  Nassau  from  friends  in  Batavia  and  other  parts 
of  Western  New  York.  Mr.  De  Heer  arrived  next  day ;  and 
meetings  began.  During  the  following  several  days'  sessions, 
there  were  some  discussions  that  were  not  entirely  harmonious. 
These  grated  on  Mrs.  Nassau's  feelings,  and  pained  her.  From 
her  high  point  of  christian  consecration,  she  had  assumed  that, 
of  all  people,  missionaries  would  be  at  peace.  The  disillusion 
was  a  painful  one.  and  it  contributed,  together  with  the  reaction 
of  excitement  of  arrival,  in  the  African  climate,  to  a  feverish 
attack  that  sent  her  to  bed.  We  were  waiting  for  transporta- 
tion to  the  Ogowe  by  some  river-steamer. 

THE    RETURN    TO    THE    OGOWE. 

On  Thursday,  December  22,  at  noon,  we  were  surprised  by  a 
sudden  word   from  Mr.   Schultze.  agent  of  the  German  house, 


A  HONEYMOON  367 

that  the  Mpongwe  would  take  us  at  4  p.  m.  Although  Mrs. 
Nassau  was  still  in  bed,  her  case  was  not  at  all  dangerous ;  and, 
I  felt  that  she  would  be  happier,  away  from  the  confusions  of 
Baraka,  and  in  the  Ogowe  home  where  she  was  looking  toward 
her  own  work.  Mrs.  Campbell,  Mrs.  Gault,  and  Mrs.  Ogden 
efficiently  assisted  in  packing  her  trunks.  And,  we  were  on 
board  at  the  appointed  hour.  Mrs.  Bacheler  with  her  babe 
joined  us,  going  to  remove  her  household  effects  from  Kangwe. 
On  Friday,  the  23d,  we  entered  the  Ogowe ;  traveled  all  day, 
and  reached  Angala  at  night.  Continuing  next  day,  I  pointed 
out  to  Mrs.  Nassau  familiar  places  on  the  river.  The  weather 
was  very  hot;  and  the  insects  at  night  exceedingly  distressing. 
The  only  sleeping-place  for  the  two  ladies  and  the  babe  was 
a  mattress  placed  after  supper  on  the  table  in  the  little  dining- 
room.  Reached  the  German  house  at  Lembarene,  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  25th.  So  unlike  a  home-land  Christmas!  Mr. 
Schiff  gave  his  boat  and  crew  for  Mrs.  Bacheler  and  babe,  and 
Mrs.  Nassau  and  myself,  I  towing  the  Szvcui  for  the  mile  row 
around  the  island  to  Kangwe. 

On  the  way,  I  transferred  Mrs.  Nassau  to  the  Swan,  and 
rowed  it  myself.  The  church  bell  was  rung  as  a  christian  wel- 
come. And,  we  landed  at  Andende,  guests  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J. 
H.  Reading.  The  next  day,  Mr.  Reading  summoned  a  crowd 
of  natives  with  loud  firing  of  guns  for  a  social  welcome ;  and,  at 
night  a  native  torch-light  procession  as  a  reception. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

PROSPECTING  AGAIN,   JANUARY,    1882 

THE  changes  at  Kangwe,  during  my  absence  of  nineteen 
months,  had  been  many.  Mrs.  Smith  had  returned  to 
the  United  States,  in  the  first  stages  of  consumption 
(from  which  she  never  recovered).  Miss  Dewsnap  died,  and 
was  buried  at  Baraka.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bacheler  had  left,  and 
were  living  at  Gaboon.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading  with  their  in- 
fant daughter,  had  returned  from  America,  and  had  taken  the 
doctor's  place,  but  had  chosen  to  locate  at  Andende,  where  they 
had  built  a  large  comfortable  bamboo  house.  The  abandoned 
buildings  on  the  Hill  looked  dilapidated.  But,  Mrs.  Nassau  took 
up  her  temporary  home  there.  She  assisted  Mrs.  Bacheler  in 
getting  together  her  goods  to  be  transported  to  Libreville.  Mrs. 
Bacheler's  little  babe,  though  not  bom  in  the  Ogowe,  was  the 
first  white  boy  in  it:  just  as  Mr.  Reading's  infant,  though  not 
born  in  the  Ogowe.  was  the  first  white  girl  in  it.  Mr.  Robinson 
was  to  come  to  Kangwe,  to  take  charge  of  the  church.  As  to 
myself,  I  was  only  a  guest;  had  been  bidden  by  the  mission,  to 
make  a  new  station  up-river,  "  not  within  fifty  miles  of  Kangwe." 
And,  the  English  house,  Mr.  Sinclair's,  had  been  removed  from 
Aguma  to  a  site  in  the  main  stream  near  the  French  post  Le- 
mbarene. 

On  Sunday,  January  I,  1882,  I  conducted  public  service  in 
the  church  ( which  had  been  completed  during  my  absence  in 
the  United  States  ),  to  an  audience  of  some  seventy  people.  Also 
Sabbath  school  in  the  afternoon;  and  monthly  concert  in  the 
evening.  Mrs.  Nassau  was  longing  to  acquire  the  language,  so 
that  she  could  teach.  There  seemed  a  gratifying  interest  in  the 
church:  the  monthly  concert,  collection  was  $3.  From  the 
very  first.  I  had  told  our  converts  that  they  must  take  the  work 
from  our  hands,  and  help  themselves.  On  Monday,  the  2d,  I 
went  to  King  Ra-Noki,  to  ask  him  for  men  and  a  canoe,  to 
make  a  journey  of  inspection  of  the  river,  in  order  to  select  a 
site  for  my  new  station,  lie  was  exorbitant.  Really.  I  think 
that  he  did  not  wish  trade-monopoly  to  be  injured  by  allowing  a 
white  man  to  build  in  the  Interior.     Returned :  and  at  Atangina, 

368 


■- 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  369 

Re-Nkombe  was  pleased  to  be  honored  with  the  commission 
which  the  "  king  "  had  declined,  especially  as  the  former  was 
going  anyhow  on  a  trade-errand  of  his  own.  And,  I  was  pleased 
that  Akendenge  came  voluntarily,  and  asked  to  accompany  me 
as  cook  and  general  assistant,  as  I  was  to  go  with  my  own  canoe 
and  crew,  under  Re-Nkombe's  escort  and  protection.  During 
all  those  days,  Mrs.  Bacheler  and  Mrs.  Nassau  were  busy  pack- 
ing for  the  former,  both  of  them  at  times  sick  from  anxiety,  and 
waiting  for  the  return  of  the  Mpongwe  from  the  Ngunye. 

When  it  was  known  on  the  5th,  that  that  vessel  was  fast 
aground  in  that  river,  Mrs.  Bacheler  accepted  Mr.  Sinclair's 
offer  of  passage  by  the  Pioneer,  for  Saturday,  the  7th.  And 
that  almost  worn  out  vessel  safely  carried  away  her,  her  babe, 
and  household  possessions  on  Sunday,  the  8th.  It  was  a  relief 
to  her  to  have  an  end  to  her  trying  delays.  And,  then,  on  Mon- 
day, January  9,  Mrs.  Nassau  was  to  be  left  alone  on  the  Hill ; 
for,  Re-Nkombe  came  with  the  crew  he  had  engaged  for  me; 
and,  I  was  packing  my  boxes  at  Andende. 

A  custom  of  all  tribes  in  Africa,  of  giving  to  a  river  a  differ- 
ent name  in  different  portions  of  its  course,  has  proved  confus- 
ing to  many  travelers.  At  Benita,  the  native  name  of  whose 
river  was  Eyo,  its  upper  course  was  knowm  as  the  Lolo.  The 
upper  portion  of  the  Gaboon  (Makwenge)  was  called  Nkami 
(mis-pronounced  by  foreigners,  "  Komo  ").  The  Ogowe.  above 
its  junction  with  the  Ngunye.  was  called  by  the  Galwas,  "  Oka- 
nda."  because  of  the  tribe  of  that  name,  dwelling  on  its  upper 
portion.  I  was  told  much  about  the  Cataracts  of  the  Ogowe  on 
its  way  to  the  Akanda  people.  The  object  of  my  journey  was 
not  only  to  find  a  proper  site  for  my  new  station  ("  not  less  than 
fifty  miles  distant  from  Kangwe")  but,  to  see  "the  lay  of  the 
land "  with  reference  to  future  extension  into  the  Interior. 
Also.  I  had  not  forgotten  about  the  Okota  tribe,  their  dialect 
closely  simulating  the  Benga,  whom  I  had  hoped  to  meet 
on  my  original  entrance  into  the  Ogowe  in  1874.  I  was  told 
that  they  had  retired  interior-ward.  There  was  a  possibility  of 
my  being  able  to  utilize  my  fluency  in  Benga  with  them. 

JOURNFA'    TO    OKOTA    AND    OKANDA. 

On  Tuesday,  January  10,  with  good-bys  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  went 
to  Andende,  and  with  my  crew  of  nine  paddles,  in  a  canoe  bor- 
rowed of  Mr.  Reading  (laden  with  salt  and  other  goods  for 
purchase  of  provisions  on  the  way)  I  started  up-river.  Lunched 
in  the  forest  near  the  Ngunye  mouth.     While  there,  Re-Nkombe 


37o  MY  OGOWE 

and  his  two  canoes  over-took  me.  Spent  the  night  at  Mr. 
Ermy's  island  house.  And  Re-Nkombe  delayed  me  there,  all 
of  next  day. 

On  Thursday,  the  12th,  continued  our  way;  and  passed  Be- 
lambla  without  stopping.  Heard  that  two  of  the  adjacent  vil- 
lages, those  of  Apekwe  and  Walinja.  were  having  "  a  war." 
Stopped  for  the  night  at  Ntambi's  old  town.  There,  found  a 
Mpongwe  man  going  down-river;  by  whom  I  sent  a  note  to  Mrs. 
Nassau.  Friday,  the  13th:  As  the  journey  of  that  day  would 
bring  me  to  places  I  had  never  visited.  I  carefully  made  record 
of  their  names.  There  was  the  large  town,  Xgwilaka.  of  a 
Fanwe  chief.  Xjagudemba.  on  the  right  bank.  At  meal  time, 
stopped  to  eat  at  Isosa  Point,  among  Bakele,  who  recognized  my 
name  as  "  the  friend  of  Kasa."  Passed,  on  the  right  bank,  the 
mouth  of  a  river.  Abange ;  and  was  told  that  its  source  was  near 
to  that  of  the  Rembwe.  (At  once,  I  thought  of  the  possibility  of 
overland  connection  with  Gaboon ;  and,  even  of  a  line  of  stations 
toward  Angom  and  Baraka.)  And.  the  mouth  of  a  lagoon, 
Xkogo,  on  the  left  bank,  which.  I  was  told,  came  from  a 
lake. 

A  half-hour  later,  passed,  on  the  right  bank,  a  high  point, 
somewhat  like  Kangwe  Hill,  called  Erere-volo  (big  tree)  with 
Fanwe  villages  on  it.  Opposite  to  it.  on  the  left  bank,  was  a 
little  creek.  Ije.  Stopped  for  the  night  in  the  forest  at  a  camp. 
Emani-jembo  (the  ended  song)  within  sound  of  Fanwe  villages. 

Saturday  the  14th:  passed  a  small  creek  on  the  right  bank  Ba- 
nganye.  A  mile  beyond  was  a  second  mouth,  indicating  a  la- 
goon. After  dark,  came  to  a  point.  Yeiia.  on  the  left  bank,  with 
an  Akele  town,  friends  of  Kasa.  They  welcomed  me  as  his 
friend.  The  land  on  the  opposite  bank  was  high.  Just  beyond 
Yeiia  was  the  point  Evenganomi.  where,  in  the  rainy  season, 
the  water  rushes  with  violence.  Just  beyond  the  point  was  a 
small  creek,  on  the  left  bank,  coming  from  a  lake  or  lagoon. 

The  river  soon  narrowed  to  about  600  yards,  with  high 
ground  on  both  sides.  On  the  left  bank,  passed  a  creek;  the 
stretch  of  land  near  it  was  called  Opokonjonga.  The  people  of 
Yeiia  formerly  lived  there.  A  mile  farther,  was  the  beginning 
of  the  Hills,  which  T  had  seen  in  the  distance,  looking  up  in 
Belambla  days.  Those  hills  were  constantly  coming  out  in  fine 
outline,  with  steep  red  and  yellow  clay  sides:  and  the  river  deep- 
ening, and  narrowing  to  500  yards.  Stopped  to  eat  at  the  end 
of  the  Opokonjonga  district,  in  an  Akele  village  Sanjala,  of  a 
man  Xjwivinjanda,  where  was  living  a  Galwa  trader.  Olimbo. 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  371 

I  admired  the  three  fine  hills  of  Ikoke  on  the  right  bank.  I  was 
more  than  "  fifty  miles  from  Kangwe,"  and  was  giving  special 
scrutiny  of  all  desirable-looking  places. 

Re-Nkombe  delayed  there  the  remainder  of  that  day.  And, 
in  accordance  with  my  bargain  with  him,  there  was  no  traveling 
the  next  day,  Sunday,  the  15th.  On  the  Saturday  night,  I 
awoke*  with  extreme  pain  in  my  right  ear,  and  recognized  that 
an  insect  was  struggling  there.  I  hastily  lit  my  candle,  melted 
a  little  butter,  (having  no  oil)  and  poured  it  into  my  ear.  The 
struggles  of  the  insect,  for  a  few  moments,  were  aggravated, 
and  then  ceased.  (Ever  after  that,  I  put  cotton  into  my  ears 
at  night,  on  journeys.  A  month  later,  a  ball  of  wax,  in  which 
was  embalmed  a  large  ant,  fell  out  of  my  ear.)  During  the  day, 
I  talked  with  the  Bakele  about  God;  planned  for  my  work;  and 
sang  hymns.  Saw  a  dead  slave  thrown  into  the  river.  (Slaves 
were  not  worthy  of  burial!) 

On  Monday,  the  16th,  left  letters  with  Olimbo,  to  be  sent  to 
Kangwe.  Fine  rows  of  hills.  There  was  a  little  sand-bar,  on 
the  left  bank,  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  creek,  Okume.  And,  a 
little  cove  and  rivulet,  Olende,  on  the  left  bank,  which  gave  its 
name  to  that  district.  A  fine  site,  on. the  opposite  (right)  bank, 
where  was  trading  a  Nkami  man,  Animba,  a  sub  to  a  Goree  man, 
Isamba.  This  man,  Animba,  with  some  Fahwe,  seeing  a  white 
man  in  the  canoe,  crossed  to  us;  and  objected  to  my  proceeding. 
Re-Nkombe  assured  them  that  I  was  not  a  trader.  But,  I  felt, 
from  this,  that  I  might  have  some  difficulty  in  attempting  to 
settle  much  farther  beyond  them.  Really,  their  action  made  me 
look  more  closely  for  a  possible  site  near  them.  Passed  a  very 
large  rock,  in  the  river,  near  the  right  bank,  which  was  called 
Talaguga  (sight  of  woe).  (This  was  a  contraction  of  Italaja- 
iguga.)  My  people  said  that  the  name  was  given  because  of 
the  difficulty  that  the  swift  current  beyond  caused  all  travelers. 
Then,  on  the  right  bank,  was  a  small  creek  Lebo.  In  the  mid- 
dle of  the  morning,  we  came  to  an  island,  Njoli,  on  whose  lower 
end  was  a  hut,  remains  of  a  camp  occupied  by  DeBrazza.  on 
his  expeditions.  We  ate  at  the  island's  upper  end;  and  had 
some  very  hard  pulling  beyond.  No  villages  above  Njoli,  on 
either  side.     The  current  became  swifter,  and  river  narrower. 

Three  miles  beyond  Njoli  was  Asange  Island,  where  a  white 
man.  Smith,  had  attempted  to  locate;  but,  the  lower  tribes  com- 
pelled him  to  leave.  There  was  a  little  creek  of  the  same  name, 
and  the  district  also  was  called  Asange.  [It  is  now  the  site  of 
the  "Njoli  Post"  of  the  French  Government.]      Fafiwe  were 


372  MY  OGOWE 

living  on  the  right  hank.  There  was  a  small  island.  Adeke,  the 
farthest  point  reached  by  Mr.  Bruce  Walker  in  his  little  steam 
tug.  Delta,  in  his  attempt  to  open  the  Ogowe,  on  his  second  en- 
trance into  it.  We  passed  the  night  on  a  sand-bar.  a  short  dis- 
tance above  Adeke. 

Tuesday,  the  17th.  we  passed  a  series  of  islands,  with  rough 
water,  where  progress  was  made,  not  by  paddling  but  by  poling. 
Near  them,  were  Bakele  fishing-huts.  After  lunching  at  Eliva- 
nyenge,  opposite  to  a  lagoon  on  the  right  bank,  we  passed  more 
islands.  The  Okota  hills,  seen  the  day  before,  were  nearer. 
Passed  only  one  Fanwe  village.  Passed  some  Bakota  villages 
near  small  sandy  islands,  Ikakasana.  There  was  an  island,  Oka- 
mba.  having  on  it  young  oil  palm-trees,  the  first  I  had  seen,  in 
all  that  region.  Stopped,  for  the  night,  on  the  beach  of  the 
Okota  town,  Tsangaladi.  Its  old  head-man,  Mbanga  (Taker) 
and  a  man,  Afanga  (Fear  not)  each  presented  me  with  a  fowl. 
There  was  a  Hill,  Idomba-njaku  (elephant-height),  probably  800 
feet  high,  just  in  the  rear  of  the  villages.  (T  thought  of  Isanga- 
ladi.  as  the  station  of  the  future.  The  Okota  names  were  so 
verv  mucryrtike  Benga!) 

On  Wednesday,  the  18th.  had  not  gone  far.  when  we  entered 
the  rapids,  where  progress  was  made,  only  by  the  crews  towing 
the  canoes  along  the  shore.  On  the  left  bank  was  a  ridge  like  a 
back-bone,  running  from  a  hill-top  to  the  water-side,  in  which 
was  said  to  be  a  large  cavern. 

A  hill,  thrice  as  high  as  Kangwe.  and  of  the  same  name,  on 
the  right  bank,  opposite  to  Alembe  Island,  where  were  trading 
two  Mpongwes,  one  of  them.  Dnwe,  husband  of  my  friend 
Xjivo.  The  river  was  cut  up  into  many  channels.  Stopped  to 
eat  on  the  left  bank,  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  the  Okono  River. 
A  most  beautiful  picture  of  mountains,  hills,  river,  lake-like  en- 
closures, islands,  blue  sky.  fleecy  clouds,  fine  northeast  breeze, 
varied  colors  of  green.  The  rapids  had  become  so  pronounced, 
that  Re-Xkombe  said  that  it  was  not  safe  for  any  to  sit  in  the 
canoes,  while  the  crews  waded  and  dragged  them  up.  He  or- 
dered, "  All  the  women,  children,  and  useless  persons!  Get  out. 
and  walk  around  the  falls!  "  The  two  women,  one  child,  and  all 
the  crews,  except  one  steersman  in  each  canoe,  got  out.  I  sat 
still.  Tie  looked  at  me  inquiringly,  and  said,  "  Did  you  not  hear 
what  I  said?'*  "Yes:  but,  am  not  T  useful?"  (I  knew  what 
he  had  meant  by  "  useless."'  i.  c..  those  who  were  not  to  work  at 
dragging  on  the  rope.)  TTc.  with  great  courtesy  replied.  "Yes! 
So  useful,  that  your  life  is  too  precious  to  be  risked  over  these 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  373 

falls."  (Miss  Kingsley  has  described  those  falls,  in  a  most 
graphic  manner.)  The  Inenga  tribe  are  said  to  have  come  from 
the  Okono  River. 

There  were  a  series  of  mountings  of  the  cataracts,  by  the  pas- 
sengers landing,  and  walking  around  them.  Some  of  the  hill- 
sides were  bare  of  forest,  showing  the  beginnings  of  elevated 
prairie-lands.  At  one  of  the  falls,  my  canoe  filled,  and  some 
goods  were  spoiled.  Stopped  for  the  night  at  the  head  of  the 
Alembe  Cataracts,  on  a  strip  of  sand  in  the  Olangi  channel.  I 
was  wet,  and  with  no  bed  on  which  to  sleep. 

Thursday,  the  19th,  none  of  us  started  in  good  spirits.  And, 
shortly  after  starting,  came  to  falls  so  steep,  that  I  was  not  will- 
ing to  risk  the  canoe  and  its  goods ;  and,  I  had  it  dragged  flatly 
overland  around  the  falls.  The  Osenge  Rapids  were  strong. 
Then,  we  came  to  the  open  Ipatye  prairie-hillside,  on  the  right 
,  bank.  All  afternoon,  we  stopped  at  a  village  on  Mbumba  Island, 
to  dry  the  goods  of  the  day  before.  While  there,  came  a 
Frenchman  from  the  Interior,  sick,  on  his  way  to  the  Coast.  I 
gave  him  medicine  and  tins  of  milk,  and  sent  a  letter  by  him  to 
Mrs.  Nassau.     Passed  a  miserable  night  in  the  rain. 

On  Friday,  the  20th,  started  late.  And,  soon  came  to  a  very 
bad  place,  Agasi-nganga,  near  the  Mbumba  Island.  Passed  an 
island,  Ngozyo  (Parrot)  opposite  to  the  dangerous  Ikobe  rocks 
in  the  channel.  The  Okota  prairie  hillsides  increased  in  num- 
ber and  size.  The  crew  became  enthusiastic  in  saluting  new 
points  as  they  opened  to  view.  A  series  of  rapids  and  small 
islands  called  Elanga. 

I  was  attracted  by  what  I  thought  would  be  a  fine  building- 
site,  on  the  open  prairie-side,  in  front  of  Elanga.  The  right 
bank  had  formerly  been  occupied  by  Bakota,  but  they  were 
driven  away  by  the  Osheba  clan  of  Faiiwe.  Came  to  an  Okota 
village  of  a  young  man  Elande,  where  a  Galwa,  Awuronjagu, 
was  trading.  My  canoe  was  too  heavily  laden,  and  I  left  some 
of  my  provisions  with  him.  There  were  two  other  villages  near 
by,  all  three  called  by  the  same  name.  The  men  and  women  of 
the  town  were  friendly;  and,  in  the  evening,  I  had  prayer  with 
them. 

Saturday,  the  21st:  I  was  delighted  with  the  place;  and,  with 
thought  of  a  possible  location  there,  ascended  a  hill.  I  thought 
it  the  finest  view  I  had  had  in  Africa.  I  noted  (a  most  impor- 
tant matter  for  any  station)  where  the  spring  of  water  was. 
Passed  a  spot  on  the  left  bank,  Isonge,  where  was  a  good-sized 
creek,  with  fine  fresh  water.     After  going-  on  some  distance,  I 


374  MY  OGOWE 

waited  for  Re-Nkombe,  who  had  delayed  to  collect  a  trade-debt. 
Finally,  he  sent  me  word,  that  he  would  wait  at  Isonge,  over 
Sunday,  for  his  debt.  So,  late  in  the  afternoon,  I  returned  to 
him,  as  Isonge  was  the  last  Okota  village  on  the  river:  all  be- 
yond were  Osheba  and  Apinji.  At  Isonge  were  huts  finer  than 
I  had  expected  to  see.  But,  the  people  were  not  as  polite  as 
those  of  Elanga. 

On  Sunday,  the  22d,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  trading  going 
on;  but,  I  held  a  little  meeting;  and  walked  among  the  huts  and 
conversed.  From  the  top  of  the  hill,  I  had  a  fine  view  of  Mt. 
Otombo,  a  few  miles  eastward.  Was  told  that,  on  its  top  was  a 
lake.  Usually,  there  was  a  bank  of  clouds  resting  on  it.  By 
Monday,  the  23d,  I  determined  to  return  to  Kangwe;  because, 
(1)  I  was  wearied  with  Re-Nkombe's  delays;  (2)  The  water 
was  falling  so  rapidly,  that,  if  I  went  on  to  Okanda,  immediate 
return  would  become  more  difficult,  and  perhaps  impossible ;  and 
I  might  be  detained  at  Okanda  for  a  month;  (3)  My  stage  of 
water  was  unfortunate.  I  should  have  started  earlier  (Decem- 
ber) before  it  fell  so  low;  or,  later  (February)  when  it  would 
be  beginning  to  rise;  (4)  My  stock  of  goods  ($150)  was  too 
great  for  a  canoe  the  size  of  mine.  The  canoe  itself  was  right ; 
but.  one-third  of  the  quantity  of  goods  I  had  would  have  been 
sufficient;  (5)  Hie  real  object  of  the  journey  (the  seeking  of  a 
site)  was  already  accomplished  by  what  I  had  seen  at  Njoli,  and 
in  Okota:  (6)  To  go  on  to  Okanda  would  be  only  for  the  grati- 
fication of  curiosity  and  adventure:  and,  I  would  not  do  that 
while  Mrs.  Nassau  was  so  alone  at  Kangwe;  from  which  place.  I 
calculated  that  I  was  distant  at  least  150  miles.  Got  rid  of  my 
unnecessary  weight  of  goods,  for  safer  descent  of  the  Rapids, 
by  loaning  them  to  Re-Xkombe.  Tie  was  glad  to  get  them,  for 
his  trade,  and  he  was  to  repay  me  in  building  materials  or  food. 

1  took  a  parting  view  of  Mt.  Otombo;  and  started  down-river. 
Stopped  at  Flande's  village:  and.  went,  with  some  of  his  people, 
to  examine  a  hill  near  by,  for  a  possible  station.  Tt  was  a  fine 
site,  between  an  excellent  rivulet  of  water.  Abeka,  on  the  west, 
and  Xyare  on  the  east.  Stopped  at  Awuronjagu's  to  get  my 
farinya.  Remaining  in  the  canoe.  I  descended  in  safety  the 
rapids  of  Agasi-nganga.  where  the  crew  said.  that,  in  the  dry 
season,  there  was  a  hollow  in  the  river-bed,  from  which,  if  stones 
were  thrown  into  it.  there  would  come  a  sound  like  beating  of  a 
copper  kettle,  and  the  water  would  boil  up.  Stopped  to  eat  at 
the  lower  end  of  Mbumba  Island.  And.  there,  the  crew  crossed 
verv  care  full  v  to  the  Fan  we  side  (the  right  bank)  to  find  a  safe 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  375 

descent.     Going  down  those  rapids  was  like  bumping  down  a 
flight  of  stairs;  but,  it  was  successfully  accomplished. 

At  the  spot,  at  Alembe,  where,  on  coming  up,  the  canoe  had 
swamped,  I  took  two  of  the  men,  and  leaving  the  remainder  of 
the  crew  to  find  their  dangerous  descent  by  one  of  the  many  chan- 
nels, I  walked  around  the  falls,  as  far  as  the  trading-house  of 
Dowe  and  Iveke.  They  were  absent;  but,  one  of  their  people 
opened  a  hut  for  me.  I  had  a  cold,  and  the  walk  had  thrown 
me  into  a  profuse  perspiration;  and,  I  needed  a  safe  bed.  Fine 
view  of  Kangwe  Mountain. 

On  Wednesday,  the  25th,  on  rising,  was  surprised  to  find 
Dowe  returned.  I  gave  him  part  of  my  farinya  supply.  Came 
on  to  Isangaladi.  And  stopped  to  eat  at  the  sandy  beach  of  Ika- 
kasaiia.  Met  Laseni,  in  a  half-dozen  heavily-laden  canoes,  at 
the  head  of  Asange  Island.  He  handed  me  a  letter,  of  date, 
January  14,  from  Mrs.  Nassau.  I  came  on  my  way  rejoicing! 
Laseni  warned  us  not  to  stop  at  the  Fanwe  villages  near  Italaguga 
Rock.  Slept  on  Njoli  Island.  January  26;  the  crew,  alarmed 
by  Laseni,  were  afraid ;  and,  I  therefore  could  not  stop  at  points 
I  wished  to  inspect.  Stopped  at  a  village  of  an  old  man,  Ma- 
myaga,  where  was  trading  the  man  Animba.  The  latter  was  not 
afraid;  he  said  that  Laseni's  reported  assault  by  Fanwe  on  a 
Frenchman  was  true;  but,  not  of  those  Fanwe.  Mamyaga's 
people  wished  me  to  settle  among  them ;  but,  I  did  not  like  their 
site.  With  Animba,  I  returned  up-river,  stopping  at  a  number 
of  places.  I  liked  particularly,  one  on  the  left  bank,  above  Njoli. 
[  Later  it  was  occupied  by  the  Roman  Catholic  mission.]  And 
another,  two  miles  below  Njoli,  with  a  large  rock  in  the  river  op- 
posite the  mouth  of  a  little  creek,  a  short  distance  below  big 
Italaguga  Rock.  [This,  I  finally  selected,  as  my  Talaguga.]  I 
felt  sick  from  my  cold ;  and  slept  again  on  Njoli.  During  the  in- 
terval of  my  absence  up  the  river,  De  Brazza's  camp  hut  had  been 
plundered  of  its  flag  and  part  of  its  thatch,  by  Njagu-demba's 
people.  Friday,  the  27th,  continued  my  examination  of  sites. 
Stopped  at  Nyare's  village. 

At  Mamyaga's  (where  I  made  medicine  for  his  sore  toe)  had 
a  long  talk  about  sites.  Held  evening  prayers.  But,  as  the  crew 
professed  to  have  some  fear  of  remaining  in  the  town  (their 
real  reason  was  a  desire  to  reach  Olimbo's)  I  left,  and  spent  the 
night  in  the  forest.  Rain  came,  but,  with  my  overcoat,  I  man- 
aged to  keep  my  breast  dry. 

Saturday,  the  28th.  Rose  stiff  and  wet.  Went  on  to  Olimbo's 
and  engaged  him  to  have  thatch  made  ready  for  me,  when  I 


376  MY  OGOWE 

should  come  to  build  a  hut.  From  my  supply  of  goods,  paid  him 
(river  custom)  in  advance.  My  goods,  so  unnecessarily  great 
for  the  journey,  came,  at  once,  of  use.  for  buying  building  ma- 
terial. Came  on  down,  and  ate  on  the  sand-bank  opposite  to 
Krere-volo.  And.  thence  the  crew,  fearing  both  the  Akele  and 
Fanwe  sides  of  the  river,  kept  to  midstream  (though,  in  passing 
the  (ioree  Island,  we  were  told  that  there  was  no  reason  for  fear- 
ing the  Bakele)  and  stopped  for  the  night  at  Mr.  Ermy's,  who 
assured  me  that  there  was  no  real  reason  for  my  crew  having 
feared  the  Fanwe  side.  I  would  have  done  well  to  have  stopped 
and  made  friends  with  Xjagu-demba. 

1  Tad  a  good  rest,  and  held  a  meeting  at  Mr.  Ermy's  on  Sun- 
day, the  29th.  On  Monday,  the  30th,  down-river  to  Andende, 
where  Mrs.  Xassau  was  awaiting  at  the  landing,  and  Mrs.  Read- 
ing on  the  veranda,  and  bells  were  ringing,  and  boys  were  shout- 
ing. Mr.  Robinson  had  arrived  from  (ialxxjn,  with  my  Ncllx- 
Howard.  And,  I  went  to  my  former  house  on  the  Hill;  where, 
also,  Mr.  Robinson  was  located.  That  night,  the  canoe  was 
stolen.  Then,  for  several  days  I  rested,  and  arranged  for  Mrs. 
Nassau. 

JOURNEY    TO    NJOLI. 

After  I  had  explained  to  my  associates  at  Kangwe,  about  the 
several  sites  I  had  inspected  in  the  vicinity  of  Njoli  Island,  and 
how  I  had  reduced  my  choice  to  three.  Mr.  Reading  kindly  of- 
fered to  go  with  me  and  help  to  select.  With  a  crew  of  six.  in  a 
boat,  we  started  up-river  on  Friday,  February  10th.  and  spent  the 
night  at  Mr.  Ermy's.  On  the  nth,  stopped  at  Belambla,  and 
was  very  much  pleased  to  see  that  the  grounds  were  cared  for 
by  two  Bakele,  Azune  and  Kange.  Stopped  for  the  night  at 
Mbomi.  A  meeting  was  held  on  Sunday,  the  12th,  and,  after- 
ward, plans  were  discussed  whether  we  should  attempt  to  run  by 
the  large  Fanwe  town  Xgwilaka,  of  Xjagu-demba  (in  sight,  up- 
river,  on  the  other  side)  or,  whether  we  should  stop  there,  and 
try  to  make  friends. 

On  Monday,  the  13th.  stopped  at  Xgwilaka  :  and,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  a  friendly  Mpongwe  trader  there,  Njalele,  Xjagu- 
demba's  demand  that  we  should  not  pass  his  place,  was  so 
changed,  that  he  consented  to  go  as  passenger  and  guide  with  us, 
and  help  us  against  any  demands  of  other  chiefs,  until  we  should 
reach  our  desired  point.  Xjoli.  Slept  on  the  sand-bar  at  Erere- 
volo.  Went  on  up-river,  on  the  14th,  inspecting  many  places ; 
and  slept  at  Olimbo's. 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  377 

On  Wednesday,  the  15th,  continued  our  inspection;  and  slept 
on  Njoli.  Mr.  Reading-  was  exceedingly  displeased  with  me, 
because  I  did  not  consent  to  the  site  he  selected.  Of  the  three, 
which,  by  a  process  of  exclusion,  I  had  fixed  on,  he  promptly 
rejected  one  (the  site  on  which,  later,  was  built  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic station,  near  Asange)  ;  and  I  agreed  with  him.  He  wished 
me  to  take  Njoli  Island.  I  would  have  done  so,  but  for  the  rea- 
son that  I  considered  that  De  Brazza,  a  French  Government  of- 
ficial, had  pre-empted  it.  The  remains  of  his  hut  still  stood 
there;  and,  only  a  short  time  before  it  was  covered  by  a  French 
flag.     The  taking  of  it  was,  to  me,  impossible. 

The  only  remaining  desirable  site  was  at  "  little-rock  "  Tala- 
guga.  But,  my  decision  offended  Mr.  Reading  profoundly.  It 
is  true  also,  that  he  and  I  differed  radically  as  to  the  object  of 
a  station  at  that  point.  While  we  agreed  that  some  station  in 
that  vicinity  was  desirable,  it  being  sixty-five  miles  from  Kangwe 
("not  less  than  fifty  miles")  he  thought  that  it  should  be  a 
large  thoroughly  equipped  station,  with  schools,  etc.,  and  there- 
fore it  would  need  a  wide  open  area,  such  as  Njoli  afforded.  I 
thought  of  the  station  as  only  a  wTay-house,  on  the  road  to  some 
larger  one  in  the  Interior  at  Isangaladi  or  Okota.  (That  was 
the  idea  of  the  government,  from  their  Post  at  Lembarene  to 
their  interior  Post  at  Lasteurville.)  My  definite  reasons  were: 
—  ( 1)  Talaguga  was  at  the  head  of  comfortable  boat  navigation. 
Beyond  it,  travel  would  be  by  canoes.  (2)  In  my  desire  for 
penetration  into  the  Interior,  I  did  not  expect  that  the  occupant 
of  Talaguga  would  have  a  school  of  any  size,  and  therefore 
needed  no  large  space  for  buildings.  His  chief  duty  would  be 
to  receive,  at  Talaguga's  excellent  landing,  the  boats  from  down- 
river, and  carefully  transfer  their  cargoes  to  proper  canoes,  and 
forward  them  to  the  real  station  beyond.  I  thought  (and  still 
think)  that  my  idea  was  a  good  one,  if  haste  into  the  Interior 
was  the  main  object. 

Apparently,  my  successors,  the  French  Protestant  mission,  has 
not  thought  that  desirable.  For,  in  addition  to  transferring  Ta- 
laguga to  Njoli  Island  (adopting  Mr.  Reading's  idea)  they  have 
deemed  the  sixty-five  miles  between  Kangwe  and  Talaguga  too 
great,  and  have  made  a  new  station  half-way;  not  therefore  ap- 
proving of  the  old  mission's  order  of  "  a  minimum  of  fifty  miles." 

We  rapidly  descended  the  river,  next  day,  the  16th.  And,  in 
passing  a  Fanwe  village  below  Ngwilaka,  suddenly  recognized 
Mr.   Reading's  stolen  canoe.     Fie  stopped,  claimed   it,  and  en- 


378  MY  OGOWE 

tered  it,  taking  two  of  my  six  men.  I  went  on  with  the  other 
four  to  Belambla,  for  the  night. 

On  Friday,  the  17th,  reached  Kangwe,  in  good  time  to  rest, 
and  attend  church  preparatory  service,  and  session  meeting;  at 
which,  one  of  the  school  young  men,  Agonjo-amwenge  was  re- 
ceived, Nguva  being  elder. 

Session  meetings  were  continued  on  Saturday,  the  18th,  and 
Ndambe  and  Akambie  were  received. 

Sunday,  the  19th,  was  a  beautiful  day,  and  a  pleasant  com- 
munion service. 

Wednesday,  the  22A.  There  were  disputed  station  accounts, 
in  Mr.  Reading's  paying,  as  treasurer,  bills  created  by  Dr.  Bach- 
eler.  With  Mr.  Reading  and  Mr.  Robinson,  I  went  to  Mr.  Scruff 
of  the  German  house,  and  to  Mr.  Sinclair  of  the  English,  to 
prove  that  my  accounts  of  1879,  and  up  to  the  time  of  my  leav- 
ing in  1880,  were  correct. 

While  ascending  the  rapids  in  February,  I  saw  a  beautiful  blue 
flower  among  the  rocks.  I  thought  of  my  wife.  And,  in  March, 
I  penned  her  the  following  lines : 

The  stream  flows  swift;  the  currents  swirl; 

The  river  surges  madly  clown. 
O'er  rocks,  where  breaks,  in  turbid  whirl. 

Each  angry  wave  its  foamy  crown. 

Above  those  waves,  so  dark  below, 

In  niche  and  ledge  of  rifted  walls, 
Alone,  where  nothing  else  can  grow. 

And  scarce  the  hopeful  sun-ray  falls. 

There  blooms  a  flow'r,  whose  petals  wide 
Seem,  with  their  cheerful  hopeful  blue, 

To  say  to  traveler  at  its  side. 

"  You've  sought  me,  and,  I  bloom  for  you  !  " 

And  then,  I  think  how,  in  this  life. 
When  roughest  darkest  seems  the  day, 

There  grows  for  each,  beyond  the  strife. 
Some  gentle  hope  to  cheer  the  way. 

E'en  thus,  for  me,  there  lives  a  flow'r, 

Hlue-eyed  and  helpful,  fair  to  see. 
And  every  day  I  bless  the  hour 

I  sought  her.     Dearest,  bloom  for  me! 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  379 

I  had  been  busy  collecting  goods,  and  hiring  crew  and  work- 
men, to  begin  my  work  on  the  Talaguga  ground.  After  some 
annoying  bargainings,  I  secured  a  company.  But,  the  unpleas- 
ant Galwa  habit  was  repeated  of  my  former  experiences  with 
them.  They  struck.  Of  course,  I  dropped  them;  and  went 
down-river  to  find  new  men. 

JOURNEY  TO  ORANGA. 

On  Friday,  March  3,  with  two  loyal  men  of  my  own,  and  two 
loaned  me  by  Mr.  Reading,  I  went  down-river,  stopping  at  sev- 
eral places,  and  finally  reaching  Oranga,  for  the  night. 

Next  day,  with  three  obtained  at.  Oranga,  I  started  back,  ob- 
taining two  more  on  the  way  (one  of  them  a  deaf-mute).  And 
stopped  for  the  night,  and  Sunday,  at  Ntyuwa-guma.  On  Mon- 
day, the  6th,  reached  Kangwe,  surprising  my  friends  by  my  rapid 
and  successful  trip. 

JOURNEY    TO    TALAGUGA. 

In  the  kongongo,  with  a  crew  of  eight,  and  accompanied  by  a 
goods  canoe  of  eight  Fanwe  under  command  of  a  Galwa,  Re- 
Mondo,  I  started  at  noon  of  Tuesday,  March  7,  and  moving 
slowly,  stopped  at  night  on  Walker's  Island,  opposite  the  Ngunye 
mouth. 

The  whole  day  of  the  8th,  was  one  of  anxiety ;  my  Fanwe  were 
afraid  of  almost  every  Akele  village  that  we  passed.  Spent  the 
night  at  Belambla. 

On  the  9th,  the  Fanwe  crew  was  a  constant  source  of  trouble ; 
their  fears,  their  slowness,  their  talkativeness,  their  frequent  de- 
sire to  stop  and  eat,  and  their  complaints  of  the  food.  Stopped 
before  dark  at  Nkog'o  Creek.  Sighted  some  elephants  near  the 
bank,  and  made  a  hasty  but  unsuccessful  hunt  of  them.  A  night 
of  alarms ;  as  I  slept  in  the  kongongo,  and  heard  the  bellowing 
of  hippopotami  and  barking  of  alligators  in  the  water  near  us, 
and  trumpeting  of  the  elephants  in  the  forest. 

On  the  TOth,  Re-Mondo  found  a  floating  dead  alligator;  and, 
when  we  stopped  to  eat  at  an  Akele  village,  the  crews  had  a  great 
feast  over  it.  Met  Re-Nkombe  returning  from  his  Interior  trip, 
and  sent  a  note  by  him  to  Mrs.  Nassau.  Stopped  for  the  night 
at  Olimbo's,  where  I  found  that  he  had  ready  for  me  the  thatch 
which  I  had  engaged  of  him.  Was  grateful  that,  though  that 
was  a  rainy  season,  no  rain  had  fallen  any  night  on  the  way;  and 
I  slept  safely  in  the  kongongo. 

On  Saturday,  the  nth,  on  the  way.  stopped  to  pay  respects  to 


38o  MY  OGOWE 

old  Mamyaga.  His  toe  was  almost  well,  due  to  the  medicine  I 
had  given  him.  Passed  Nyare's.  And,  was  at  Talaguga  land- 
ing by  10  a.  m.  My  very  first  act,  on  stepping  ashore,  and  be- 
fore any  goods  were  discharged,  was  to  call  the  crews  around 
me,  and,  kneeling  on  the  ground,  I  prayed  for  a  blessing  on  the 
new  station.  I  had  brought  with  me.  from  the  United  States, 
gift  of  a  Chestnut  Hill,  Pa.,  Sabbath  school,  a  regular  army  can- 
vas tent.  It  was  put  up  at  once,  on  the  narrow  level  at  the  right 
bank  of  the  little  mountain  stream  that  there  emptied  itself  into 
the  Ogowe.  My  goods  were  stored  in  it ;  and  my  crew  set  to  clear- 
ing a  near-by  spot,  on  which  should  be  erected  a  shelter  hut  for 
themselves,  with  Olimbo's  thatch.  Fafiwe  visitors  came,  watch- 
ing us  curiously;  some  brought  for  sale  sweet-potatoes,  pepper, 
fruits,  kuda  nuts,  and  a  wild  rat.     Rain  fell  heavily  that  night. 

On  Sunday,  the  12th,  Fan  we  were  passing  and  repassing  on 
foot,  along  the  path  (that  evidently  was  a  public  one)  on  the 
top  of  the  river-bank.  Old  Mamyaga  stopped,  on  his  way  up- 
river,  going  on  a  rubber-trade.  I  felt  depressed  and  anxious  as 
to  what  would  be  the  success  of  my  effort  at  the  new  station. 
Held  a  short  service  with  my  own  people,  no  others  being  pres- 
ent, using  the  Mpongwe  language.  Afterwards,  some  Fafiwe 
came,  and  I  communicated  with  them,  through  a  little  Fafiwe  lad, 
Xdongo,  of  Mr.  Reading's  household.  The  Fafiwe  crew  were 
afraid  of  the  Talaguga  clan,  and  became  anxious  to  depart. 
But,  with  my  high  standard  of  Sabbath  observance,  I  required 
them  to  remain  until  Sunday  was  past. 

On  Monday,  the  13th,  before  daylight,  Re-Mondo  and  his 
Fafiwe  crew  were  far  down-river.  I  held  morning-prayers  with 
my  eight  people.  (That  custom,  and  also  evening-prayers,  I 
maintained,  during  my  whole  life  in  Africa.)  And,  then  I  had 
them  complete  their  own  shelter-shed.  (Fortunately,  I  had 
brought  Olimbo's  thatch  with  me  on  the  Saturday.) 

Nyare  brought  a  woman,  who,  though  she  was  a  prisoner  (her 
feet  in  stocks)  he  allowed  to  come,  so  desirous  was  she  to  see 
a  white  man.  Began  to  clear  the  hillside,  for  the  site  of  my 
future  house.  Fafiwe  stood  looking  on ;  and  they  seemed 
amused  when  I  invited  them  to  come  and  join  in  the  work.  Next 
day,  two  Fafiwe  came  for  work.  They  had  enormous  ideas  of 
the  value  of  their  labor.  I  sat  down  with  Fafiwe  visitors,  and 
at  once  began  to  gather  a  Fafiwe  vocabulary.  Numbers  of 
young  women  and  girls  came  visiting. 

On  Wednesday,  the  15th,  the  two  Fafiwe  workmen,  who  had 
engaged  for  one  "dollar"  (four  yards  of  calico  print)  came  to 


FAX  WE  WOMAN 


Facing  page  380 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  381 

demand  that  "  dollar  "  for  their  one  day's  work !  After  much 
talking,  one  accepted  "  20  cents  "  (a  red  woolen  cap)  :  the  other 
stood  for  all  or  nothing;  he  got  nothing;  and  both  left.  Ma- 
myaga  came,  and  we  talked  about  the  site.  After  much  talking, 
he  assented  that  I  should  build  there,  and  not  at  his  place.  Some 
boundary  points  were  mentioned,  and  two  pointed  out.  I  gave 
him  a  hatchet,  and  promised  him  a  gun  and  other  things  when 
the  deed  should  be  signed.  The  two  men  of  the  morning  re- 
turned, and  agreed  to  work  six  days  for  a  "  dollar."  Began  to 
set  up  saplings  for  the  walls  of  a  temporary  hut  for  myself  near 
the  tent.  On  Thursday,  the  16th,  Nyare's  head-wife,  Nyamba, 
came  to  see  me,  with  a  gift  of  sugar-cane  and  plantain.  But,  she 
made  the  error  of  immediately  asking  for  a  return.  In  the  cupid- 
ity of  the  natives,  it  was  difficult  for  them  to  trust  that  they 
would  be  given  something  "  next  time."  But,  I  always  taught 
them  the  severe  lesson  of  "  handing  back  "  a  gift  for  which  a 
return  was  requested  at  the  time  it  was  given.  Nyamba  learned 
the  lesson ;  she  and  I  became  great  friends ;  I  had  great  respect 
for  her.  Leaving  some  of  the  men  at  work,  I  went  to  Olimbo's 
for  more  thatch. 

My  location  was  a  very  convenient  one  for  the  hailing  of  pass- 
ing canoes.  They  liked  to  stop  at  my  splendid  mountain  brook 
to  take  their  lunch.  On  Saturday,  the  18th.  Joseph  Xavier,  the 
former  customs  officer  at  Angala,  going  down-river,  stopped  at 
my  hail,  and  took  letters  for  me. 

While  at  morning  sen-ice  with  my  people  on  Sunday,  the  19th. 
several  lads  came  from  Nyare's  village  to  sell  potatoes.  (Of 
course,  they  knew  nothing  about  Sunday.)  They  remained,  and 
I  taught  them  the  Lord's  Prayer.  In  the  afternoon,  they  came 
again,  and  I  read  to  them  from  an  Infant  Catechism.  They  re- 
turned again  with  a  woman,  and  I  sang  hymns  to  them. 

The  two  Fafhve  came  on  Monday,  the  20th,  to  their  work, 
bringing  a  third,  Nyene,  at  the  rate  of  a  "  dollar  "  for  six  days. 
Already,  the  old  trouble  of  trespassing  had  to  be  met.  I  had  twice 
to  go  into  the  woods  to  stop  men  from  cutting  trees.  Two  men 
came  with  most  disgusting  ulcers  for  treatment.  My  "  water- 
side "  hut  was  being  built. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  27th,  went  with  two  of 
my  men,  to  look  over  and  mark  the  boundary  of  the  premises  I 
proposed  to  claim.  On  the  way,  was  seized  with  most  distress- 
ing symptoms  of  what  I  suppose  was  poisoning  from  a  tin  of 
canned  cranberries.  I  was  so  weakened  that  I  was  barely  able  to 
get  back  to  my  tent  and  my  cot. 


38J  MY  OGOWE 

On  Thursday,  the  23d,  began  to  clear  ground  on  a  little 
plateau  on  a  ledge  of  the  hill,  about  200  feet  above  the  river,  for 
the  permanent  bamboo  dwelling  I  intended  to  build,  the  "  upper  " 
house.  During  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  24th,  came  Ma- 
myaga,  with  Animba  and  Ndongo,  two  coast-men.  as  interpreter 
and  witness.  Xyare  also  came,  and  interjected  himself.  I  was 
surprised ;  for,  I  had  recognized  Old  Mamyaga  as  the  authorita- 
tive chief.  We  had  our  talk  about  the  purchase  of  the  premises. 
I  paid  Mamyaga  $9  (trade)  ;  and  privately  promised  Nyare 
(who  was  dissatisfied  with  what  I  gave  him)  something  more 
for  another  day.  (It  was  unfortunate,  for  my  future,  that  I 
recognized  him  at  all.)  And,  both  men  made  "marks  "  to  the 
deed,  giving  me  sole  right  to  the  ground,  its  trees,  fruits  and 
animals.  I  especially  explained  to  them  against  trespassing  of 
all  kinds.  The  next  day,  I  sent  for  Nyare,  who  came  with  a 
retinue  of  people ;  and  I  formally  gave  him  a  gun ;  and  he  was 
satisfied. 

Tuesday,  the  28th,  a  letter  came  from  Mrs.  Nassau!  With 
half  of  my  men,  I  went  with  Nyare.  over  the  outline  of  the  bound- 
ary of  the  premises,  marking  prominent  trees,  and  carefully  run- 
ning the  line  wherever  there  were  gardens  of  his  women.  By 
Thursday,  the  30th.  the  "water-side"  hut  was  finished;  and  I 
moved  into  it  from  the  tent.  In  clearing  the  grounds,  I  fre- 
quently came  on  scorpions  of  the  large  black  variety,  whose  sting 
is  supposed  to  be  fatal.     For  the  first,  slept  in  the  finished  hut. 

About  that  time.  I  had  dealings  in  buying  thatch  from  a  young 
man.  Agonjo.  a  Galwa  trader,  whose  name  in  after  years,  as 
"  Paul  Agonjo."  became  prominent  in  my  service  and  in  the 
church. 

On  April  t.  a  frightful  report  of  native  surgery :— Two 
Fail  we  went  hunting  together:  they  became  separated,  and.  in 
the  density  of  the  thicket,  the  one,  catching  sight  of  what  he 
thought  was  a  wild  animal,  fired  and  the  slugs  entered  the  breast 
of  his  friend.  Native  "  doctors  "  considered  it  essential  that  all 
bullets  and  slugs  be  removed  at  any  cost.  So,  the  doctor  made  a 
vertical  incision  over  the  sternum,  and  a  long  lateral  incision  be- 
low the  ribs.  Then,  forcibly  throwing  aside  the  two  points  of 
the  chest,  like  an  opened  book,  he  exposed  the  cavity  over  the 
heart  and  lungs,  and  searched  for  the  slugs.  Then  word  was 
sent  for  me  to  come  and  sew  up  the  incisions.  I  did  not  go; 
it  would  have  been  useless. 

A  little  boy  came  to  me  for  his  sore  leg  to  be  bandaged.  And. 
soon  followed  a  father,  his  child  having  a  sore  foot.      The  clear- 


^B 

W*M 

mi   1 1    •%#   9  *)' 

FAXWE  MAX  AND  WIFE 


l-a-_i-ig   ,  3,je   38; 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  383 

ing  on  the  hillside  I  called  "  for  the  halfway  house/'  i.e.,  the 
dwelling  would  be  on  the  little  plateau  at  the  lower  half  of  that 
portion  of  the  Talaguga  Hill. 

The  days  were  very  busy  ones.  But,  the  evenings  were  lonely. 
The  workmen  would  be  at  their  own  evening  meal,  and  with 
their  own  discussions  around  their  fire.  I  sat  often  alone;  plan- 
ning; and  longing:  and  finding  in  the  beauty  of  the  forest,  on 
moonlight  nights,  much  that  carried  me  away  in  thought  to 
other  times  and  other  places  and  loved  ones,  from  whom  I  was 
separated.     Under  such  circumstances  I  wrote  for  Mrs.  Nassau : 

I  am  singing  in  the  shadows. 

They  have  lengthened  into  night. 
Through  the  high,  locked,  forest  leaf-arms, 

From  the  moon,  so  round,  so  bright, 
Fall  the  wind-chased  rays  that  flicker, 

Like  my  own  life's  vista-view. 
So.  I'm  singing  in  the  shadows, 

While  I'm  thinking,  Wife,  of  you. 

I  am  singing  in  the  shadows. 

There's  no  life,  however  bright 
With  the  love  that  God  has  given, 

But  it  has  its  day  and  night. 
Even  lips  that  love  can  only 

Bid  to  Higher  Rock  to  flee, 
So,  I  sing  while  in  the  shadows  ; 

For,  I'm  praying,  Christ,  to  Thee. 

We'll  go  singing  in  the  shadows. — 

Thanks  for  dark,  and  thanks  for  light, — 
Till  our  path  shall  reach  the  city 

Where  no  day  e'er  turns  to  night. 
There  the  Light  that  blessed  Lamb  is 

W7hose  pure  glory  none  can  dim, 
In  the  valley  of  the  shadows 

We  can  sing,  dear  Wife,  of  Him. 

[My  words  were  almost  prophetic  of  the  tragic  shadow  that 
came  to  me  a  little  over  two  years  later  in  the  very  house  I 
was  then  preparing  to  build.]  One  of  the  trying  conditions, 
during  the  month  at  Talaguga  was,  that  I  heard  or  received  so 
little  from  Kangwe.  Canoes  were  passing  down-river  every  few 
days.  They  stopped  at  my  landing,  even  if  I  did  not  hail  them. 
I  could  send  constantly  by  them  letters  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  and  or- 
ders to  Mr.  Reading.     But,  I  got  few  returns ;  for,  Kangwe  was 


384  MY  OGOWK 

no  longer  on  the  trade-line.  The  houses  had  been  removed  out 
on  the  main  stream.  And,  the  gentlemen  in  charge  of  those 
houses,  did  not  appreciate  my  need,  and  failed  to  promptly  in- 
quire of  passing  canoes,  by  which  to  forward  letters,  etc.,  which 
had  been  committed  to  their  care.  But,  one  day,  everything 
came  to  me  in  mass: — On  Wednesday,  April  5,  came  Re- 
Nkombe  with  boxes  of  food,  tools,  newspapers  and  letters,  of 
dates  March  15  to  23.  And,  next  day,  came  another  canoe  with 
letters  of  March  25.  And,  soon  another  with  letters  of  March 
28.  And  shortly  after,  with  letters  of  March  28,  and  a 
load  of  boards,  and  provisions.  I  was  so  glad  and  thank- 
ful !  But,  the  letters  brought  word  that  made  it  necessary 
for  me  to  return  to  Kangwe  for  a  few  days. 

JOURNEY    TO    KANGWE. 

On  Friday,  April  7,  with  six  of  my  people,  having  notified 
Nyare,  so  as  to  have  him  take  some  interest  in  guarding  my  hut, 
I  started.  And,  stopping  for  friendly  salutations  at  many  places, 
staved  for  the  night  at  Belambla. 

Continuing  on  the  8th,  I  was  in  company  of  one  of  Re- 
Xkombe's  people,  the  man  Ambangila,  on  his  return  from  an  In- 
terior trade-journey,  having  with  him  two  new  slave-women.  He 
was  received  with  gun-firing  and  great  shouting  at  Atangina,"  the 
while  that  I  was  being  welcomed  at  Kangwe  by  Mrs.  Nassau. 
On  the  next  day.  Sunday,  I  preached  to  an  attentive  audience. 
Two  of  the  river  steamers,  Batanga  and  Mpongwe  had  arrived, 
bringing  our  furniture. 

On  Monday,  the  10th.  I  went  to  the  German  house,  and 
brought  Mrs.  Nassau's  precious  organ.  It  was  a  great  task 
carrying  it  up  the  Hill;  and  a  glad  reception  it  had  from  her; 
its  opening  she  specially  celebrated  in  her  letters  to  the  United 
States.  Some  of  my  employees  were  tired  of  service :  and,  I 
had  to  spend  two  days  down-river,  engaging  new  men.  It  was  a 
very  busy  week  at  Kangwe. 

JOURNEY    UP    TO    TAEAGUGA. 

On  Saturday.  April  15th,  the  usual  Galwa  unfaithfulness  ap- 
peared. My  crew  did  not  strike  for  higher  wages:  they  simply 
deserted,  leaving  me  only  three  faithful  ones.  I  put  on  the  best 
face,  though  I  was  feeling  deeply  distressed,  and  began  to  load 
the  canoe,  just  as  if  I  was  determined  to  go  with  only  those 
three.  (Among  other  things,  I  took  young  mango  trees,  for 
planting  at  Talaguga. )      Mr.  Reading  kindly  deprived  himself  of 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  385 

two  of  his  Kru-men,  contract  workmen  of  the  splendid  Liberia 
tribe  (who  never  thought  of  striking  or  rebelling),  and  ordered 
four  of  his  schoolboys  to  join  the  crew,  simply  to  take  me  to 
Talaguga.  Spent  the  night  at  Mr.  Ermy's  comfortable  home. 
Where,  the  next  day,  Sunday,  I  conducted  services. 

On  the  way,  Monday,  the  17th,  I  stopped  at  Belambla.  The 
avocado  trees  I  had  planted  were  in  full  bloom.  My  trees 
bloomed ;  but,  my  teachings  had  not !  Slept  at  Mbomi,  where 
also  was  Owondo's  canoe.  The  people  were  so  noisy,  that  I 
got  little  attention  to  my  evening  preaching.  The  Akele  soil 
was  very  hard ! 

On  Tuesday,  the  18th.  there  was  a  long,  wet  pull;  and  I  would 
have  stopped  at  an  ulako  at  6  p.  m.  But,  both  crews  very  loyally 
preferred,  tired  as  they  were,  to  pull  on  to  the  safe  from  rain 
town  of  Yena,  as  late  as  9  p.  m. 

And,  on  the  19th,  by  1  p.  m.,  both  crews  safely  landed,  and  were 
welcomed  by  the  two  young  men  whom  I  had  left  in  charge.  I 
was  grateful  for  the  success  of  the  journey.  Nyare  and  his  peo- 
ple came  to  welcome  us. 

AT    TALAGUGA. 

Following  a  habit,  which  J  maintained  during  all  my  African 
life.  I  planted  fruit-trees,  orange,  mango,  avocado  pear,  bread- 
fruit, etc.  Vigorously  I  continued  the  building  I  had  l>egun  dur- 
ing March.  The  two  Kru-men,  in  their  vigor,  skill,  steadiness 
and  obedience,  were  worth  half-a-dozen  Gal  was.  In  the  after- 
noon of  Saturday,  the  22(\,  came  the  French  explorer.  Mons. 
Alliot.  He  stayed  over-night,  and  gave  me  much  information 
about  the  interior  Ogowe,  and  new  expeditions.  All  this  fired 
my  desire  to  push  our  stations  forward  into  that  Interior. 

He  left  early  the  next  morning.  I  held  a  morning  service 
with  my  people  on  Psalms  29,  9.  Fanwe  were  busy  passing  all 
flay  on  their  businesses.  They  were  so  indifferent  to  anything 
but  the  commercial  value  of  my  presence.  Tt  was  difficult  to 
make  them  believe  that  I  had  not  come  to  buy  ivory.  I  was  very 
much  depressed :  and,  in  the  evening  went  alone  for  prayer  on 
the  hill-top.  I  wrote  my  feelings  in  the  lines  of  "  Teneo  et 
teneor." 

1  sit  beside  Ogovve's  stream. 

The  night  is  dark.     The  crescent  moon 
Gives  but  a  phantom  ray  to  gleam 

On  shadows  here  so  densely  strewn. 


386  MY  OGOWE 

Beyond  these  shades,  the  farther  bank 

Uprises, — a  majestic  hill, — 
That,  forest-crowned,  with  verdure  rank, 

Stands  somber,  solemn,  weirdly  still- 
Above,  in  azure  fields  of  space, 

The  lonely  southern  sky  outspreads. 
There  rests  my  eye.     With  strength  and  grace, 

The  starry  Cross  its  radiance  sheds. 

That  Cross  meant  toil,  meant  shame,  meant  death. 

Tn  following  it,  I  follow  those  — 
Ah!  heart,  sink  not  with  bated  breath. 

At  thought  of  care,  of  pain,  of  foes ! 

Hail,  Cross  of  Jesus!     Thence  I  draw, 
By  faith,  the  strength  that  must  be  mine ; 

And  see.  as  once  a  Warrior  saw. 

The  promise,  "  Conquer,  in  this  sign !  " 

O!  joyful  Cross!     O!  Mystery  dear! 

Up  in  my  soul  fresh  hope  has  welled ! 
The  toil  grows  light,  clouds  disappear. 

Savior !  I  hold  Thee  and  am  held ! 

Some  lonely  evenings,  I  sat  by  the  water-side,  and  played  on 
my  cornet.  Its  echoes  among  the  hills  sounded  well.  The 
Akele  head-man,  Njwivinjanda,  came  to  ask  me  to  "  trust  "  him 
goods  in  trade !  He  and  others  either  did  not  understand  or 
would  not  believe  my  repeated  explanations  of  the  Gospel  mes- 
sage as  my  sole  work.  There  was  a  leprous  Faiiwe  who  often 
came  to  my  camp.  I  was  not  afraid  of  him ;  for.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  leprosy  is  communicable  otherwise  than  by  inoculation. 
So.  I  constantly  shook  hands  with  lepers  whose  disease  had  not 
reached  the  stage  of  ulceration.  But.  this  man  had  some  ugly 
ulcers,  and  annoyed  me  by  watching  me  eating  my  dinner.  So 
desirous  was  T  to  have  people  come  to  me,  that  I  never  ordered 
him  away. 

Tn  the  evening  of  the  25th,  began  my  usual  custom  of  a  weekly 
prayer-meeting,  with  only  my  own  few  people,  or  any  visitors 
who  happened  along,  in  the  evenings  after  their  day's  work  was 
done. 

On  the  29th,  myself  and  employees  being  housed.  I  began  to 
build  a  boat-shed  on  the  little  island  that  was  made  by  my  moun- 
tain-stream dividing,  a  few  hundred  feet  before  it  entered  the 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  387 

Ogovve  by  its  two  mouths.  That  shed  became  a  great  conven- 
ience to  the  traveling1  public.  They  already  liked  the  quiet 
mouth  of  my  little  stream,  and  the  safe  companionship  of  my 
people.  But,  that  boat-shed  became  a  refuge  for  them  from 
many  a  stormy  night. 

On  Sunday,  the  30th,  I  was  awakened  before  6  a.  m.,  by 
shouts  of  men  and  boys  hunting  with  dogs,  in  the  forest  between 
my  place  and  Nyare's.  I  went  to  his  village,  with  one  of  my 
men.  He  was  absent,  professedly  trying  to  stop  the  trespass.  I 
waited  until  he  came;  and  then  waited  until  the  offenders  came. 
We  had  an  angry  discussion,  in  which  Nyare  spoke  apparently 
well.  But,  I  remembered  my  experiences  with  Kasa  under  sim- 
ilar circumstances.  And,  I  looked  with  dread  to  a  possible 
repetition  of  Belambla  difficulties.  The  trespassers  had  killed 
four  antelopes  and  other  animals.  I  was  offered  a  small  piece 
of  one,  as  compensation !  I  indignantly  left.  The  remainder  of 
the  day  was  quiet.  My  most  reliable  assistant,  Akendenge,  was 
sick.  In  the  evening,  a  Fafiwe  canoe  passed,  its  crew  wailing 
the  news  of  some  death. 

On  May  1,  only  women  and  children  came  from  Nyare's;  no 
men,  except  one,  who  spoke  well  against  the  trespass  by  the 
hunters.  The  other  men  were  away,  at  a  raid  on  a  village  across 
the  river ;  from  which  they  returned  with  a  woman  as  captive.  I 
kept  on  at  study  of  Fafiwe,  whenever  I  could  get  some  passer-by 
to  tell  me  anything.  Another  of  my  reliable  Galwas  was  sick. 
My  topic  for  the  weekly  prayer  meeting  was,  the  seeking  of  sug- 
gestions how  to  reach  the  apparently  unimpressionable  Fafiwe. 

Wednesday,  the  3d,  was  a  clear  bright  day;  but,  I  rose  with 
more  of  a  depressed  feeling  than  at  any  previous  time.  I  felt 
almost  like  deserting  the  place.  Akendenge  and  Joktan  were 
still  very  sick ;  my  medicines  did  not  help  them ;  they  wished  for 
"  native  "  medicine.  Remembering  that  I  had  helped  Mamyaga 
with  his  sore  toe,  I  sent  a  messenger  to  him  with  a  gift,  asking 
for  "  medicines."  In  the  afternoon,  a  woman  came  promptly, 
and  treated  the  two  young  men.  I  marked  out  the  exact  site  of 
the  house  on  posts  which  I  was  to  build  for  Mrs.  Nassau.  Being 
short  of  help,  I  cooked  my  own  meals  that  day ;  and,  did  not  feel 
so  low-spirited  in  the  evening,  as  I  had  felt  in  the  morning. 

On  Thursday,  the  4th,  in  the  morning,  while  I  was  trying  to 
study  Fafiwe,  came  Nyare  and  Mamyaga ;  and,  I  had  a  talk  about 
the  trespass,  on  Sunday.  The  talk  was  not  satisfactory.  There 
were  many  people  hanging  around ;  and,  about  the  time  that  Ma- 
myaga was  leaving,   I  missed  a  file,  and  believed  that  it  was 


388  MY  OGOWE 

stolen.  It  was  the  first  stealing  that  I  had  suspected  at  Talaguga. 
I  had  difficulty  in  preventing  such  things  from  hardening  me 
toward  the  tribe  to  whom  I  had  come  so  cordially.  My  two  sick 
men  were  no  better  on  Friday,  the  5th. 

My  efforts  to  pick  up  Fan  we  were  slow ;  for,  I  had  no  regular 
interpreter.  As  some  Faiiwe  men  were  passing,  I  could  get 
them  to  tell  me  the  name  of  things,  by  pointing  to  the  object, 
and  saying  the  Faiiwe  words,  "  What,  this?  "  But,  when  I  tried 
to  get  the  plural  forms,  they  could  not  understand  what  I  wanted. 
The  only  aid  1  had  was  a  small  Faiiwe  vocabulary  and  phrases 
collected  by  a  former  Gaboon  missionary.  Rev.  H.  M.  Adams, 
which  I  had  printed  while  in  the  United  States,  and  a  child's 
catechism.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Marling,  at  Libreville,  was  a  Faiiwe 
scholar;  but,  he  had  put  nothing  into  writing  which  I  could  use. 

On  Saturday,  the  6th,  in  the  afternoon,  Nyare  came  to  speak 
of  a  report  he  had  heard  that  Mamyaga  had  advised  me  to 
leave  Talaguga.  I  told  him  that  transgressions,  such  as  his  peo- 
ple had  made,  could  influence  me  in  that  way.  Later.  T  went 
on  the  weekly  visitation  to  his  village.  Tie  wanted  to  talk  of 
the  "  palaver,"  but.  I  refused  to  mix  it  up  with  my  religious  serv- 
ice. He  and  his  people  came  on  Sunday,  the  7th.  to  give  me  a 
fowl,  as  a  compensation  for  the  previous  Sunday's  four  antelopes. 
They  did  not  understand  that  T  objected  to  the  trespass,  not  to 
the  loss  of  the  animals.  And,  T  declined  even  to  talk  on  the 
subject  in  the  presence  of  a  so  insultingly  small  reparation.  They 
wished  to  loose  the  fowl  on  my  premises;  but.  I  would  not  al- 
low it. 

On  Monday,  the  8th.  hailing  a  passing  canoe.  I  sent  one  of 
my  sick  men.  Akendenge,  away.  I  was  afraid  that  his  case  might 
become  serious.  Nyare  seemed  to  think  that  the  "  palaver  "  was 
settled,  and  came  to  ask  the  favor  of  the  use  of  my  grindstone. 
on  which  to  sharpen  his  dagger!  T  allowed  it.  [A  year  later, 
that  dagger  almost  took  my  life.]  A  little  girl,  whose  arms  were 
sore  with  the  abrasion  of  her  brass  rings,  was  not  afraid,  and 
played  with  me,  mimicking  my  actions.  The  Fan  we  noticed  how 
many  strangers'  canoes  stopped  at  my  place:  and  I  overheard 
them  remark.  "  Kal  Xasa  e  no  kuma  "  (Nassau's  town  has  a 
reputation).  I  was  pleased  that  Nyare's  children  came  to  play 
with  me  almost  every  day.  Xgara,  Mveli,  Bakara,  and  others. 
Wrote  an  article  on  "  Faiiwe  Cannibalism,"  to  send  to  the  Phila- 
delphia Press.  Always,  T  had  a  note  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  ready  to 
be  taken  by  any  passing  canoe.  My  building  plans  went  dis- 
tressinsrlv  slowlv;  for,  T  had  onlv  two  workmen. 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  389 

On  Thursday,  the  nth,  Ntula  and  Bilan,  two  of  Nyare's  peo- 
ple, the  chief  two  trespassers,  came  with  a  fowl  as  a  fine  for 
their  offense.  As  it  was  the  first  acknowledgment  of  wrong-do- 
ing,  I  accepted  it  from  Ntula ;  and,  he  at  once  began  to  work  on 
wages.  Bilan  was  still  under  my  displeasure.  A  man  from  a 
distance  brought  his  wife  who  wished  to  see  that  strange  being, 
a  white  man.  They  wondered  at  the  power  of  my  "  one-man  " 
cross-cut  saw.     They  said  that,  "  it  ate  logs  too  fast." 

On  Saturday,  the  13th,  some  children  from  across  the  river 
came  to  sell  sweet  potatoes.  One  little  boy  had  only  a  few ;  but, 
I  could  not  resist  his  eyes  as  he  plead  for  one  yard  of  calico  as 
pay.  They  were  not  worth  it  (at  the  river  market  rates).  But, 
I  gave  him  the  cloth.  It  would  cover  his  nakedness;  he  did  not 
need  it  for  warmth ;  but,  for  civilization.  My  fowl,  paid  as  a 
fine,  was  missing.  It  was  found  at  Nyare's,  whither  it  had  wan- 
dered for  company.  The  people  begged  me  to  kill  and  eat  it,  lest 
they  be  suspected  of  stealing  it.  When  I  asked  little  Mveli,  on 
Sunday,  the  14th,  a  catechism  question,  "What  is  a  spirit?  "  he 
gave  the  reply,  "  A  spirit  is  something  which  lives  always," 
and  he  added,  "  and  never  dies."  Then,  he  voluntarily  in- 
quired, when  I  was  speaking  about  kon  (spirit),  "Has  God  a 
wife?" 

"No."     "Then,  he  lives  alone?" 

Some  signs  of  the  change  from  rainy  to  dry  season.  Two 
more  Fanwe  came  to  work.  They  were  unskilled ;  but,  I  was 
relieved  of  the  duty  of  feeding  them.  The  food  question  was  a 
most  difficult  one  during  all  the  years  of  my  Talaguga  life.  My 
other  sick  man,  Joktan,  was  better. 

I  thought  that  I  was  a  pretty  good  shot  with  a  rifle ;  but,  when, 
on  the  i/th,  I  fired  at  close  range  at  the  head  of  one  of  my  chick- 
ens, for  dinner,  I  was  amazed  that  the  bird  did  not  fall,  but  stood 
erect,  looking  at  me.  I  was  more  surprised  when  I  found  it 
bleeding.  The  bullet  had  made  a  clean  round  hole  through  its 
wattles,  under  its  jaw,  and  all  so  suddenly  that  the  bird  had  not 
been  startled.  Of  some  Fanwe  visitors  from  the  Abange  Creek, 
I  made  inquiries  about  a  route  to  Gaboon  via  that  stream  and 
the  Rembwe.  They  gave  me  names  of  places  and  distances, 
which  I  hoped  to  use  in  the  future,  on  a  path  which  (though  I 
never  had  the  opportunity  to  use  it),  I  fully  believe,  would  be  a 
useful  communication  between  Libreville  and  the  Ogowe.  One 
of  them  asked  me  for  rum !  When  I  told  him  I  did  not  have 
it,  he  did  not  believe  me,  thinking  that  I  was  only  unwilling  to 
give.     So,   he  asked  one  of  my  Galwas,   Akambie.     But,   just 


390  MY  OGOWE 

then,  another  one  told  the  first  one,  that,  "  When  a  missionary 
said  that  a  thing  was  not,  that  was  the  end  of  it." 

On  the  1 8th,  Akanda  people,  employees  as  crew  of  a  Goree 
trader,  pleased  me  by  their  fine  appearance.  When  I  told  them 
of  my  intention  of  permanent  residence,  and  my  hope  of  some 
day  reaching-  their  tribe,  they  said  they  would  work  for  me  if  I 
would  come.  So  different  from  the  Bakele  and  Fanwe !  At 
night,  when  I  was  ready  to  prepare  for  bed,  I  observed  my  hut 
invaded  by  an  army  of  driver  ants.  From  that  hour,  on  to  2 
a.  M.  of  the  19th,  I  was  kept  moving  from  place  to  place,  an  hour 
at  a  time,  finding  spots  where  it  was  safe  for  me  to  sit ;  part  of 
the  time  on  my  carpenter's  bench.  When  I  finally  went  to  sleep, 
I  did  not  dare  to  disrobe. 

Sunday,  the  22<\,  was  not  a  happy  day.  The  fishing  canoes 
were  busy.  Mamyaga  came,  not  for  my  service,  but  for  medi- 
cine (which  he  wasted  by  spilling  it  in  his  hunting-bag).  Then, 
he  asked  me  for  a  gun,  with  which  to  re-capture  a  run-away 
wife!  And,  I  was  disappointed  that  the  canoes  of  the  preceding 
days  had  brought  me  no  word  from  Kangwe. 

Next  day,  Nyare's  chief  wife,  Nyamba,  who  had  been  sick  for 
weeks  with  an  abscess,  came  to  present  me  with  some  plantains. 
At  dusk,  I  heard  boat-songs  down-river,  such  as  were  usually 
sung  as  a  warning  of  arrival.  And,  soon  came  Mr.  Reading's 
Blue-bird,  in  charge  of  good  Mr.  Robinson,  with  a  crew  of  eight, 
six  of  them  Kru-men.  and  a  supply  of  goods,  and  precious  let- 
ters. I  was  grateful  for  their  help  and  comfort;  and  sat  up 
late,  chatting  with  Mr.  Robinson. 

On  Thursday,  the  25th,  leaving  the  six  Kru-men  with  me. 
Mr.  Robinson  went  away  with  only  his  two  Galwa  crew.  Going 
down,  with  the  river's  four-knot  current,  would  not  be  difficult. 
T  sent  also  as  passenger,  my  other  sick  Galwa.  Joktan.  Kru-men 
had  their  own  tribal  names.  But,  when  they  engage  on  the 
ocean-steamers,  the  pursers  can  not  understand  them,  and  they 
give  them  any  sort  of  ridiculous  names.  Theirs  were.  James, 
Jacob,  Kavala.  Brass-pan,  and  Baby. 

My  boat-shed  I  was  quite  willing  should  be  used  by  visitors 
over-night.  I  always  took  the  chance  to  talk  to  them.  It  was 
almost  the  same  as  if  1  had  visited  their  village.  But,  there  were 
sometimes  those  who  repaid  hospitality  by  attempts  at  theft.  To 
them  the  crime  seemed  small,  when  the  white  man  had  so  much 
of  (what  they  called)  wealth!  On  Sunday,  the  28th,  my  newly- 
arrived  Kru-men  found  some  Fanwe  visitors,  who  had  come 
on  Saturday  night,  attempting  to  rob  their  boxes.     One  of  the 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  391 

Kru-men  made  a  very  musical  instrument,  a  marimba,  a  kind  of 
xylophone. 

On  Wednesday,  the  31st,  had  quite  a  talk  with  some  visitors, 
about  the  locality  and  numbers  of  dwarfs,  of  the  clan  called 
Akao.  Some  years  later,  I  came  in  contact  with  them.  It  was 
a  surprise  to  me,  a  dozen  years  later,  to  see  a  good  deal  written 
about  them,  in  the  Batanga  Interior;  as  if  it  was  something  new 
or  untried  in  the  mission. 

My  place  became  more  and  more  a  stopping-resort,  for  pass- 
ing canoes.  I  approved ;  for,  I  always  held  up  my  Gospel  work 
before  them.  On  Saturday,  June  3,  there  came  continuously 
from  9  a.  m.  to  2  p.  M.,  Mpongwe  traders  with  their  crews,  on 
their  way  up-river,  twenty  canoes  or  other  crafts.  At  one  time, 
there  were  as  many  as  twelve  canoes  at  my  landing,  averaging 
twelve  each  for  a  crew.  I  did  not  lack  for  company  that  day! 
The  Fanwe  looked,  with  wide-eyed  curiosity,  on  what  they  called 
my  "  importance,"  wondering  what  drew  all  those  people  to  me. 
But  of  all,  one  of  the  canoes  brought  letters,  and  milk,  sugar, 
and  medicines  from  Mrs.  Nassau. 

I  had  not  felt  well ;  but,  was  aroused  to  interest,  just  before 
sundown  of  May  4th,  by  the  arrival  from  the  Interior,  of  eighteen 
canoes  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Louis  Mizon,  comman- 
dant of  the  Upper  Ogowe  and  Kongo.  He  remained  to  tea  (tea 
was  about  the  only  thing  I  had,  with  which  to  entertain  him).  I 
offered  him  my  hut  for  the  night ;  but,  he  preferred  the  open  out- 
side. We  sat  talking  till  midnight.  His  accounts  of  the  in- 
terior Aduma  tribe  greatly  spurred  my  desire  to  push  the  making 
of  new  stations  on  the  way  to  them.  [And,  yet,  thirty  years 
later,  nothing  had  been  clone  by  Protestants,  to  reach  them.] 
Among  the  many  canoes  that  stopped  on  Monday,  the  5th,  was 
one  from  Okanda,  with  slaves.  They  were  about  to  stop ;  but, 
seeing  my  French  flag,  and  fearing  it.  they  passed  on. 

On  June  6,  Nyare  himself  was  a  transgressor.  One  of  his 
people  having  seen  a  few  fish  in  the  brook  near  my  waterside,  he 
sent  his  women  to  fish  there.  As  the  brook  was  mine,  I  ordered 
the  women  away. 

Sunday,  the  nth,  was  a  quiet  pleasant  day.  Nyare,  with  his 
little  boy,  Bakara,  actually  came  to  see  me  about  noon.  And,  in 
the  later  afternoon,  his  wife  Nyamba  came,  bringing  a  little  gift. 
I  had  to  decline  it  until  another  day.  Not  at  all.  that  a  gift 
may  not  be  received  on  Sunday:  but,  because,  to  almost  all  the 
natives,  "  a  gift  "  was  (at  that  time)  a  commercial  transaction. 
I  drew  a  strict  line  against  all  pecuniary  dealings  on  the  Sunday. 


392  MY  OGOWE 

Very  early,  in  the  dark  of  the  morning  of  the  12th,  I  heard 
footsteps  and  voices  passing  the  hnt.  To  my  demand  who  they 
were,  I  got  no  answer.  Rushing  out  with  gun  and  torch,  I  found 
my  two  Galwas  on  the  path  where  they  had  gone,  they  also  hav- 
ing heard  the  footsteps  of  Fanwe,  and  were  following  them. 
But,  the  latter  had  fled,  when  they  saw  me  coming. 

I  was  accumulating  material  of  bamboo  and  thatch,  for  the 
future  building.  I  "  trusted  "  to  young  men,  Galwa  traders, 
whom  I  knew,  and  whom  I  thought  friendly  to  me,  sums  of 
goods  in  advance ;  for  which,  they  were  either  to  make,  or  buy, 
at  better  terms  than  I  could  get,  those  materials.  (Of  course, 
they  were  to  retain  their  "  commission  "  from  the  goods  I  ad- 
vanced them.)  But,  I  found  that,  then,  they  expected  me  to 
pay  them  also  a  wage,  the  wages  of  the  crew  and  the  hire  of  the 
canoe  in  which  they  brought  the  materials.  I  ceased  to  deal 
further  with  them.  One  of  them  was  the  man  known  later  as 
"  Paul  "  Agon  jo.  Saturday,  the  17th.  At  the  afternoon  meet- 
ing in  Nyare's  town.  I  found  that  one  of  his  women,  who 
twice  had  run  away,  was  in  stocks. 

Sunday,  the  18th.  While  I  respected  the  old  man  Mamyaga, 
I  .found  his  people  thievish,  on  their  visits.  A  few  of  Nyare's 
people,  including  the  mothers  of  little  Mveli  and  Bakara,  were  at 
meeting;  but,  Mamyaga's  were  disorderly. 

On  the  20th,  Joktan,  recovered  in  health,  returned,  with  two 
Shekvani.  But,  not  until  three  hours  later,  did  he  tell  me  that 
in  a  box  he  had  brought,  were  letters  from  Kangwe !  On  a  hasty 
opening  of  the  box.  I  found  Mrs.  Nassau's  letters ;  but,  had  time, 
just  as  a  canoe  was  passing,  to  make  only  a  short  reply.  I  was 
so  grateful  to  get  the  letters!  Each  evening  at  prayers,  1  had 
sung  from  "  Gospel  Hymns,"  a  hymn  in  regular  course  through 
the  book.  That  evening,  the  one  for  the  day,  "  The  Lord's  My 
Shepherd,  I'll  not  Want,"  to  the  tune  of  "  Evans,"  was  very  ap- 
propriate. On  the  next  evening.  Joktan  came  to  say  that  he 
wished  to  live  a  christian  life!  This  was  the  first  profession  of 
its  kind,  from  any  one,  of  any  tribe,  since  I  began  my  work  at 
Talaguga,  almost  four  months  before.  T  trusted  that  it  was 
only  the  beginning  of  good  things! 

June  24.  The  tools,  with  which  my  men  were  working,  were 
a  daily  curiosity  to  men,  women,  and  children.  The  women 
were  actually  afraid  of  some  of  them.  There  were  three  who 
would  not  even  touch  the  big  "one-man"  cross-cut  saw,  as  if 
they  thought  its  teeth  were  human.  Three  of  my  men  went 
across  the  river  to  shoot  a  gavial-crocodile  which  was  asleep  on 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  393 

a  log-.  But,  it  woke  too  soon  for  them.  At  the  afternoon  meet- 
ing in  Nyare's,  I  was  pleased  that  the  little  children  no  longer 
feared  me.  (All  native  children  had  feared  white  men;  who, 
they  had  been  told,  ate  their  negro  slaves.) 

On  Sunday,  June  25,  the  trader,  Joseph  Xavier  for  Chavis), 
who  had  formerly  been  at  Angala,  came  down-river  with  his 
three  canoes.  I  preached  to  his  crews.  But,  afterward,  they  in- 
duced the  Faiiwe  to  come  and  trade  and  buy  and  sell.  I  wel- 
comed all  visitors  at  my  landing-;  but,  I  could  not  allow  the  Sun- 
day trading;  and,  I  ordered  the  Fanwe  away.  It  seemed  impossi- 
ble to  make  the  natives  understand  the  right  of  property  in  land 
and  its  products  of  trees,  animals,  etc.  When  they  stole  goods  and 
other  personal  property,  they  knew  they  were  doing  wrong.  But, 
they  did  not  seem  to  think  it  wrong  to  hunt  on  my  premises.  I 
found  some  fishing,  on  the  26th,  and  ordered  them  off;  and  then 
complained  to  Nyare.  I  was  going  through  the  former  Belambla 
troubles!  (I  have  thought  less,  since  then,  of  the  offenses  of 
those  heathen,  when  I  see  how  hunters  annually  trespass  on  pri- 
vate property,  in  the  United  States.) 

By  the  28th,  the  time  had  fully  come  of  dry  season ;  the  river 
had  fallen;  my  work  was  progressing;  I  had,  besides  my  own 
hut,  and  the  men's  hut,  the  boat-shed  with  a  room  in  it.  I  had 
marked  the  places  for  foundation-posts  of  the  proposed  dwelling 
on  the  hill-side,  and  had  prepared  some  of  the  joists  and  sleep- 
ers, and  door  and  window  frames.  It  would  be  safe  for  Mrs. 
Nassau  to  join  me  in  the  tent.  I  decided  to  go  to  Kangwe  for 
her.  I  gave  to  my  two  Galwas,  Akambie  and  Joktan,  goods  for 
their  support,  while  I  should  be  away ;  and,  formally  gave  to 
Nyare  and  his  wife  Nyamba,  gifts,  putting  them  in  charge  of  my 
grounds  and  young  men. 

JOURNEY    TO   KAXGWE. 

On  Thursday,  June  29,  while  I  was  loading  my  canoe,  Nyare 
came,  with  a  report  that  Alamyaga's  people  would  steal,  while  I 
was  away.  I  could  quite  believe  that  they  would  if  they  could. 
The  story  of  Belambla  had  been  heard ;  and,  it  might  be  re- 
peated. I  could  only  put  him  on  his  pride,  as  "  Chief,"'  that  he 
should  prevent  the  report  coming  true. 

On  the  way  down,  I  stopped  at  various  places.  At  Isosa,  the 
Bakele  women  were  afraid  of  the  Kru-men,  thinking  them  some 
strange  Fanwe.  At  Ngwilaka,  Njagu-demba's  town,  the  Mpo- 
ngwe  trader,  Xjalele  was  excited  about  two  Fanwe  of  the 
Abange  River,  having  been  killed  by  the  Ngwilaka  people.    Spent 


394  MY  OGOWE 

the  night  at  Belambla.  My  Avocado-pear  trees  were  in  abun- 
dant fruitage.      (Natives  had  not  yet  learned  how  to  eat  them.) 

It  seemed  singular  that,  the  while  I  was  living  at  Belambla, 
I  had  such  a  constant  warfare  to  keep  the  Bakele  from  settling 
there.  Now,  that  it  was  abandoned,  and  not  even  any  one  in 
charge  of  the  house  and  grounds,  there  was  no  longer  attempt 
to  build  there ;  and,  the  house,  though  empty,  was  not  abused  or 
used.  In  leaving,  on  Friday  morning,  after  cutting  away  a  few 
trees,  I  hired  two  men  to  clean  up  the  premises.  On  the  way 
down,  shot  an  alligator;  but,  it  sank  before  I  could  catch  it. 
Reached  Kangwe  just  as  the  last  bell  was  ringing  for  church 
preparatory  service;  and  was  gladly  welcomed  by  my  wife  at  the 
landing.  In  the  evening  session-meeting,  moderated  by  Mr. 
Robinson,  three  women,  Mamba's  mother,  Boyo,  Aveya's  wife, 
and  Mwenanga,  were  received  on  examination. 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  July  i,  went  with  Mr.  Reading  to 
Re-Nkombe's  for  him  to  accompany  us  on  an  official  call  on  Dr. 
Ballay,  De  Brazza's  associate,  who  was  camping  at  Mr.  Sinclair's 
old  Aguma  house.  Re-Nkombe  was  not  at  his  village;  and  we 
went  without  him.  Dr.  Ballay  attested  the  Kangwe  deed  of 
property,  that  failed  to  be  attested  on  a  Sunday  several  years  be- 
fore. In  afternoon,  I  preached ;  and,  in  evening  was  present  at 
session  meeting. 

On  Sunday,  the  2d,  I  preached  at  the  communion  service,  and 
Mr.  Robinson  baptized  the  five  additions.  It  was  a  delightful 
realization  of  my  hopes  for  the  First  Ogowe  church.  And, 
great  joy  to  listen  to  its  bell,  given  by  my  friend.  Mrs.  J.  PI. 
Pratt  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  the  communion  set,  given  by  my 
friend,  Rev.  Dr.  Riggs  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.  There  was  monthly 
concert  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  a  deep  satisfaction  to  be  with 
fellow-christians,  after  living  alone  in  a  heathen  forest. 

Next  day.  Mr.  Schiff  came  to  say  good-by  on  his  furlough, 
and  to  introduce  his  relief.  On  Tuesday,  the  4th,  Dr.  Ballay  re- 
turned our  call.  And,  on  Wednesday,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading 
made  a  fine  dinner  for  Dr.  Ballay,  which  we  (Mr.  Robinson,  Mrs. 
Nassau  and  I)  attended.  It  was  a  rare  bit  of  civilization  and  re- 
fined hospitality  in  the  Ogowe  wilds. 

On  Thursday,  the  6th,  packed  for  return  to  Talaguga.  In  the 
evening,  I  gave  exhibition  of  fire-works  1  had  been  saving  for  a 
great  occasion. 


PROSPECTING  AGAIN  395 


RETURN    TO    TALAGUGA. 

It  was  a  glad  day,  on  Friday,  the  7th,  that  I  was  taking  my 
wife  from  Kangwe  (though  the  uncertainties  of  the  life  there 
had  been  relieved  by  the  unfailing  kindness  of  Mrs.  Reading) 
to  what  was  to  be  her  home  at  Talaguga;  though,  as  yet,  I  had 
only  a  camp  in  the  forest,  at  which  to  entertain  her. 

In  the  Nelly-Howard,  with  the  six  Kru-men  as  crew,  and  the 
kongongo  also  with  a  crew  of  six,  and  both  boats  laden  with 
goods  and  supplies,  we  left  Andende  late  in  the  morning.  With 
a  stoppage  in  the  forest  for  lunch,  reached  Mr.  Ermy's  after  dark. 
Though  we  were  not  expected,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ermy  entertained 
us  hospitably. 

While  gathering  some  flowers  in  the  forest,  where  we  ate  our 
noon  meal  on  Saturday,  the  8th,  I  found  among  the  rocks  of  the 
water-side,  the  blue  flower  which  I  had  dedicated  to  Mrs.  Nassau 
in  the  preceding  March.  On  the  way,  in  passing  my  former 
Bakele  villages,  the  man  Mokume  and  others  of  Kasa's  people 
made  quite  a  thrilling  scene,  in  pleading  with  us  to  stop  and  re- 
main with  them.  At  Belambla  by  middle  of  afternoon;  cleaned 
up  the  rooms  of  the  house,  and  arranged  curtains,  as  partitions 
for  Mrs.  Nassau. 

On  Sunday,  the  9th,  a  severe  headache  prevented  comfortable 
services,  even  if  the  Bakele  had  been  less  noisy  in  their  boisterous 
curiosity  to  see  the  white  woman.  Continuing  the  journey  on 
Monday,  the  10th,  Mrs.  Nassau  was  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes,  as 
we  passed  the  villages.  No  white  woman  had  ever  been  in  that 
part  of  the  river.  Nkogo  was  a  good  place  at  which  to  stop ; 
but,  there  were  yet  two  hours  of  daylight;  and,  we  went  on.  At 
Erere-volo  beach,  our  boat  grounded,  and  was  swung  by  the 
swift  current  into  some  bushes ;  and  the  Kru-men  lost  some  of 
their  goods.     And,  I  was  suffering  with  a  violent  headache. 

As  the  people  of  Erere-volo  were  suspected  of  being  un- 
friendly, we  pushed  on  to  a  camp  in  the  forest  after  dark.  Mrs. 
Nassau  had  borne  the  journey  better  than  I.  It  was  something 
new  for  me  to  have  a  woman's  thoughtful  attentions. 

On  the  way,  next  day,  stopping  to  salute  the  Yeha  people,  the 
head-man  gave  us  elephant  meat.  Then,  the  usual  forest  meal. 
And  the  crews  were  excited  as  we  entered  on  the  last  stretch  of 
the  journey.  The  Fariwe  villages  looked  with  astonishment  on 
the  rapidly-moving  handsome  boat  with  its  white  awning.  As 
we  approached  Talaguga,  the  Kru-men  sang  their  usual  boat- 
songs,  warning  my  two  Galwas  at  the  hut,  of  our  coming.     I 


396  MY  OGOWE 

fired  my  rifle  (usual  with  the  river  white  men)  in  salute.  We 
had  taken  the  two  young  men  by  surprise,  at  our  arrival  two 
days  in  advance  of  my  promised  time,  and  so  early  in  the  after- 
noon. The  two  boats  were  promptly  discharged ;  the  tent  was 
put  up  for  Mrs.  Nassau,  and  cots  arranged  for  the  night.  That 
evening,  we  held  a  glad  prayer-meeting  of  thanks. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA,  JULY,    1882-DECEMBER,    1882 

THE  very  next  day,  July  12,  I  set  the  Kru-men  at  digging 
the  holes  for  the  foundation-posts  of  the  hillside  house; 
while  I  put  in  position  the  kitchen  appliances,  for  Mrs. 
Nassau's  superintendence. 

During  the  following  days,  Nyare  and  his  wife,  and  Mamyaga 
came,  with  gifts  to  Mrs.  Nassau;  and  many  Fanwe  coming  to 
see  the  white  woman.  In  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  15th, 
I  took  Airs.  Nassau  on  a  little  excursion  by  boat  to  Nyare's. 
There.  I  was  told  an  astonishing  report  that  the  down-river  Fa- 
nwe had  said  that  my  coming  to  Talaguga  would  kill  Nyare  and 
his  people;  and  that  the  latter  were  making  witchcraft  to  ward 
off  any  injury  from  me!  It  is  quite  probable  that  Kasa's  death, 
so  soon  after  my  breaking  with  him  and  leaving  Belambla.  may 
have  been  looked  upon  by  the  people  as  my  vengeance  on  him  for 
the  robbery.  Returning,  I  continued  up-river,  to  show  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau the  Italaguga  Rock.  The  small  one.  at  the  mouth  of  my 
little  mountain-stream,  was  only  "  Little  Talaguga." 

The  most  tasty  mode,  to  me.  of  conking  meat,  is  on  a  bed  of 
coals,  the  meat  tied  in  a  bundle  of  plantain  leaves,  called  igevu. 
I  had  killed  a  goat,  and  had  some  of  its  meat  prepared  in  that 
way  for  Mrs.  Nassau.      It  was  the  first  she  had  tasted. 

At  night  of  the  20th.  appeared  an  army  of  driver  ants.  Mrs. 
Nassau  tried  to  get  some  amusement  out  of  our  plight,  at  having 
to  flee  "  from  pillow  to  post.''  Lest  the  ants  should  get  at  our  leg 
of  mutton,  I  hung  it  out  in  the  forest.  Our  good  attendant. 
Akendenge,  with  a  flaming  torch,  tried  to  bar  the  approaches  of 
the  line  of  ants  to  us.  Fire  is  the  only  thing  that  can  stop  that 
wonderful  army!  The  ants  returned  at  evening  during  several 
following  days. 

On  the  25th,  I  took  Mrs.  Nassau  on  an  excursion  to  Yena. 
Amused  several  of  the  Bakele  with  a  few  torpedoes  and  fire- 
crackers. Stopped  at  a  number  of  villages  on  our  return  in  the 
afternoon. 

I  sent  three  of  the  young  men.  on  the  26th.  to  fish  with  my 
net.     Mrs.  Nassau  followed  me  up  the  hill,  with  Nyare's  wife, 

397 


398  MY  OGOVVE 

interested  in  the  growth  of  the  building  that  was  expected  to  be 
her  home.  The  foundation-posts  had  been  planted,  and  sills  and 
sleepers  were  being  placed  on  them.  The  young  men  returned 
from  their  fishing  with  only  three  fishes.  I  was  about  to  give 
them  all  to  the  workmen ;  but,  polite  Akendenge  said  that  a  fair 
share  should  go  to  Mrs.  Nassau. 

On  the  28th,  a  canoe  of  the  French  from  the  Interior,  going 
down-river,  hailed  us,  and  told  us  that  Mons.  Alliot  was 
drowned,  probably  by  a  canoe  over-turned  in  the  Cataracts.  In 
the  evening,  took  Mrs.  Nassau  on  excursion  in  the  boat  to  Njoli, 
and  enjoyed  the  moon,  a  bright  planet,  the  dark  forest  shades, 
the  singing  of  Fanwe  villagers,  and  a  stroll  on  the  Njoli  sands ; 
and  returned  under  a  clear  moon-light. 

Sunday,  the  30th.  was  a  quiet  pleasant  day.  The  Fanwe  were 
unusually  quiet.  Not  as  much  cutting  of  forests  as  on  other 
days.  A  little  boy,  Angam,  stayed  around  for  some  time:  and, 
I  had  Mveli  recite  part  of  the  Fanwe  Catechism:  and.  I  told  him 
the  story  of  Eden.  Sang  with  Mrs.  Nassau  under  the  beautiful 
moonlight. 

Was  busy  during  August  days,  gathering  thatch  and  other 
material  for  the  new  house,  from  the  town  of  Yena.  On  Au- 
gust 3,  heard  from  a  passing  canoe  that  the  corpse  of  Mons.  Alliot 
was  found  at  Okota.  For  the  Saturday  visitation,  went  with 
Mrs.  Nassau  in  the  boat,  to  the  village  of  Ndona-ma-vuna.  The 
people  were  very  attentive.  After  the  prayers,  we  went  into  a 
hut  to  see  his  sick  wife.  For  a  native,  he  seemed  unusually  care- 
ful of  her.  Mrs.  Nassau  happened  to  observe  and  admire  a  cer- 
tain spear.  With  oriental  etiquette,  he  offered  it  to  her,  saying 
that  he  was  ashamed  to  have  nothing  better  to  give  her.  It  was 
an  unusual  demonstration  of  courtesy. 

Mr.  Reading  had  loaned  me  the  Kru-men  only  for  the  need 
of  their  strength  in  handling  logs.  That  was  finished  by  Au- 
gust 7;  all  of  the  heavy  foundation  frame  of  the  house  being  in 
position.  1  was  sorry  to  have  them  go;  for.  their  work  was  so 
much  more  efficient  and  obedient  than  that  of  the  Galwas,  whom, 
at  the  best,  it  was  difficult  to  induce  to  come  to  my  pioneer  priva- 
tions. I  used  the  Kru-men  that  evening  for  a  last  service  of 
their  strong  arms  at  the  oars,  to  give  Mrs.  Nassau  another  boat- 
ride,  to  the  head  of  Njoli  Island,  where  there  was  some  rapid 
water.  [Now  the  site  of  the  French  Protestant  "  Talaguga  " 
station.]  And.  the  next  day.  started  them  on  their  journey  back 
to  Kangwe. 

Tn  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  the  TOth.  came  Dr.  Rallav  and 


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IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  399 

Lieutenant  Mizon,  and  a  fleet  of  thirty-six  canoes,  on  their  way 
to  the  Interior.  They  brought  a  mail,  twenty-five  of  whose  let- 
ters were  for  Mrs.  Nassau  and  myself.  They  brought  also  a 
deed  of  the  land.  In  their  canoe,  they  held  Agon  jo,  a  prisoner. 
I  did  not  know  for  what  offense.  He  looked  appealingly  to  me ; 
but,  I  did  not  speak  for  him,  to  the  officers.  Even  if  I  had  ap- 
pealed, I  could  not  deny  whatever  charge  they  had  against  him. 

My  feet  were  lame  with  sores  from  bites  of  chigoes,  which 
were  becoming  numerous.  At  the  afternoon  meeting  at  Nyare's, 
on  the  1 2th;  the  people  were  unusually  quiet.  They  had  ceased 
to  laugh  at  the  closed  eyes  of  prayer  as  something  amusing. 

By  the  14th,  the  neighboring  villages  were  beginning  to  learn 
that,  though  I  did  not  "trade"  in  ivory;  I  had  needs,  for  which 
I  would  buy  various  things,  in  an  informal  daily  market.  One 
man  brought  some  little  fish;  a  woman,  some  charcoal  (for  our 
laundry-irons)  ;  another,  the  carcass  of  a  gazelle.  Nyare  came 
for  medicine,  and  to  ask  permission  for  his  people  to  cross  my 
premises,  in  dragging  from  the  forest,  a  new-made  canoe.  Of 
course,  I  assented  willingly.  But,  I  was  distressed  that  he  had 
not  understood  that  my  protests  against  "  trespass  "  on  my  prop- 
erty were  based  on  his  people  taking  something  from  me.  I  was 
glad  of  his  industry  for  a  canoe.  A  woman  came  for  a  gift  of 
soap;  and,  for  medicine  to  help  her  pregnancy! 

Mrs.  Nassau  had  soon  learned  to  like  the  fish  cooked  in  igevn. 
Akendenge  succeeded  in  baking  some  very  good  bread. 

On  the  17th,  just  before  retiring  time  at  night,  I  observed  a 
light  on  the  river-bank.  ^Tith  one  of  my  men,  Elder  Nguva,  I 
went  stealthily  toward  the  spot;  and,  to  my  surprise,  found  our 
polite  friend  Ndofia-ma-vuna,  another  man,  and  two  women 
fishing.  I  was  indignant,  after  all  the  explanations  I  had  made 
about  my  rights :  and  ordered  them  off.  They  fled :  and  Nguva 
captured  their  fishing  baskets.  Early  the  next  day,  the  two  men 
came  to  claim  their  baskets.  I  ordered  the  one  off;  and,  in  pres- 
ence of  the  other,  cut  the  baskets  to  pieces.  And,  to  other  men 
and  women  who  were  passing,  I  told  them  the  reason  for  what 
I  had  done.  Some  Fanwe  men  came  to  work,  I  took  them ;  but, 
they  were  a  poor  substitute  for  the  Kru-men. 

Xjagu-demba  came  in  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  23d. 
He  sold  me  part  of  a  plantain-bunch,  and  gave  me  the  remainder. 
I  aroused  his  wonder  with  some  torpedoes  and  fire-crackers. 
The  house  on  the  hillside,  elevated  on  posts,  and  with  its  frame 
already  set  up.  he  was  astonished  at,  and  asked  whether  "  God 
made  it?"     He  said  that  Fanwe  could  not  build  such  a  house. 


400  MY  OGOW  E 

I  showed  him  my  watch.  He  thought  that  the  ticking  was  witch- 
craft ;  and.  when  I  opened  its  case,  and  he  saw  the  spring,  he  and 
his  women  shuddered,  and  asked  me  to  close  it,  lest  they  should 
"  die  by  it."  In  the  evening,  I  had  music  with  Mrs.  Nassau. 
My  cornet  sounded  well,  with  its  echoes  among  the  hills.  Next 
day.  several  of  Njagu-demba's  women  came  up  the  hillside,  to 
watch  the  building  of  the  house.  One  of  them  quite  aroused 
Mrs.  Nassau's  pity.  The  woman  was  nursing  an  infant  whose 
mother  had  been  left  up-river  as  a  pawn  for  an  ivory  tusk! 
Nyare's  wife  was  attentive  to  Mrs.  Nassau  with  little  gifts  of 
food.  Our  flour  was  almost  exhausted ;  and  we  began  to  eke  it 
out  by  baking  rolls  of  native  farinya. 

On  the  25th,  Laseni's  men  stopped,  and  asked  for  food.  Dur- 
ing the  previous  week,  they  had  brought  down  Agonjo,  whom 
the  French  had  released.  And.  now  they  were  returning  up- 
river.  I  felt  obligated  to  Laseni ;  and.  little  food  as  I  had,  I 
shared  with  them. 

Hv  Thursday,  the  31st,  my  feet  were  so  sore  that  I  could  not 
walk  to  the  villages;  and  could  do  little  of  supervision  of  the 
building:  and  was  nauseated  and  feverish.  Two  of  Ndona-ma- 
vuna's  women  were  admiring  Mrs.  Nassau's  long  hair.  T  saw 
that  one  of  them  had  a  broken  finger,  which  had  united  with  a 
false  joint.  She  said  that  he  had  done  it.  in  anger.  How  we 
had  been  deceived  by  his  politeness  the  day  we  had  visited  his 
village!  Quite  a  number  of  Fail  we  men  came  and  said  that  they 
would  like  to  work  for  me  in  order  to  get  goods ;  but,  that  they 
feared  the  witchcraft  which  they  were  told  I  had!  Mrs.  Nassau 
enjoyed  sketching.  1  helped  her  with  one  picture,  in  which  she 
showed  the  enormous  trunk,  buttresses,  and  roots  of  a  big  tree. 
At  its  foot  I  sketched  some  wild  animals,  and  at  the  bottom  added 
a  rhyme.  Mrs.  Nassau  sent  the  whole  to  her  two  little  Foster 
nephews : 

The  parrots  and  monkey  and  elephant,  all. 

With  the  wild  pig  that  grunts  at  the  foot  of  the  tree. 
Saw  "  Come,  little  boys,  list  to  our  call. 

Come  over  to  Africa,  these  big  roots  to  see." 

The  only  constant  female  companion,  whom  Mrs.  Nassau  had. 
was  a  young  Galwa  schoolgirl.  Onivi,  betrothed  to  Elder  Nguva. 
I  sometimes  had  to  leave  her  alone  with  that  young  girl,  when  I 
went  away  with  the  workmen  as  my  crew.  Tt  was  slow  await- 
ing for  natives  to  go  into  the  lagoon  and  cut  bamboo-palm  fronds, 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  401 

and  then  have  to  haggle  about  a  price.  So,  one  day,  September 
2,  I  went  myself  and  my  young  men,  down  as  far  as  Yen  a.  I 
remained  in  the  canoe,  and  all  the  crew  went  oft"  into  the  forest. 
They  returned  for  their  mid-day  meal;  and  then  went  back  to 
work.  At  sun-down,  they  returned  with  seventy  fronds.  With 
this  load  we .  started  slowly,  the  crew  already  tired  with  their 
day's  work.  The  night  journey  was  picturesque,  with  torch- 
lights of  fishers  on  the  banks.  Near  Talaguga,  I  fired  my  Win- 
chester; Mrs.  Nassau  would  recognize  its  report  (so  different 
from  that  of  the  trade-guns)  and  would  know  that  I  was  com- 
ing. She  came  to  the  beach  with  a  torch.  She  was  very  brave. 
We  landed  in  rain.  The  floor  of  the  tent  was  wet.  This,  and 
distant  reports  of  thunder  on  the  next  night,  made  me  anxious 
about  her  longer  stay  at  Talaguga  with  only  tent  protection.  The 
rainy  season  was  coming,  and  she  would  need  to  return  to 
Kangwe. 

On  Monday,  the  4th,  though  my  feet  were  so  sore,  I  went  up 
the  hill,  to  sit  there  and  see  that  the  workmen  did  not  idle. 
While  there,  in  the  afternoon,  I  heard  reports  of  guns  and  Fa- 
riwe  canoe-songs.  The  reports  were  of  a  white  man's  gun  (per- 
cussion guns  were  not  sold  to  the  natives)  ;  and,  Mrs.  Nassau 
responded  with  my  rifle.  Mr.  Reading's  canoe,  with  Njagu- 
demba's,  were  at  my  landing.  Mr.  Reading  was  kindly  bringing 
us  needed  supplies.  He  had  sent  them  a  week  before;  and  his 
crew  had  fled  back  to  Kangwe,  saying  that  they  had  been  as- 
saulted by  the  Fanwe  below  the  Sanjala  village.  Then,  know- 
ing our  necessity,  he  had  determined  to  bring  the  canoe-load  him- 
self. (For,  only  in  a  great  crises,  would  the  natives  attack  a 
white  man.)  The  company  of  Njagu-demba  had  been  a  great 
protection  to  him.  And,  I  was  g*lad  to  buy  a  quantity  of  plan- 
tains and  potatoes  from  the  chief. 

On  Tuesday,  September  5,  Mr.  Reading  returned  to  Kangwe. 
And.  we  had  again  a  good  food  supply.  Mrs.  Nassau  was  in- 
terested in  collecting  the  flora  of  the  place.  And,  I,  from  time 
to  time,  collected  bugs,  small  animals,  and  butterflies.  There 
was  a  rare  butterfly,  known  in  that  part  of  Africa,  the  Antima- 
chus.  That  day,  I  saw  one  resting  on  the  edge  of  the  brook,  and 
I  flung  a  net  over  it;  thought  I  had  it.  But,  only  the  edge  of 
the  net  touched  it ;  and  it  escaped.  It  is  the  largest  butterfly  of 
the  world.  At  that  time,  scientists  were  offering  $25  for  a 
single  specimen. 

Among  the  books  and  papers  that  I  read  to  Mrs.  Nassau  dur- 


402  MY  OGOWE 

ing  our  rest-hours,  was  the  story  of  De  Long's  death  (of  the 
"Jeannette")  in  Siberia.  We  were  in  the  opposite  extreme, 
only  12  miles  south  of  the  equator! 

Xyare  returned,  on  the  8th,  from  a  journey,  with  a  new  wife 
whom  he  had  bought ;  and,  the  woman  came  to  see  Mrs.  Nassau. 

But,  we  reserved  our  interest  for  the  good  Nyamba,  who  had 
first  been  introduced  to  me  as  Nyare's  "  wife."  She  always  re- 
mained a  true  friend.  Under  civilization.  I  would  have  called 
her  queenly.  The  next  time  that  he  asked  me  for  a  gift  of  cloth, 
I  more  than  half-seriously  advised  him  to  send  back  the  new 
woman  to  her  family  from  whom  he  had  bought  her;  and,  then, 
with  his  returned  goods,  he  would  not  need  to  ask  me  for  gifts. 

On  Sunday,  the  ioth,  my  diary  records:  "How  much  hap- 
piness God  has  given  me  this  year,  after  my  loneliness  in  the 
eleven  preceding  years." 

On  Tuesday,  the  12th,  had  to  stop  work  that  could  not  go  on 
without  my  superintendence,  in  order  to  civilly  receive  my  vis- 
itors Nyare  and  Mamyaga  and  a  number  of  his  own  Interior 
visitors,  whom  he  had  brought  to  see  "  his  white  man."  There 
was  a  long  talk,  very  unsatisfactory  to  me,  the  gist  of  which  was 
that  the  two  men  wished  me  to  give  them  gifts  oftener,  in  order 
that  they  might  accumulate  goods,  with  which  to  buy  more  wives ! 

T  do  not  know  what  caused  my  men  often  to  sicken.  That  T, 
as  a  foreigner,  should  often  be  feverish  was  to  be  expected.  I 
am  sure  that  was  not  the  cause  with  them.  Nor.  could  it  be 
work ;  for.  though  T  was  exacting  as  to  diligence.  T  was  never 
severe  as  to  a  difficult  task.  Perhaps,  they  missed  the  society 
and  amusements  of  their  own  homes.  As  to  food ;  while  they 
were  rarely  short,  it  is  true  that  there  was  not  obtainable  among 
the  Fail  we  the  same  kind  and  variety  to  which  they  were  used 
at  their  own  tribes.  Sometimes,  it  was  true  that  that  "  sickness  " 
was  a  pretense.  Rut,  it  was  not  so  in  the  case  of  Elder  Nguva. 
T  had  been  willing  for  him  to  leave,  as  he  could  not  work:  my 
medicines  seemed  to  do  him  110  good;  and  the  sight  of  his  weak- 
ness distressed  me.  So,  T  was  pleased  to  see  him  go,  in  a  pass- 
ing canoe. 

Albinism  is  not  rare  among  the  negro  tribes.  But,  I  had 
not  before  seen  an  albino  among  the  Faiiwe,  until  on  the  14th,  I 
saw  one  in  a  canoe  going  up-river. 

At  the  Saturday  afternoon  service,  on  the  16th,  in  Nyare's 
where  Njagu-demba  was  still  visiting.  T  had  a  remarkable  talk 
with  the  latter  on  religion.  He  was  a  very  intelligent  man. 
But,  next  day,  at  my  Sunday  services,  his  people  were  rude  and 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  403 

noisy.  Our  act  of  prayer,  always,  at  first,  aroused  native  laugh- 
ter. They  were  not  ignorant  of  prayer  in  their  own  fetish  cere- 
monies ;  but,  they  were  not  accustomed  to  closed  eyes.  A  Fa- 
fiwe passed  by,  with  a  large  specimen  of  the  very  poisonous  snake, 
the  pe  (Echidna  Gabonica)  a  horned  viper.  * 

The  ethics  of  many  things  with  the  natives  differed  from  mine. 
I  hired  a  Fafiwe  to  cut  down  one  of  my  trees.  For  that  purpose 
he  borrowed  an  axe  of  another  Fafiwe ;  he  broke  the  axe.  I  ex- 
pected that  he  would  demand  that  I  should  pay  for  the  axe,  on 
the  basis  that  it  was  broken  in  my  service.  But,  he  did  not. 
So,  when  I  paid  him  his  wage,  I  gave  him  a  gift  besides. 

As  I  was  to  leave  temporarily,  to  take  Mrs.  Nassau  to  Kangwe, 
safe  from  the  expected  rainy  season,  I  decided  to  close  my  con- 
tention with  Ndona-ma-vuna,  about  his  fishing  trespass. 

JOURNEY  TO  KANGWE. 

By  Tuesday,  September  26,  the  house  was  safely  under  its 
thatch  roof ;  and  a  portion  of  the  walls  was  enclosed. 

Leaving  Akendenge  and  Nyanda  in  charge,  we  started  in  the 
Nelly-Howard,  with  only  two  men,  Galwas.  I  did  not  think  it 
safe  to  take  any  of  the  Fafiwe  clan :  and,  anyhow,  they  knew 
nothing  about  oars.  But,  going  with  the  current,  and  resting 
often  by  stopping  to  salute  the  villages,  we  made  good  progress ; 
and.  after  dark,  stopped  for  the  night  at  Isosa. 

Xext   day.   onward,    stopping   at   other   villages.     At   Njagu-' 
demba's  Xgwilaka.  a  crowd  of  women  were  wondering  at  the 
white  woman. 

Taking  the  mid-day  meal  at  Belambla,  by  sunset  we  were  at 
the  Island  "  Factory."  ^Ir.  Ermy's.  Hospitably  received  by  him 
and  his  Sierra  Leone  assistant,  Mr.  Francis.  The  next  day, 
Thursday,  on  our  way:  and,  after  the  mid-day  lunch  on  Fetish 
Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ngunye,  we  sighted  the  journey's 
end.  Mrs.  Nassau  entered  into  the  enthusiasm  of  the  occasion, 
by  firing  my  Winchester  as  a  salute  to  Mrs.  Reading  at  Andende, 
and  then  we  went  to  the  house  on  the  Hill. 

On  Friday,  the  29th.  in  afternoon.  Rev.  W.  H.  Robinson,  in 
charge  of  the  church  quarterly  communion,  preached  at  the  pre- 
paratory service. 

On  the  30th,  a  mail  was  awaiting  us:  and  Mrs.  Nassau  and  I 
read  our  glad  remembrances.  In  the  afternoon,  at  another  serv- 
ice, I  preached.  At  the  session  meeting,  two  Galwas.  Njambi 
and  Bigman  were  received :  Mrs.  Ermy  brought  her  letter  from 
the  Gaboon  church:  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading  brought  theirs, 


4o4  MY  OGOWK 

from  their  Frenchtown  church,  New  Jersey.  And,  he  was 
elected  as  ruling-  elder. 

On  Sunday,  October  t.  at  communion.  Mr.  Reading  was  or- 
dained and  installed ;  and  Mrs.  Ermy's  two  children,  and  the  two 
Galwas  were  baptized.  Monthly  concert  in  the  afternoon.  Mrs. 
Nassau's  enjoyment  was  great  of  this  "  church  in  the  wilder- 
ness." 

The  next  day.  we  were  busy  opening  some  of  Mrs.  Nassau's 
boxes.  In  the  afternoon,  there  was  a  Fanwe  war-cloud  that 
sent  me  to  Andende  with  my  rifle.  And,  in  the  evening",  music 
with  my  flute  and  Mrs.  Nassau's  organ. 

On  Wednesday,  the  4th.  there  was  more  opening  of  some  of 
our  treasures.  From  one  of  the  boxes,  we  brought  out  a  hand- 
some parlor-lamp,  a  wedding-gift,  of  just  a  year  before,  from 
my  cousin,  Miss  Maude  Hamill.  In  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the 
8th,  I  preached  for  Mr.  Robinson.  And.  on  Monday,  went  to 
the  trading-houses,  to  get  a  supply  of  goods  for  return  to  Tala- 
guga.  On  Tuesday,  the  10th,  I  killed  a  goat,  and  made  a  feast 
for  the  schoolboys,  on  the  first  anniversary  of  my  marriage.  At 
our  anniversary  dinner,  were  present.  Rev.  W.  H.  Robinson,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading  and  their  little  daughter  Elizabeth.  Our 
American  wedding  cake,  which  had  been  reserved  for  that  oc- 
casion, was  cut.  and  shared.  Sent  some  to  Mr.  Gibson  ( succes- 
sor to  Mr.  Sinclair),  and  to  Mr.  Romahn  (successor  to  Mr. 
Scruff) . 

Former  Galwa  employees  (of  the  rebellions  school-company 
of  1880")  returned  to  me.  willing  to  re-enter  my  service.  They 
were  a  sufficient  crew  for  my  native  boat.  Rut,  T  needed  also, 
others  for  the  two  canoes  of  Mr.  Readings  which  were  to  be 
loaded  with  our  goods  and  supplies.  Tie  favored  Fanwe,  and 
suggested  employing  them,  rather  than  Galwas.  Mrs.  Nassau 
was  to  remain  at  the  Kangwe  school  for  three  months,  until 
her  house  at  Talaguga  should  be  completed.  On  Wednesday. 
the  i  ith.  went  to  Andende  landing,  to  load  the  three  crafts.  But. 
the  promised  Fanwe  failed  to  appear;  and.  T  had  to  defer  the 
journey  for  two  days. 

JOURXEY    TO    TALAGUGA    WITH     FANWE. 

On  Fridav.  the  13th.  everything  was  unfavorable.  (  If  \  had 
had  a  particle  of  absurd  superstition.  T  would  not  have  gone.)  T 
was  feverish:  my  neck  stiff  with  a  cold;  the  season  was  the  rainy, 
and  storms  were  certain  to  be  met;  and.  the  Fanwe  crews  which 
Mr.  Reading  had  finally  with  difficulty  obtained,  were  rebellious, 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  405 

from  the  very  start;  and,  I  knew  that  I  should  have  difficulty 
with  them.  We  were  late  in  starting.  A  storm  met  us  at  the 
Ngunye  mouth.  The  Fan  we  proved  themselves  incapable,  even 
as  paddlers.  And,  I  stopped,  wet  and  weary,  at  an  Akele  village 
for  the  night.  I  would  rather  have  gone  into  the  forest,  for 
sake  of  the  order  of  the  crews ;  but,  it  was  not  safe  for  me  in 
the  rain.  As  I  had  feared,  next  morning,  there  was  a  quarrel 
between  my  Fan  we  and  the  Bakele,  over  a  charge  of  the  former 
that  the  latter  had  stolen  from  them.  Doubtless,  the  charge  was 
true.  But,  the  Bakele  were  defiant,  and  dared  me  to  remain  and 
submit  to  a  witchcraft  test  of  their  truth.  That  was  absurd; 
with  delay  the  quarrel  would  have  grown  to  a  fight.  And,  I 
forced  my  people  to  start  away.  They  were  very  disobedient  on 
the  way,  laying  down  their  paddles  to  argue  with  each  other; 
and,  some  actually  bringing  out  food  and  knife  to  begin  to  eat 
long  before  meal-time.  As  I  ordered  one  to  lay  down  his  knife, 
and  he  did  not  obey  me,  I  reached  to  take  it  away.  He  snatched 
it  from  me ;  and,  in  doing  so,  cut  my  hand.  I  knew  that  it  was 
an  accident,  and  said  nothing.  But,  the  sight  of  the  white  man's 
blood  frightened  them  for  a  while.  So  slow  was  our  progress 
that  we  did  not  reach  Belambla  until  11  o'clock  at  night.  (I 
dreaded  for  the  Fanwe  stopping  at  another  Akele  village.)  For- 
tunately, the  threatening  rain  held  off.  Rested  at  Belambla  over 
Sunday  the  15th. 

Made  better  progress  on  Monday,  the  16th,  eating  our  mid- 
day meal  in  the  forest  opposite  Ngwilaka.  Then  went  to  Njagu- 
demba,  to  ask  him  for  his  people  to  help  me.  But,  his  demand 
for  pay  was  so  exorbitant,  that  I  left,  determining  to  struggle 
on  as  I  was.  Passed  on,  in  rain,  stopping  after  dark,  in  the 
forest  near  Xkogo.  I  risked  the  rain,  rather  than  another  Akele 
quarrel. 

On  Tuesday,  the  17th,  I  was  very  wet  and  cold.  Time  was 
lost,  all  along  the  journey,  by  the  three  crafts  not  keeping  to- 
gether. My  presence  was  a  necessary  protection  for  all;  and,  I 
dared  not  go  ahead  with  my  crew  (as  they  desired  to  do)  and 
leave  the  others  behind.  So,  from  time  to  time,  I  made  re-ar- 
rangement of  the  crews,  putting  stronger  hands  in  place  of 
weaker  ones.  Thus  I  got  along  pretty  well,  until  after  dark ; 
when,  after  passing  a  desirable  camping-place,  I  refused  to  stop 
anywhere  than  at  Talaguga.  The  Fafiwe  then  were  on  the  point 
of  mutiny,  and  would  do  nothing  without  violent  urging.  In 
passing  Yena,  their  insubordination  became  so  great,  that,  in 
my  determination  to  reach  home  that  night,  I  took  all  of  Elder 


406  MY  OGOWE 

Nguva's  crew,  leaving  him  and  his  canoe-load  at  Yena  (for,  it 
was  boards,  and  could  not  be  hurt  by  rain).  His  crew  I  dis- 
tributed into  the  other  two  crafts.  Finally,  at  10  p.  m.,  Tala- 
guga  was  reached.  And,  the  two  crafts  were  discharged.  I  had 
two  kittens,  whose  lives,  at  once  (before  attending  to  myself),  I 
tried  to  save,  with  warmth  and  milk.  They  were  dying  of  the 
cold  and  exposure  of  the  journey.  In  putting  away  my  other 
wet  treasures,  and  writing  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  for  the  Fanwe's  de- 
parture next  day  (for,  I  wished  to  get  rid  of  them  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, and  not  have  them  on  my  hands  to  feed  from  my  limited 
stock),  it  was  long  after  midnight,  and  on  to  4  a.  m.  of  next 
morning,  before  I  went  to  bed.     I  wondered  at  my  endurance. 

AT    TALAGUGA. 

On  Wednesday,  18th,  I  awoke  cold  and  stiff;  for,  I  had  no 
dry  coverings.  I  sent  five  of  the  Galwas  down  to  Yena,  to 
bring  Elder  Nguva  and  his  canoe-load  of  boards.  And,  spent 
the  day  sleepily,  in  efforts  to  dry  my  clothing.  Nguva  and  his 
company  arrived  in  the  evening.  Next  day,  despatched  Mr. 
Reading's  Fanwe  in  his  two  crafts.  And,  put  the  Galwas  at 
washing  and  ironing  the  calico  trade-prints,  all  of  which,  with  all 
my  other  belongings  of  provisions  and  goods,  had  been  soaked 
by  the  rains  of  the  journey.  It  was  the  worst  journey  I  had 
ever  made  in  the  river.  The  impression  that  those  slow  insubor- 
dinate Fanwe  made  on  me  was  indelible.  Though  I  had.  some- 
times subsequently,  to  use  Fanwe  as  a  crew,  I  never  zvishcd  to 
use  them.  [My  last  memory  of  that  part  of  the  Ogowe  is  a  ride 
in  January,  1906,  with  a  Fanwe  crew,  which  a  French  missionary 
friend  had  sent  to  carry  me  from  Belambla  to  Andende.] 

On  Friday,  the  20th,  the  accumulation  of  exposures  had  their 
inevitable  effect.  I  was  taken  down  with  fever-chills.  But,  I 
sat  in  the  hut,  and  directed  Akendenge  where  he  should  put 
away  the  various  articles  on  shelves  and  in  boxes. 

Bv  Saturday,  the  fever  was  broken;  but.  I  was  too  weak  to 
go  to  the  service  in  the  villages.  I  sent  Elder  Nguva  in  my 
place.  The  days  had  been  very  rainy.  The  mountain-brook  was 
a  torrent,  and  "  Little  Talaguga  Rock  "  was  almost  covered. 

I  had  brought  grenadilla  vines,  and  citron  and  other  plants 
from  Kangwe.  Having  saved  my  goods  and  provisions,  and 
having  started  Nguva  and  Ompwenge  at  planing  boards.  I  found 
time  for  planting.  On  the  27th,  I  felt  so  depressed  about  the 
prospect  of  accomplishing  anything  with  the  Fanwe,  that  I  was 
willing  to  abandon  Talaguga,  and  go  to  some  other  tribe,  any 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  407 

one  of  whom  (excepting  the  Akele)  seemed  more  hopeful  in 
their  receptivity.  The  only  consideration  that  made  me  willing 
to  remain  was  the  original  one,  which  had  governed  my  selection 
of  Talaguga,  i.  e.,  that  it  would  be  only  a  way-station  to  the 
more  important  Interior.  In  that  light,  it  was  worth  retaining, 
simply  as  a  depot  for  exchange  of  crews,  independent  of  any 
christian  work  among  the  adjoining  people.  White  ants  I  found 
doing  their  secret  work  of  destruction  among  my  boxes,  in  the 
dampness  and  darkness  of  the  hut. 

I  think  that  my  nerves  were  awry,  and  probably  my  liver  out 
of  order,  on  the  28th.  Part  of  the  fault  must  have  been  in  my- 
self, and  not  all  of  it  in  the  workmen,  who  seemed  to  me  (most 
of  them)  doing  their  work  in  the  wrong  way.  After  sending  one 
of  them  from  his  work,  to  sit  in  his  hut  and  do  nothing,  I  sat 
down  myself.     The  evening  was  oppressively  quiet. 

Besides  my  own  people,  there  was  only  one  outsider,  a  Fafiwe, 
at  morning  service  of  the  29th;  the  same  at  the  afternoon  Sab- 
bath school.  Only  one,  of  the  many  in  the  villages!  Had  a 
conversation  with  Joktan  about  strange  actions  which  had  led  to 
my  rebuke  of  him.  He  seemed  to  have  some  hidden  distress  in 
his  heart.  Quite  a  number  of  visitors  on  Monday,  the  30th. 
Nyare's  wife  came,  wishing  to  exchange  for  another  a  cloth 
which  one  of  her  people  had  bought  of  me  with  plantains.  Ma- 
myaga  came  also.  And  Nyare  himself.  I  g'ave  him  a  talk 
about  his  assumptions  of  authority.  The  wThite  ants  were  still  at 
their  destructive  work.  But,  I  enlivened  the  evening  with  some 
notes  on  the  cornet. 

By  the  31st,  the  work  on  the  house  was  going  on  well.  Nyare 
and  his  young  man  Ntula  came  to  watch  its  growth.  It  made 
my  hut  look  slightly  home-like  that  one  of  my  hens  had  hatched 
four  little  chicks.  They  stayed  near  the  tent  where  they  were 
born.  Actually,  they  were  company  to  me,  as  I  watched  their 
antics. 

The  rats  and  mice  were  bad  in  the  hut.  On  November  1. 
Ndofia-ma-vuna  came  and  presented  me  with  a  wild-rat,  as  a 
final  peace-offering  for  his  fishing  transgression  of  the  previous 
dry  season.  I  accepted  it ;  and,  my  people  ate  it.  They  worked 
with  zeal  and  obedience  at  the  building;  and,  all  seemed  very 
happy.  The  next  day,  an  unusual  number  of  visitors  to  my 
much-resorted-to  landing-place.  About  11.30  a.m.,  Ogwi- 
mpana  (Galwa)  and  his  crew,  on  his  way  up-river;  about  noon, 
Ndambenje  (Orungu)  and  five  canoes,  on  their  way  down  ;  about 
1.30  p.  m.  came  Sambunaga.     And,  at  2  p.  m,,  Orondo  and  Asi- 


4o8  MY  OGOWE 

mbo,  with  letters  from  Mrs.  Nassau.  At  the  evening  prayers, 
sixty  of  those  crews  were  present.  On  Saturday,  the  4th,  I  was 
too  weak  and  wearied  with  the  week's  tasks ;  I  did  not  go  to  the 
town-visiting,  but  sent  Elder  Nguva. 

On  the  Monday,  Nyare  came  with  a  hen  and  her  seven  chicks, 
to  leave  them  in  my  care,  as  he  thought  my  camp  safer  from 
hawks  than  was  his  village.  The  new  family  was  company  for 
mine. 

I  felt  very  ill  and  restless,  and  weary  of  the  house-building. 
On  November  8,  Okota  people  stopped  for  the  night,  on  their 
way  down-river.  They  were  housed  under  my  safe  boat-shed  on 
the  little  island,  the  access  to  which  was  by  a  tree-trunk  which 
I  had  felled  across  the  little  mountain-stream.  The  log  had  been 
leveled  on  its  upper  side;  but,  one  needed  to  step  carefully  on 
that  narrow  bridge. 

By  November  nth,  the  work  on  the  house  had  progressed, 
so  that  it  was  enclosed.  Much  of  that  the  young  men  had  done 
without  my  supervision.  But,  the  laying  of  the  floor  I  did  my- 
self. The  few  imported  pine  boards  were  too  valuable  for  even 
a  foot  of  them  to  be  wasted  with  careless  sawings.  I  had  seen 
the  reckless  waste  of  boards  by  carpenters  in  the  United  States. 
I  had  to  be  painfully  economical.  Mamyaga  with  two  of  his 
people  came ;  and  impolitely  remained  when  I  sat  down  to  my 
noon  meal,  staring  at  my  eating,  in  an  annoying  way.  Per- 
haps he  expected  to  be  invited  to  join.  But,  that  was  imprac- 
ticable. To  do  it  for  one,  I  should  do  it  for  all  native  visitors. 
They  were  too  many;  and  my  larder  was  too  limited.  (I  did  it 
sometimes  at  the  older  stations.)  I  found,  later,  that  he  had 
come  to  beg  for  some  coal-tar.  ( I  used  it  to  protect  my  founda- 
tions from  white-ants.)  Of  course,  the  natives  wished  for 
every  new  thing  of  the  white  man,  even  if  it  did  not  fit  into  their 
civilization.  I  gave  up  the  entire  afternoon  to  the  villiage  meet- 
ings, sending  Elder  Nguva  with  two  others  down-river  a  mile  or 
so;  Akendenge  and  Awora  to  Ndona-ma-vuna's ;  and,  I  went  to 
Nyare' s. 

On  Sunday,  the  12th,  I  over-slept,  and  was  awakened  by 
Nyare's  voice.  He  and  his  wife  were  in  a  hurry  to  fulfill  a 
promise  to  come  to  service! 

On  Monday.  November  13,  in  the  morning,  came  a  Mr.  Rene  of 
the  German  house,  on  his  way  up-river  with  three  canoes.  I  was 
disappointed  that  he  brought  me  no  mail  from  Kangwe.  True, 
Kangwe  was  a  mile,  by  river,  from  the  trading-houses,  and  Mrs. 
Nassau   was  dependant  on   Mr.   Reading   for  all  canoe-service. 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  409 

And,  of  course,  I  did  not  expect  those  houses  to  notify  Mr.  Read- 
ing. I  finished  laying  the  floor  of  the  house.  In  the  evening, 
a  tornado  came  down-river.  I  enjoyed  listening  to  the  roaring 
wind,  and  the  crashing  thunder,  and  in  watching  the  swaying 
trees  and  the  flashing  lightning. 

On  Tuesday,  the  14th,  again  I  was  disappointed.  A  Mr.  Bohn, 
of  the  German  house  stopped;  he  was  sick;  and  I  gave  up  my 
room  to  him.  But,  his  crew  outrageously  began  to  make  use 
of  my  precious  bamboo,  which  I  had  to  use  force  to  save.  To 
them,  bamboo  was  worth  nothing;  any  one  could  get  all  one 
wished  by  going  to  the  forest  swamp.  And,  at  their  houses, 
abundance  was  kept  on  hand.  But,  mine  had  been  obtained  only 
after  delay,  and  at  a  heavy  price,  from  unwilling  Bakele.  I 
spent  an  uncomfortable  night,  trying  to  sleep  in  a  chair. 

Next  morning,  Mr.  Bohn  was  better,  and  I  entertained  him 
as  my  guest.  But,  I  had  no  food  to  spare  to  either  give  or  sell  to 
his  crews.  So  he  and  they  removed  to  Nyare's;  and  he  estab- 
lished himself  there.  Nyare  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  food  to 
sell  to  Mr.  Bohn,  for  rum.  He  had  not  been  able  often  to  sell  to 
me  for  other  goods !  I  pondered  much  on  what  would  be  the 
effect  of  trade  establishing  itself  so  near  me.  How  affairs  had 
developed !  Only  eight  months  before,  I  had  come  to  Talaguga, 
the  advance  (resident)  white  man,  the  first  on  the  verge.  And, 
now.  two  were  settled  beyond  me,  and  one  near  me ! 

On  Friday,  the  17th,  leaving  Elder  Nguva  alone,  I  went  with 
all  the  others  down-river,  for  building  materials,  stopping  at  sev- 
eral villages  to  ask  them  to  have  plantains  ready  to  sell  when  I 
should  return  the  next  day.  At  Yeha,  the  whole  village  was 
intensely  interested  in  making  witchcraft  enchantments,  for  suc- 
cess in  elephant-hunting.  These,  they  intermitted  in  the  evening 
long  enough  for  me  to  hold  a  meeting  in  the  street.  I  read  and 
sang  in  their  Dikele ;  but,  they  did  not  understand  my  address  in 
Mpongwe.  In  the  evening,  I  had  a  talk  with  a  few  of  the  little 
boys,  teaching  them  the  name  of  Jesus. 

Next  day,  I  had  to  wait,  in  order  to  buy  the  thatch  I  wanted, 
until  the  completion  of  the  witchcraft  ceremonies  with  a  gro- 
tesque procession  around  the  village.  While  waiting  there, 
Oguma  (Galwa)  with  five  large  canoes,  came  up-river;  and,  see- 
ing me  at  the  landing,  handed  me  letters  from  Mrs.  Nassau ! 
Her  letters  were  of  date  November  10  and  12,  in  which  she  said 
that  a  mail  had  been  sent  on  the  8th  to  the  German  house,  for 
forwarding.  And  had  evidently  been  forgotten ;  for  Messrs. 
Rene    and   Bohn   had   come    from    there!     Reached    home    that 


4io  MY  OGOWE 

night ;  and  found  two  of  Mr.  Bonn's  crew  with  Nguva.  Just 
after  their  departure,  I  missed  a  drinking  mug. 

The  only  Fail  we  present  at  meeting  on  Sunday,  the  19th,  was 
little  Angam.  At  the  close  of  service,  I  heard  the  strokes  of  an 
axe  on  the  hill.  Suspecting  that  some  Fan  we  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  my  occupation  at  service,  thus  hoping  that  I  would  not  be 
able  to  discover  them,  I  went  rapidly  but  quietly  alone  toward 
the  sounds ;  and  found  four  of  Nyare's  people  cutting  down  a 
bee-tree.  At  sight  of  me,  they  all  but  one  promptly  fled;  and, 
the  fourth  one  fled  when  I  struck  him  with  a  stick  of  wood.  I 
captured  their  axe  and  iron-pot. 

I  was  very  angry;  and  read  and  thought  much  during  the  after- 
noon, as  to  what  course  I  should  pursue.  Those  outrages  were 
changing,  not  my  nature,  but  my  attitude.  I  had  been  too  irenic. 
War  was  justifiable  in  self-defense.  There  was  no  French  arm 
to  whom  to  appeal.  I  went  to  Nyare's  to  see  Mr.  Bohn  who  was 
sick.  I  controlled  myself  about  the  trespass,  and  said  nothing; 
but,  expected  that  there  would  be  a  talk  next  day,  from  the  man 
whom  I  had  struck. 

On  Monday,  the  20th.  the  expected  Fariwe  crowd  did  not 
come.  Work  went  on  well  at  the  interior  partition-walls  of  the 
house.  One  of  the  offenders  of  Sunday,  Otyaga,  came  to  see 
how  I  felt  toward  him.  Bakele  came  from  Yefia  to  sell  thatch 
which  I  was  needing.  Awore  came  asking  to  join  the  church 
inquiry  class!  And,  after  evening-prayers.  Elder  Nguva  came 
to  consult  me  about  his  prospective  marriage,  and  to  explain  about 
the  missing  mug  of  Saturday  night.  All  these  good  things  made 
me  feel  humbly  grateful  to  God  who  seemed  to  be  favoring  the 
station. 

On  the  22d,  while  I  was  repairing  a  log  bridge  over  the  gulley 
near  Nyare's  boundary  line,  Jime,  another  of  the  bee-tree  offend- 
ers, came  by.  I  took  no  notice  of  him.  Two  Bakota  canoes 
came  down-river  to  Mr.  Bohn,  to  try  to  induce  him  to  go  and 
live  with  them  fas  he  had  originally  intended  to  do).  But,  he 
concluded  not  to  go.  I  amused  them  with  fire-crackers;  and  had 
a  pleasant  chat  with  them.  I  longed  to  go  with  them :  for.  my 
Benga-tongue  was  at  once  of  use  with  them.  And.  I  was  making 
slow  work  at  acquiring  the  Fanwe  dialect. 

Went  to  Nyare's  on  Saturday,  the  25th,  and  he  made  a  talk 
about  the  offenders  of  the  bee-tree.  (I  believed  him  as  guilty  as 
they;  at  least,  he  could  have  prevented  trespass,  if  he  had  chosen 
to  do  so.)      T  planned  to  go  on  the  following  Monday,  down  to 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  411 

Ngwilaka;  and  I  asked  him  for  the  loan  of  his  canoe,  and  Mr. 
Bohn  for  the  loan  of  two  of  his  men. 

On  Sunday,  the  26th,  very  early,  came  word  that  Mr.  Romahn 
(in  charge  of  the  German  house  at  Lembarene)  had  sent  a  canoe 
with  orders  for  Mr.  Bohn  to  remove.  But,  Nyare  refused  to 
allow  either  Mr.  Bohn  or  his  goods  to  depart.  (That  was,  at 
that  time,  the  native  chiefs'  attitude  to  white  traders;  the  latter 
"  belonged  "  to  them.)  Nyare  did  not  care  for  my  Gospel,  and 
would  not  come  to  meetings.  But,  at  the  close  of  service,  he 
came  with  two  women  and  a  sick  child  to  get  medicine  for  the 
child.  Two  canoes  arrived  from  Ngwilaka,  having  plantains  to 
sell.  They  waited  for  the  morrow,  for  the  sale.  I  had  an  im- 
pressive talk  with  Akendenge  and  Ompwenge,  hoping  to  interest 
them  in  personal  work  as  Scripture-readers  (evangelists)  or,  as 
teachers  in  the  Kangwe  school. 

JOURNEY      TO    NGWILAKA. 

As  I  had  heard  that  there  were  lying  at  Ngwilaka  for  me  a  lot 
of  boards,  forwarded  that  far  by  Mr.  Reading,  it  was  necessary 
to  go  to  Njagu-demba's,  although  I  was  weak  from  bowel  trou- 
ble. Nyare  was  willing  to  loan  me  his  canoe,  but  he  could  give 
me  no  crew.  So,  I  preferred  to  take  Mr.  Bonn's  canoe  and 
two  of  his  people ;  and  I  induced  Ndona-ma-vufia  and  another 
man  also  to  go,  starting  on  Monday,  the  27th.  (The  friend- 
ship with  the  former  had  been  entirely  restored.)  On  the  way 
down,  met  a  Mpongwe,  Angila-kukulani,  and  several  canoes. 
He  had  with  him  the  three  little  boxes  of  mail  which  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau had  tried  to  send  on  the  8th,  but  which  the  German  house 
had  neglected  to  forward !  I  had  abundance  of  letters  to  read,  as 
we  floated  down  river!  At  Njagu-demba's,  that  evening,  I 
found  him  sick.  And,  Mr.  Reading's  letter  (three  weeks  old) 
and  boards  and  boxes  were  at  the  trader's  house.  There  was  no 
opportunity  for  any  public  service.  Next  day,  Njagu-demba 
gave  me  two  men;  and,  loading  my  boards  and  boxes  (and,  also 
five  bags  of  salt  for  Mr.  Bohn)  I  started  homeward,  reaching 
Yena  for  the  night. 

The  following  day,  I  continued,  though  weak;  and  stopping 
to  deliver  to  Mr.  Bohn  his  salt,  I  was  at  my  house  by  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon. 

AT    TALAGUGA. 

Already,  by  December  1,  Nyare's  people  were  stealing  from 
Mr.  Bohn.     i   told  the  former  that  I  would  confiscate  part  of 


412  MY  OGOWE 

the  wages  of  Otyaga,  for  his  bee-tree  offense.  Saturday,  the  2d, 
was  an  ominously  quiet  morning;  no  Faiiwe  moving  about.  At 
noon,  heard  that  one  of  Ndona-ma-vuna's  men  had  shot  his  own 
wife  and  child.  I  went  to  his  village  to  inquire  about  the  mur- 
der. The  child,  a  little  girl,  was  not  dead,  but  was  wounded  in 
the  legs.  The  people  told  me  they  would  pay  me  many  things, 
if  I  would  save  the  child.  (Of  course,  I  did  not  wish  for  pay.) 
Nodona-ma-vuna  regretted  that  he  had  nothing  fit  to  offer 
me. 

Sunday,  the  3d,  was  a  beautifully  bright  morning.  Two  of 
Mr.  Bohn's  people  came  to  service.  Just  after  meeting,  a  canoe 
of  Galwas,  on  their  way  to  Okanda,  came,  and  stayed  quietly  dur- 
ing the  day.  At  noon,  I  went  to  Ndoha-ma-vuna's,  and  dressed 
the  little  girl's  wounds.  The  town's-people  were  grateful,  and 
presented  me  with  a  bush-rat.  (My  employees  got  some  com- 
fort out  of  it  for  their  supper.)  My  Galwa  visitors  came  to  Sab- 
bath school,  and  were  very  respectful. 

Mr.  Bohn  had  been  wishing  to  leave  Nyare's  thieving  village, 
but  was  practically  a  prisoner.  One  of  Mr.  Bohn's  men  came  to 
me  on  Monday,  the  4th,  with  word  that  Nyare  was  preventing  his 
master  from  an  attempt  to'  go  away  with  his  goods.  It  was  an 
appeal  for  aid.  I  knew  the  custom  of  the  river  (at  that  time) 
and  felt  indignant  that  a  civilized  man  should  be  subjected  to 
it  by  a  heathen  cannibal.  Myself  had  escaped  from  Belambla 
only  by  diplomacy.  I  went  to  Xyare.  and  expostulated  with  him. 
(I  think  that  something  was  said  to  him  about  appeal  to  French 
power.)  He  asserted  that  he  was  not  hindering  either  Mr.  Bohn 
or  his  goods ;  that  he  was  only  demanding  pay  for  the  use  of  his 
house.  T  much  doubted  the  truth  of  either  of  his  statements: 
though  it  was  possible  that  Mr.  Bohn  had  not  understood  him. 
Xo  chief  would  ask  "  pay  "  for  the  use  of  his  house,  as  long  as 
the  visitor  was  pleased  to  stay.  I  believed  that  the  demand  was 
made  only  to  exact  something  more  from  Mr.  Bohn  before  his 
departure.  Under  the  circumstances,  I  advised  him  to  give  it. 
lie  did  so;  and  got  away  immediately  with  his  goods.  I  stand- 
ing by,  until  he  had  hastily  completed  the  loading  of  his  canoe. 
T  did  not  like  being  mixed  up  in  a  trade  matter ;  but.  I  wished 
to  help  a  white  man.  I  might  need  help  myself  some  day.  And, 
T  was,  incidentally  pleased  to  see  that  I  had  gained  a  little  in- 
fluence. At  sunset,  Ntula,  one  of  the  bee-tree  offenders,  came  to 
ask  about  his  axe  which  I  still  held  possession  of. 

On  Tuesday,  the  5th,  Bilari  paid  me  eight  eggs,  as  a  fine  for 
his  trespass  of  six  months  before!      Xyare  came,  alarmed  at  the 


IX  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  413 

fear  that  the  French  might  punish  him  for  his  violence  to  Mr. 
Bohn.     I  said  nothing  to  quiet  his  fears. 

On  Thursday,  the  7th,  all  busy  at  the  house  on  the  hillside. 
The  walls  and  floor  had  already  been  completed;  and,  now,  the 
doors  and  window-frames  were  being  put  in  place.  Akendenge 
made  a  special  effort  for  my  dinner,  which  I  enjoyed  more  than 
any  meal  I  had  had  for  a  month :  croquettes  of  canned  beef  and 
dried  potatoes,  pan-cakes,  and  pumpkin  pie.  I  had  sent  my  peo- 
ple down-river,  to  the  village  of  a  Faiiwe,  Nguwe,  below  Yeha, 
for  bamboo ;  they  had  returned  without  any,  and  with  a  story  of 
difficulty  and  danger.  So,  on  Friday,  the  8th,  I  went  myself, 
borrowing  also  Xyare's  canoe  and  three  of  his  people.  We  made 
a  most  rapid  descent  in  two  hours ;  got  the  bamboos  without  dif- 
ficulty; and,  only  stopping  to  eat  in  the  forest,  were  back  again 
by  10  at  night.     I  felt  grateful  for  the  successful  day. 

On  Saturday,  I  gave  back  to  Otyaga  his  captured  pot  of  three 
weeks  before ;  but.  I  confiscated  a  knife  that  was  due  him  on  his 
wages.  Of  Xyare's  seven  chicks,  three  had  died;  and  I  sent 
back  to  him  the  hen  and  the  remaining  four.  My  own  little 
broods,  out  of  which  I  got  some  pleasure  in  watching  them,  were 
thriving.  "Beauty's"'  one  chick  was  able  to  roost  out-doors; 
and  "  Pantalet's."  seven  were  growing. 

On  Sunday,  the  10th,  there  was  wailing  at  Xyare's,  for  the 
death  of  one  of  his  little  children,  who  had  been  sick  for  some 
time.  On  such  occasions  there  is  always  a  crowd  of  visitors  to 
be  fed.  I  saw  X'tula  in  a  canoe,  with  dogs,  going  on  a  hunt. 
African  wailing  for  a  death  was  ever,  to  me,  a  most  sadly  de- 
pressing sound.  A  woman,  passing  with  her  water-jug,  stopped 
to  tell  me  of  the  child.  Her  mute  pointing  down  to  the  ground, 
as  descriptive  of  the  end  of  life,  was  so  sad,  as  the  heathen  point 
of  view.  I  tried  to  give  her  christian  view,  upward.  Sambu- 
naga  and  his  crew  stopped  on  their  way  down-river:  and,  Jok- 
tan  who  had  been  sick,  went  with  him.  After  he  was  gone,  his 
companions  told  me  of  symptoms,  of  which  I  had  not  been  told, 
which  made  me  believe  he  had  smallpox.  He  had  had  a  chill 
on  Friday:  on  the  Sunday  (the  third  day)  his  face  was  broken 
out  with  pimples ;  voice  rough ;  swelling  of  glands  in  the  groin ; 
pains  in  back  and  head.  The  disease  was  probably  contracted 
twelve  days  before,  on  our  journey  to  X'gwilaka.  On  Monday, 
the  entire  household  was  busy  at  washing  all  worn  or  soiled 
garments,  cleaning  furniture,  and  fumigating  all  places  where 
Joktan  had  been  sitting  or  lying. 

While  I  was  busy,  on  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  with  my  work- 


4H  MY  OGOWE 

men,  at  the  house  on  the  hillside,  Nyare  came  with  seven  Fan  we 
visitors  from  the  Interior.  One  of  them  was  a  very  suspicious- 
looking  fellow.  I  could  not  leave  my  work,  to  entertain  them, 
just  at  that  time;  but,  allowed  them  to  look  around  my  houses. 
When  the  afternoon  work  was  done,  and  I  came  down  to  the 
water-side  hut.  for  supper,  that  fellow  and  another  were  still 
hanging  around  so  offensively,  that  I  drove  them  away.  After 
they  were  gone,  I  missed  my  "  Pantalets  "  and  her  chicks.  I 
went  to  Nyare's,  to  charge  his  guests  with  theft ;  but.  he  was  not 
at  home.  I  returned,  feeling  depressed,  lest  I  had  been  unjust 
in  my  suspicion,  or  unwise  in  my  driving  away  of  the  men.  I 
needed  more  patience.  Worry  over  work  had  made  me  lose 
control  of  my  nerves  or  judgment.  Perhaps  this  was  the  cause 
of  the  coldness  I  had  felt  in  my  religious  meetings  during  the 
month  previous.  If  my  chickens  were  stolen,  they  had  been  re- 
turned;  for,  they  were  on  hand,  in  the  morning  of  the  13th. 
When  one  of  the  men  of  the  day  before  came  again  to  see  me.  I 
gave  him  a  small  gift,  to  make  up  for  my  treatment  of  him. 
Jime  came  to  ransom  his  axe  of  the  bee-tree  trespass.  But,  his 
offer  was  so  small  that  I  declined  it. 

On  Thursday,  the  14th,  I  was  pleased  to  see  some  signs  of 
the  people  recognizing  my  right  to  the  premises  and  everything 
on  it.  I  woke  early,  hearing  the  noise  of  women  going  to  gather 
wild  mango  fruits,  for  making  odika.  Some  of  the  trees  were 
on  my  grounds,  and  I  had  given  them  permission.  And,  Nyare 
came  to  ask  that  his  men  might  fish  for  the  day  in  the  brook.  I 
was  quite  willing.  Was  pleased  to  assure  him  that  that  was  all 
that  I  had  been  demanding,  a  recognition  of  my  rights.  Ma- 
myaga  came  to  ask  for  some  carbolic  acid  ;  he  had  found  it  use- 
ful, in  my  medication  of  him.  And,  then,  lie  was  very  much 
pleased,  and  apparently  amused,  in  telling  me  about  his  murder 
of  a  woman  of  an  adjoining  clan,  at  Bitaga!  I  finished  the 
doors  and  windows  of  the  house;  and  it  was  ready  for  occupancy 
by  my  wife.  I  breathed  a  sigh  of  satisfaction.  Put,  first,  was 
needed  the  kitchen  (a  detached  hut)  ;  and  work  was  begun  on 
it  at  once. 

The  plan  of  the  completed  hillside  cottage  was  twenty-four 
feet  by  twenty-two  feet. 

All  these  rooms  were  open  to  the  roof,  except  the  dining  and 
spare  rooms:  they  were  ceiled.  Thus,  making  an  attic  above 
(reached  by  a  ladder)   where  goods  could  be  stored. 

T  had  not  acquired  enough  of  Fanwe  to  preach  in  it,  but,  T 
could  talk  a  few  sentences  for  ordinary  conversation.     But,  more 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  415 

than  that  I  had  impressed  the  people  with  a  sense  of  affiliation 
with  them.  I  had,  in  all  my  missionary  life,  felt  strongly  that 
adaptation  to  environment  is  the  first  law  of  existence.  I  was 
pleased  when  I  over-heard  Ndona-ma-vuna  remark,  "  Nasa  a  ta 
mana  Fan  "  (Nassau  has  become  a  real  (literally  "  a  child  "  of) 
Fan  we). 

Mr.  Ermy  came  in  his  large  canoe,  on  Sunday,  the  17th,  and 
brought  me  from  Kangwe,  some  boxes  of  provisions,  and  a  mail. 
It  was  not  rare  that  civilized  men,  in  that  wild  life,  sometimes 
forgot  the  day  of  the  week.  Mr.  Ermy  thought  that  the  day 
was  Saturday.  Nyare  and  some  of  his  people  came  to  see  me. 
Their  extreme  covetousness,  that  would  be  always  begging  for 
something,  I  had  checked  by  rebuking  when  they  asked  too  often, 
and  never  giving  anything  on  Sunday,  lest  it  should  look  like 
paying  them  to  come  to  service.  (The  Roman  Catholic  priest  at 
his  Lembarene  Mission  gave  them,  at  the  church-door,  a  glass  of 
rum.)  It  was  half-provoking  and  half-amusing  to  see  their  at- 
tempt to  avoid  my  rule,  in  their  saying,  "  We  are  not  asking  you 
to-day,  but  we  will  come  to-morrow  to  ask  you  for  something." 
Monday,  the  18th,  found  me  excited  by  the  mail  of  Sunday. 

Nyamba  came  with  a  present  of  fresh  corn  for  me,  and  ingwese 
for  my  people.  She  said  that  Nyare,  in  his  anger  about  some- 
thing, wanted  to  shoot  her.  With  a  memory  of  the  affectionate 
relations  she  had  seen  between  myself  and  Mrs.  Nassau  during 
our  camp-life  of  the  preceding  dry  season,  she  remarked  that 
"  the  custom  of  one  man  and  one  wife  "  was  better  than  the 
Fan  we  polygamy. 

T  like  pets;  and,  having  no  dog  or  cat,  I  petted  my  chickens, 
giving  names  to  them.  One  of  them,  "  Specks,"  came  off  her 
nest  with  a  brood  of  six  chicks :  making  seventeen  little  chickens 
in  the  yard.  At  night  of  the  19th,  had  a  pleasant  prayer-meet- 
ing. 

The  only  incomplete  part  of  the  house,  the  flight  of  steps  to 
the  front  porch,  was  finally  finished  on  Saturday,  the  23d.  And, 
the  kitchen  also  was  clone. 

Then,  I  began  to  prepare  for  the  journey  to  Kangwe,  to  bring 
"Mrs.  Nassau  to  our  home.  I  gave  parting  presents  to  Nyare  and 
hs  wife  Nyamba ;  placing  in  their  care  the  three  young  men  whom 
I  was  leaving  in  charge  of  the  premises.  To  them,  I  gave  food 
supplies,  and  goods  for  need  of  purchase,  and  directions  about 
the  care  of  the  grounds,  etc.,  for  I  would  be  away  a  long  while 
at  Gaboon.  I  took  account  of  my  little  stock  of  goods,  for  a 
part  of  my  annual  report  to  the  mission. 


4i 6  MY  OGOWK 

On  Sunday,  the  24th,  a  down-going-  canoe  stopped  for  fire: 
and  I  sent  by  it  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Nassau  advising  her  of  my  com- 
ing. Only  one  Fan  we  was  at  morning  service.  But,  I  was  grate- 
ful to  God  for  the  degree  of  health  He  had  given  me  in  the  pre- 
ceding three  months ;  for  success  in  building ;  and,  for  acceptance 
among  the  Fan  we,  even  if  they  were  still  careless  about  listening 
to  my  message.  In  the  afternoon,  a  tornado  storm  came  down 
the  river,  with  its  usual  sudden  fall  of  temperature.  I  always 
shivered  before  it.  No  one  thing  in  Africa's  conditions  was 
more  likely  to  make  me  sick  than  that  sudden  fall  in  the  ther- 
mometer.    I  went  to  bed  with  a  fever-chill. 

JOURNEY  TO  KANGWE. 

Monday,  the  25th.  Not  at  all  like  Christmas !  I  had  made  all 
arrangements  for  the  journey,  and,  notwithstanding  my  sickness, 
preferred  the  kongongo  to  a  canoe.  I  was  so  weak  that  I  could 
but  slowly  gather  together  the  usual  last  things.  I  lay  on  the  seat 
with  a  head-ache.  At  Yeiia,  where  the  crew  stopped  to  eat,  I  lay 
still,  and  did  not  go  ashore.  The  head-man  and  his  wife  came 
kindly  to  me.  and  she  gave  me  honey;  but,  I  could  cat  nothing. 

At  Isosa.  we  met  Laseni,  and  other  traders  and  some  eighteen 
canoes.  He  handed  me  letters  from  Mrs.  Nassau.  Stopping 
only  at  Ngwilaka,  to  debark  a  Faiiwe  passenger,  we  kept  on  our 
way  to  Belambla,  for  the  night.  The  next  day.  I  had  the  crew 
do  some  work,  to  preserve  the  house,  tarring  its  foundation-posts 
to  keep  away  white  ants.  Some  Bakcle  volunteered  to  help  (and. 
of  course,  I  paid  them)  ;  and,  I  hired  four  women  to  cut  down 
the  grass  and  weeds.  While  at  our  noon  meal  in  the  forest  near 
Nenge-sika,  a  run-away  slave  came  asking  passage  with  us. 
With  a  short  stop  to  salute  our  helpful  friend  Mr.  Ermy,  we 
went  on  our  way;  and  were  at  Kangwe  before  sundown.  Mr. 
Reading  had  already  left,  for  the  annual  meetings  at  Libreville. 
Two  French  government  gunboats,  the  Marabout  and  the 
Basiliquc,  were  lying  in  the  river.  Church  prayer  meeting  was 
held  at  night.  On  Wednesday,  the  27th.  went  with  Mr.  Robin- 
son to  make  an  official  call  on  the  officers  of  the  Marabout.  The 
Basiliquc  was  gone.  Called,  at  the  new  Aguma,  on  the  1  I.  8c 
C.  lmnse  for  my  bills  for  the  year;  and  at  the  German  Otanga, 
for  the  same.  On  Thursday,  the  28th,  the  commander  of  the 
Marabout  returned  our  call. 

On  Friday,  the  29th.  engaged  a  crew  for  my  proposed  journey 
to  Gaboon.  Went  to  Otanga.  to  have  my  bills  rectified:  on  the 
wav.  leaving  at  the  Marabout,  a  gift  of  vegetables   from   Mrs. 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  417 

Reading".  In  the  afternoon,  church  preparatory  service.  Tea  at 
Mrs.  Reading's  with  Mrs.  Nassau;  and  looking  over  the  contents 
of  a  box  from  her  Jamesburg,  New  Jersey,  friends.  Joktan  came, 
having  recovered  from  his  small-pox.  On  Sunday,  the  31st,  I 
preached  in  the  morning;  conducted  monthly  concert  in  after- 
noon; and  lectured  in  the  evening. 

JOURNEY   TO    GABOON. 

As  the  boat-journey  would  be  an  exposed  and  trying  one,  it 
was  decided  that  Mrs.  Nassau  should  remain  at  Kangwe  with 
Mrs.  Reading. 

On  Monday,  January  1,  in  the  Nelly-Howard,  passed  down  the 
main  stream,  stopping  for  the  noon  meal  at  the  first  entrance  to 
Lake  Onanga.  Stopped  at  various  villages.  At  Nandipo,  en- 
gaged friend  Azaze  to  obtain  me  a  gorilla  head  (for  examina- 
tion of  its  brains  by  my  friend  Thomas  G.  Morton,  M.D.,  of 
Philadelphia).     On  to  Igenja,  for  the  night. 

On  Tuesday,  the  2d,  saw  the  Falaba  (the  successor  of  the 
Pioneer),  passing  up-river.  Boarded  it;  and,  opening  the  mail- 
bag,  found  letters  for  myself;  and  wrote  a  short  note  to  Mrs. 
Nassau.  The  noon  meal  was  eaten  at  Isagi's  Ngumbe.  And, 
reached  Nango,  late  at  night,  in  darkness  and  rain. 

On  Wednesday,  weather  threatening,  ate  at  Angala;  and, 
thence,  on  to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  I  had  made  no  arrange- 
ment for  the  Hudson  to  meet  me ;  and  would  attempt  the  sea- 
journey  in  the  Nelly-Hozcard,  though  I  knew  that  that  boat  was 
built  only  for  river  use.  At  the  mouth,  bought  food  for  the 
crew  for  a  possible  two  days  at  sea.  Did  not  venture  to  make  the 
start  at  night.  Slept  on  Nengie  Island.  But,  slept  poorly,  be- 
cause of  mosquitoes.  Had  with  me  empty  boxes,  which  I  filled 
with  sand  for  ballast. 

The  mosquitoes  were  so  bad  that,  to  escape  them  we  put  out 
to  sea  before  daybreak  of  Thursday,  the  4th,  with  a  slight  wind ; 
and  got  on  comfortably  as  to  progress,  but,  with  the  usual  nausea. 
Rain  all  day;  and,  in  the  late  afternoon,  went  in  toward  shore,  to 
find  a  safe  anchorage  for  the  night. 

On  Friday,  the  5th,  before  daylight,  started  again,  and  made 
slow  but  safe  progress,  until  while  rounding  a  point  into  the  Ga- 
boon River,  the  surf  drove  the  boat  ashore.  To  save  it,  the  men 
rapidly  unloaded  it,  and  then  towed  it  around  into  quiet  water. 
We  were  panting  with  thirst  and  went  off  on  to  the  prairie  to 
seek  some  pool  of  water.  Then  by  5  p.  m.  we  started  to  row  the 
twelve  miles  across  the  estuary.     It  was  10  at  night,  when  after 


418  MY  OGOWE 

discharging  and  housing  the  boat,  I  arrived  at  the  Baraka  houses 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell  and  of  Mrs.  Bushnell.  My  sister  Isa- 
bella had  returned  in  good  health  from  the  United  States  with 
new  missionaries. 

And  I  had  pleasant  talks  next  day  with  her,  and  with  the  newly 
arrived  Rev.  A.  C.  Good,  and  Miss  Harding.  T  had  a  long  talk 
with  Mr.  Good,  about  his  probable  location.  I  had  hoped  that 
he  would  come  to  the  Ogowe,  and  start  a  new  advanced  station. 
But,  his  interests  lay  at  Baraka,  where  he  was,  later,  to  marrv 
Miss  L.  B.  Walker. 

After  the  evening  service,  had  an  unpleasant  discussion  with 
Rev.  William  Walker,  about  his  assuming  control  of  the  Gaboon 
church,  the  while  that  he,  as  a  member  of  the  Congregationalist 
body,  had  no  connection  with  or  authority  from  our  Presbytery. 

On  the  evening  of  Monday,  the  8th.  had  a  long  talk  with  my 
sister  about  her  wish  to  locate  a  station  at  Batanga  Beach.  Some 
years  before,  in  an  enthusiastic  endorsement  of  my  advance  to- 
ward the  Ogowe  Interior,  she  wrote  some  verses  entitled.  "  Back 
from  the  Coast !  "  But,  now,  she  had  changed  her  views.  While 
waiting  at  Baraka,  after  her  arrival  from  the  United  States,  she 
had  gone  to  Batanga,  had  aroused  the  hopes  of  the  people  there 
for  a  white  missionary  ("which  the  mission  had  repeatedly  re- 
fused, as  our  line  of  extension  had  officially  been  decided  to  be 
through  the  Ogowe).  And,  the  Batanga  people  had  offered  her 
a  very  fine  site,  if  she  would  go  there.  [That  site  is  better,  than 
either  of  the  two  locations  which  our  missionaries  subsequently 
chose;  and  is  now  occupied  by  a  Roman  Catholic  mission.] 

On  Tuesday,  the  9th.  began  meetings  of  mission,  which  were 
continued  for  a  week,  almost  every  day;  and  at  which  my  sister 
and  Miss  Harding  were  appointed  to  Kangwe.  And.  on  Wed- 
nesday, the  10th.  in  the  evening,  began  Presbytery  meetings; 
which  were  continued  almost  every  evening,  for  a  week.  Except, 
that  on  Saturday  afternoon,  the  13th.  we  adjourned,  that  some 
of  us  might  make  an  official  call  on  the  French  commandant. 

Sunday,  the  14th.  Rev.  Mr.  Marling  preached.  A  steamer. 
M  ami  in  go,  arrived,  having  a  quantity  of  goods  for  Mr.  Reading 
and  myself.  He  thought  it  a  case  of  necessity,  and  landed  his.  I 
was  not  willing  to  do  such  work  on  Sunday,  and  ordered  mine 
to  remain  until  Monday;  and  landed  it  safely  on  that  day.  On 
Tuesday,  January  ifi.  we  closed  our  meetings;  and  \  prepared 
for  mv  return  to  the  Ogowe. 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  419 


JOURNEY    BACK    TO    THE    OGOWE. 

On  Thursday,  the  18th,  Mr.  Reading-  and  I,  with  our  goods, 
and  the  two  boats,  Nelly-Hoivard  and  Evangeline  (my  sister's 
boat),  boarded  the  Falaba  which  had  returned  from  the  Ogowe. 

On  Friday,  the  19th,  we  were  overtaken  by  the  French  gun- 
boat, Basilique.  And  the  two  vessels  anchored  at  Angala  on  the 
afternoon  of  Saturday.  The  commander  of  the  gun-boat  kindly 
offered  to  take  ourselves,  our  goods,  and  the  boats.  It  was  a 
very  great  favor ;  it  would  save  us  the  slower  travel  on  the  Falaba. 
I  was  not  hearty  in  accepting,  for,  I  believed  it  would  involve 
some  Sunday  work.  But,  Mr.  Reading,  at  once  got  out  our 
goods  from  the  hold  of  the  Falaba,  stowed  them  in  the  boats,  and 
with  the  two  boats  and  our  fourteen  people  in  tow,  we  boarded 
the  Basilique,  before  sunrise  of  Sunday,  the  21st.  fit  was  not  a 
good  arrangement,  towing  such  heavily  laden  boats.)  The 
Falaba  at  once  went  on ;  but,  the  gun-boat  soon  passed,  and  left  it 
far  behind.  In  the  afternoon,  by  bad  steering  of  one  of  the  men 
in  my  boat,  its  rudder  was  broken :  and  it  was  impossible  to  be 
towed  until  repairs  were  made.  Y\  nich,  the  officer  most  kindly 
offered  to  have  done  by  his  engineer,  stopping  his  vessel  for  the 
purpose.  Again.  I  had  to  differ  from  Mr.  Reading.  After  all 
the  courtesy  of  the  Frenchman,  I  could  not  think  of  delaying  him 
for  an  hour,  for  the  heedlessness  of  my  employee,  that  might 
occur  again  before  reaching  Lembarene. 

Mr.  Reading  therefore  proceeded  with  the  gun-boat,  towing 
the  Evangeline;  and  I  cast  off  with  the  Nelly-Howard  and  my 
crew,  and  ran  ashore,  to  camp  in  the  forest  until  the  next  day. 
My  crew  were  very  angry  at  me.  because  they  would  have  to 
row  the  usual  hard  journey  up-river,  instead  of  being  easily 
towed.  In  the  evening,  they  were  in  a  better  frame  of  mind,  and 
begged  for  permission  to  row  me  to  a  village  a  few  miles  dis- 
tant. We  went  there;  and  I  held  a  service.  And,  the  next  day, 
repaired  the  rudder.  And  reached  Kangwe.  on  January  25. 
Mrs.  Xassau  had  been  anxious  for  my  return.  But,  she  agreed 
with  me.  that  if  both  Mr.  Reading  and  I  could  not  have  remained 
on  the  gun-boat,  it  was  well  that  he  had  come  in  advance  of  me; 
for,  he  was  needed  on  matters  of  station  control,  with  which  I 
had  no  authority. 

When  Miss  Xassau  and  Miss  Harding  arrived  at  Kangwe, 
Mrs.  Nassau's  various  works  of  house-keeping  and  teaching  on 
the  hill  were  divided  between  them.  And  she  and  I  packed  our 
goods,  etc..  for  removal  to  Talaguga. 


4^o  MY  OGOWE 

Miss  Harding',  a  highly-educated  lady,  was  of  negro  extrac- 
tion ;  hut.  of  so  slight  an  admixture  that  she  was  regarded  as  an 
"  European."  At  her  own  expense,  she  had  brought  her  mother 
with  her  from  the  United  States;  who  was  not  therefore  on  the 
mission  list. 

JOURNEY   TO    TALAGUGA. 

Mrs.  Nassau,  writing  to  her  Monmouth,  New  Jersey,  Presby- 
terial  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  described  that  jour- 
ney of  Wednesday,  February  7: — "  Miss  Nassau,  from  the  home 
on  the  hill,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading  and  Mr.  Robinson,  from 
the  Andende  water-side,  waved  their  farewells  to  Dr.  Nassau's 
company,  as  he,  with  his  fleet  of  two  boats  and  three  canoes  and 
forty  men  and  boys,  pushed  ofT  on  their  up-river  journey  to  Tala- 
guga.  The  Nelly-Howard  carried  the  doctor  and  wife  and  crew 
of  six  men  (with  oars),  and  a  heavy  load  of  goods  and  baggage. 
The  other  crafts  had  a  full  complement  of  paddles ;  and,  we 
started  with  the  feeling  of  strength  which  many  hands  give  to 
the  performance  of  good  works.  The  canoes  carried  boards 
and  native  food,  provisions  for  ourselves,  and  household  furni- 
ture. Mr.  Reading  had  already  taken  up  a  large  canoe  filled  with 
foreign  provisions,  our  food  for  the  coming  year. 

"  Just  a  few  hours  before  our  departure,  news  was  received 
that  a  native  trader,  in  a  fight  with  a  Fanwe  village,  on  the  river- 
side, more  than  half  of  the  way  up  to  Talaguga,  had  killed  three 
men  there;  that  the  Fanwe  were  greatly  incensed  thereby; 
and  that  any  canoe  passing,  would  incur  the  danger  of  an 
attack  from  them.  But,  our  crews  seemed  to  smother  their 
fear  (which  we  knew  they  felt),  and  we  had  no  hesitation  in 
starting.  Happily,  at  the  very  last  moment,  three  young  men. 
former  pupils  of  the  Kangwe  school,  asked  to  be  taken.  They 
were  kindly  accepted. 

"  But,  many  of  the  crew,  from  near  villages,  wished  to  stop 
at  their  homes  and  get  guns,  etc.  The  crew  of  the  Nelly-Hozv- 
ard  were  all  held  to  their  promise ;  though  the  doctor  was  obliged 
to  land  and  go  to  their  village,  to  hurry  them  from  their  multi- 
tudinous leave-takings.  Before  leaving  the  first  village,  we 
heard  that  two  of  the  crew  of  one  of  the  canoes  had  deserted, 
fearing  the  Fanwe  along  the  route.  This  was  distressing  to  the 
crew,  who  wished  as  many  paddles  as  possible. 

"  We  passed  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  saw  the  principal 
canoe  touch  the  other  side;  and,  nearly  every  one  left  the  canoe. 
We  passed  within  speaking  distance,  and  asked  the  cause.    Three 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  421 

from  the  crew  had  deserted,  their  mothers  fearing  to  have  their 
sons  go  on  such  a  perilous  journey.  (Those  same  young  men, 
when  their  inclinations  lead,  are  not  so  easily  restrained  by  their 
mothers.)  The  leader  of  that  canoe  threw  down  his  paddle, 
saying  that  he  would  not  go  at  all  with  so  few  men.  The  doc- 
tor promised  him  two  from  another  canoe;  and  we  all  slowly 
passed  on.  But,  the  entire  company  were  in  ill-humor ;  and,  the 
peace  of  the  journey  seemed  broken.  The  missionaries  could 
only  endure,  and  trust  that  He,  who  prepares  the  hearts  of  all 
men,  would  so  over-rule  their  discontent  and  rebellion  that  a 
safe  arrival  should  be  secured.  Also,  another  earnest  prayer  was 
offered  for  the  withholding  of  rain,  which  would  not  only  cause 
loss  of  goods,  but  great  discomfort  and  probable  danger  of 
health. 

"  We  lunched  in  the  woods  about  2  p.  m.  In  the  wife's  little 
boat,  the  Swan,  its  three  young  men,  instead  of  following  the 
Nelly-Howard,  went  their  own  way ;  and,  as  the  shades  of  night 
fell  around  us,  they  were  hid  from  view.  We  were  troubled,  as 
they  were  in  danger  of  running  aground  on  the  many  islands  in 
mid-stream,  and  we  knew  they  would  be  in  great  fear  of  the 
Fafiwe  along  the  shore.  Wearily  (more  truthfully)  our  crew 
pulled ;  and,  we  were  very  much  relieved  when  the  lights  of  an 
American  negro  trader's  house  shot  across  our  bow  at  9.30  p.  M. 
We  landed  (the  last  of  the  crafts)  ;  went  ashore;  and  enjoyed 
for  the  night  the  hospitality  of  our  fellow-countryman,  Mr. 
Ermy.  But,  oh!  the  mosquitoes;  and  the  hideous  cries  of  the 
two  watchmen.     Little  rest,  and  less  sleep,  that  night! 

"  Thursday,  the  8th.  we  were  again  started,  with  a  second 
canoe  in  a  semi-rebellious  state.  By  3  p.  m.,  we  reached  Be- 
lambla,  and  carried  bedding,  etc.,  to  the  little  mission -house. 
This  house  has  been  closed  for  nearly  two  years,  and  was  put 
under  the  care  of  a  native,  living  near.  Earnest  prayer  has  been 
made  that  one  of  the  christian  young  men  should  offer  to  live 
there,  as  a  Bible-reader,  though  it  be  among  the  most  superstitious 
and  degraded  of  all  our  tribes,  the  Bakele.  The  dusty  walls  and 
floors  were  not  very  inviting,  though  we  were  giad  of  their  pro- 
tection from  possible  rain.  A  few  Bakele  came  to  the  house  to 
greet  us ;  and,  in  the  evening,  we  gathered  the  crews  for  even- 
ing-prayers. 

"At  6.30,  the  next  morning  (Friday)  we  were  in  our  boat, 
readv  for  a  start.  But,  before  pushing  off,  the  missionary  and 
company  sang  a  native  hymn,  and  he  offered  prayer.  The  crews 
were  in  good  spirits,  and  pulled  well ;  and,  we  reached  the  eating- 


422  MY  OGOWE 

place  at  the  mouth  of  a  little  creek,  by  1 1  a.  m.  We  had  our  tea 
and  warmed  tin  of  corn,  in  the  boat :  and  started  again,  after  a  rest 
of  two  hours.  We  entered  upon  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the 
journey;  for,  that  afternoon,  we  were  to  pass  the  place  of  conflict, 
so  much  feared. 

"  From  the  first  day  to  this  time,  every  village  that  brought  us 
nearer  to  the  dreaded  point,  gave  us  new  versions  of  the  trouble, 
changing  the  location,  and  reducing  the  number  of  killed,  to  one ; 
while,  one  man  averred  that  the  affair  was  entirely  settled.  We 
had  no  trouble  that  day,  in  keeping  the  crafts  near  us.  Fear  was 
a  stronger  master  than  the  white  man.  To  increase  the  distress 
<>f  our  men,  we  met  a  little  steam-launch  coming  down-river.  On 
board,  was  an  Englishman  (a  trader)  and  a  Roman  Catholic 
priest.  The  latter  had  taken  passage  for  the  purpose  of  viewing 
the  land,  having  as  a  plan,  the  establishing  of  a  mission  near  us. 
Thus  closely  these  adherents  of  the  Romish  See  follow  the  foot- 
steps of  our  mission !  The  trader  had  promised  to  take  him  to 
within  a  few  miles  of  Talaguga;  but,  hearing  of  the  affray,  turned 
back,  the  second  day  of  the  journey.  Our  men  could  argue. 
'  What  can  this  one  poor  missionary  do  in  the  face  of  savage 
Fanwe,  whom  this  trader  with  his  steam-launch  flees   from?' 

"  It  was  about  5  o'clock  of  a  beautiful  afternoon  when  we 
reached  a  point  where  the  river  widened,  on  the  opposite  side 
rising  a  high  hill.  Frere-volo.  Majestically  ft  overlooked  the 
river  below,  and  beautifully  dressed  was  it  with  the  bright  greens 
of  the  forest  trees,  lit  up  by  the  brilliantly  setting  regular  f>  p.  \i. 
sun. 

"  The  offending  village,  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  commanded  the 
entire  river.  On  the  right  bank,  a  sand-bar  reached  far  out 
into  the  water;  and  dusky  forms,  from  the  village  on  the  hill, 
were  seen  running  to  the  waterside.  Our  own  five  crafts,  with 
two  others  (  strangers,  who  entered  our  company  for  protection 
under  Dr.  Nassau's  name),  huddling  more  closely  together,  ad- 
vanced into  the  exposed  portion  of  the  river.  Our  crew  kept 
telling  the  doctor  that  there  was  a  sand-bar  in  our  way  at  the 
right.  But,  he  knew  differently.  What  their  fears  said  :  "  (inns 
arc!  guns  there!  "  would  have  been  more  truthful.  All  kept  in 
mid-stream,  until  directly  opposite  the  village,  and  then  turned 
toward  it.  and  hugged  closely  the  base  of  the  hill."  [There  was 
the  shortest  and  easiest  channel.  But.  to  the  crews,  it  did  seem 
as  if  I  was  deliberately  leading  them  into  danger.  Perhaps  the 
apparent  audacity  of  my  maneuver  may  have  checked  the  Fariwe, 
if  thev  reallv  had  anv  intention  to  attack.]     "  The  Xclly-Hoz^ard 


IN  CAMP  AT  TALAGUGA  423 

passed  near  the  sand-bar,  and  we  were  greeted  kindly  by  the 
staring-  Fan  we,  though  we  did  not  think  it  best  to  stop.  After 
we  had  turned  into  a  bend  of  the  river  which  hid  those  people 
from  us,  we  found  that  one  canoe  was  missing".  Turning  back, 
we  met  it  opposite  to  the  village,  and  escorted  it  safely  past  the 
danger  its  crew  feared. 

"  This  point  past,  the  crews  were  greatly  relieved,  and  cheerily 
brought  the  crafts,  before  dark,  to  the  place  on  the  edge  of  the 
forest,  where  we  were  to  stay  all  night.  As  we  landed,  one 
young  man  said,  '  Ah !  yes,  we  passed  safely  because  Dr.  Nassau 
was  with  us.'  We  thankfully  said  we  passed  safely;  saw  rain 
falling  on  all  sides,  but  not  touching  us.  We  passed  un-wet ; 
only  felt  the  accompanying  wind ;  and  realized  that  our  crews 
were  becoming  more  and  more  quiet  and  obedient,  because  God 
was  ivith  us.  Our  camp  mats  and  bedding  were  laid  in  the  boat. 
Just  as  we  were  ready  for  sleep,  the  sound  of  coming  wind  and 
rain  was  heard.  We  still  prayed,  though  we  knew  the  rain  must 
come.     So  it  did ;  but,  not  enough  to  in  the  least  incommode  us. 

"  Before  day-break  of  Saturday,  the  10th,  most  of  our  crafts 
were  off,  though  we  heard  some  of  the  crews  protesting  because 
of  the  threatening  tornado.  By  6  a,  m.  we  were  starting.  The 
sun  was  clouded  all  day,  but  we  felt  no  storm.  One  more  meal 
in  the  forest;  and,  before  3  p.  m.,  our  entire  company  touched 
the  shore  of  Talaguga,  within  a  few  minutes  of  each  other,  and 
great  shouts  of  rejoicing  on  the  part  of  the  crews,  and  welcomes. 
Never  have  we  passed  four  consecutive  days  wherein  God's  pro- 
tecting hand  was  more  visibly  seen." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE, 
FEBRUARY,    1883-DECEMBER,    1 883 

MRS.  NASSAU  and  I  were  in  our  hill-side  home.  On  the 
following  Wednesday,  February  14,  Mr.  Robinson 
came,  with  a  load  of  furniture.  And,  on  Friday,  the 
23d,  my  best  native,  Mamba.  (then,  foreman  in  Mr.  Reading's 
employ)  came  with  two  crafts  laden  with  goods.  And,  he  re- 
mained a  week  cutting  logs  (of  which  Talaguga  had  a  fine 
variety)  for  a  large  new  frame  house  that  Mr.  Reading  planned 
to  build  at  Andende. 

When  Mamba  left  on  March  2,  Londo  and  Mburu,  who  had 
come  with  me  on  a  promise  to  remain  several  months,  deserted. 
That  left  me  short-handed,  having  only  3  Galwas,  1  Fanwe,  and 
an  Accra  coast-man,  William,  as  cook.  Nevertheless,  I  went, 
for  the  Saturday  afternoon  visitation,  with  Mrs.  Nassau,  and 
held  a  meeting  at  Ndona-ma-vuna's. 

On  Sunday,  March  4,  Nyare's  son,  Mveli,  came  at  Sabbath 
school.  He  was  very  thin,  and  his  ulcers  were  worse.  Heard 
that  the  "  palaver "  of  the  wife-murderer,  Nyene,  was  being 
talked  in  Nyare's  village.  And,  the  man  was  one  of  my  work- 
men! I  could  obtain  so  few,  that  I  had  to  accept  even  a  crim- 
inal. 

On  Sunday,  the  nth,  Laseni  and  his  wife  Alida  and  some  of 
his  people  came  to  services.  Also,  Nyare  and  some  of  his  peo- 
ple. Just  as  we  were  at  tea,  there  stopped  at  the  landing  to 
bring  us  a  mail,  a  French  expedition,  consisting  of  Lieut.  Mizon ; 
Mons.  Rigail  de  Lestour,  a  civil  engineer;  Mons.  Jacques  de 
Brazza,  brother  of  the  Count,  a  scientific  man;  and  Mons. 
Michaud,  an  engineer.  They  took  tea  with  us;  Mrs.  Nassau 
being  troubled,  not  for  any  lack  of  food,  but  only  for  the  small- 
ness  of  the  table.  They  were  accompanied  by  their  two  big  dogs, 
which  our  little  "Rover"  (whom  I  had  added  to  our  house- 
hold) small  as  he  was,  wished  to  fight.  The  gentlemen  left 
early  in  the  evening,  and  slept  at  the  waterside  with  their   14 

4-'4 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     425 

canoes  and  190  men.  The  view  of  their  lights  and  camp-fires 
from  our  hill-side,  reminded  us  of  the  lights  of  a  little  town. 

On  Monday,  the  12th,  I  rose  early,  and  went  to  the  waterside 
to  bid  the  four  gentlemen  good-by  at  their  starting.  It  was 
an  exhilarating  sight,  that  large  flotilla  of  canoes!  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau and  I  had  a  delightful  re-reading  of  our  large  mail.  I  ob- 
tained the  four  quarters  of  a  gazelle  on  Wednesday,  the  14th, 
and  gave  the  employees  a  feast.  Mveli's  ulcers  were  so  bad  that 
he  came  to  remain  at  my  house,  for  daily  treatment.  After 
their  day's  work,  I  allowed  my  people  to  go  for  the  evening  to 
Laseni's,  who  had  established  himself  near  us  about  a  mile  down- 
river. I  was  pleased  to  have  his  gentlemanly  society;  and  his 
company  would  make  my  employees  feel  less  lonely.  My  lonely 
isolation  had  been  one  of  the  objections  to  service  with  me. 

In  the  evening,  I  read  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  from  Stanley's  "  Dark 
Continent."  Mrs.  Nassau  was  affected,  as  I  always  was,  by  the 
sudden  reduction  of  temperature  preceding  a  tornado  storm. 
On  Thursday,  the  15th,  she  had  to  go  to  bed,  with  fever  chills. 
I  laid  aside  all  outdoor  work,  and  remained  with  her,  arranging 
papers,  and  attending  to  her  medicines. 

The  next  day,  she  was  convalescing.  Alida,  Laseni's  wife 
came  to  see  her,  and  spent  the  day.  Mveli's  mother,  with  her 
trust  in  superstitious  "  medicines,"  was  interfering  with  my 
medication  of  him ;  and,  I  allowed  him  to  spend  his  nights  with 
her.  I  conducted  a  Friday  evening  inquiry  class ;  the  members 
knew  their  lesson  well. 

On  Sunday,  the  18th,  Mrs.  Nassau  was  still  feverish,  and 
could  not  assist  in  the  day's  services.  I  was  annoyed  by  a  num- 
ber of  worldly  visits.  Early  in  the  morning,  before  prayers,  one 
of  the  new  Fanwe  workmen  came  to  explain  why  he  had  not 
been  at  work  on  Saturday,  and  wished  to  make  up  for  it  on 
Sunday.  Then,  some  of  Njagu-demba's  people  came  to  sell 
plantains ;  much  as  I  needed  them,  and  as  much  as  I  wished  to 
encourage  a  market,  I  could  not  buy.  Then,  came  a  little  Fanwe, 
to  sell  a  fowl,  supposing  that  in  my  great  desire  for  fowls  for 
Mrs.  Nassau,  I  would  make  an  exception  to  the  Sunday  rule. 
Then,  Agon  jo  came  to  pay  me  part  of  his  bamboo  debt.  Much 
as  I  needed  it,  I  would  not  permit  him  even  to  land  the  load  from 
his  canoe.  So,  he  stayed  over  until  Monday.  Then,  Laseni's 
people,  on  their  way  up  to  Okota,  stopped  to  beg  for  soap. 
After  Mrs.  Nassau's  recovery  on  the  20th,  I  was  sick  for  sev- 
eral days. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  the  29th,  just  after  work  time, 


426  MY  OGOWE 

there  was  an  alarm  at  the  waterside,  that,  Fanwe  from  up-river, 
had  come  to  attack  the  workmen's  house.  One  of  my  men, 
Ompwenge,  seized  a  gun,  and  stood  his  ground ;  two  others  fled 
up  the  hill  to  me;  with  a  fourth,  Njambi,  I  came  down  with  our 
guns.  Though  his  gun  was  empty,  Njambi  bravely  pointed  it  at 
the  strangers.  But,  it  was  all  a  mistake.  On  inquiry,  I  found 
that  the  party  were  friendly;  and  explanations  were  made. 

During  April,  some  additions  to  the  house,  such  as  shelves, 
etc.,  were  completed.  Our  little  house  was  safe,  and,  in  a  de- 
gree, comfortable,  especially*  to  me,  after  my  long  pioneering. 
And,  Mrs.  Nassau  bravely  adjusted  herself  fo  its  simplicity. 
Writing  to  a  friend  in  the  United  States,  she  said,  "  We,  the 
husband  and  self,  are  comfortably  settled  in  our  little  bamboo 
cottage.  .  .  .  How  I  long  sometimes  for  the  home- friends,  that 
they  might  see  my  African  home.  We  have  three  rooms,  small 
and  crowded ;  but,  our  combined  bedroom  and  parlor  is  really 
pretty.  Our  new  bedroom  set,  of  light  ash,  stands  out  in  charm- 
ing relief,  against  the  dark  bamboo  walls.  A  sewing-machine, 
writing-desk,  and  two  trunks  fill  up  all  available  space.  A  cup- 
board in  one  corner,  for  our  wearing  apparel ;  three-cornered 
shelves  in  another,  for  books.  A  narrow  tier  of  shelves  on  one 
side  of  the  room,  for  books  also,  does  not  add  to  the  beauty  of  the 
room  (all  being  made  of  packing  boxes,  with  sides  rudely  planed, 
and  with  original  nail  holes  very  apparent)  but,  they  add  to  our 
comfort.  My  one  disappointment  about  the  house  is,  there  is 
no  '  prophet's  chamber.'  I  had  hoped  to  have  Mrs.  Reading's 
company,  for  a  little  while  at  least.  Now.  after  her  recovery 
from  a  severe  sickness,  and  her  visit  to  Gaboon,  I  am  not  so 
sure  of  the  fulfillment  of  hopes." 

A  young  christian  woman,  wife  of  one  of  my  Galwa  work- 
men, had  come  to  Talaguga  with  her  husband.  She  was  some 
company,  but  not  much  assistance  to  Mrs.  Nassau.  To  relieve 
Mrs.  Nassau  of  manual  labor  in  our  household,  I  had  obtained, 
from  one  of  the  ocean-steamers,  a  civilized  coast-man  of  Accra. 
His  experience  as  a  ship-steward  had  made  him  a  good  cook. 
I  le  could  prepare  a  dinner  rapidly,  attractively,  and  without 
assistance  or  direction.  We  had  retained  him,  notwithstanding 
his  intemperance. 

1  had  some  errands  down-river,  and,  on  Friday,  the  13th,  I 
took  Mrs.  Nassau  with  me,  using,  not  her  pretty  little  Swan, 
but,  the  kongongo.  Of  that  trip,  she  wrote:  'The  day  was 
an  eventful  one  in  our  lives.      Nothing  less  than  a  river-journey 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     427 

to  a  town  eight  miles  below.  .  .  .  This  is  the  first  time  I  have 
ever  ridden  any  distance  in  a  native  dug-out:  but,  I  found  it 
very  pleasant,  had  it  not  been  for  the  cramped  unnatural  posi- 
tion I  was  obliged  to  take.  The  craft  was  35  feet  long  by  3 
feet  in  width.  The  husband  took  the  rudder,  and,  in  front  of 
him  was  a  little  deck  2.y2  feet  x  4  feet.  On  this  platform,  i 
sat.  Turk  fashion.  But,  the  length  was  cut  off  to  3  feet,  by  the 
presence  of  two  paddlers  on  the  forward  end  of  said  deck.  I 
relieved  myself  by,  at  times,  reclining;  and,  the  husband's  knees 
supplied  the  need  of  a  back.  Eight  paddlers  composed  the 
crew.  .  .  .  Three  of  the  terrible  Fanwe  complete  the  crew. 
One  is  principal  in  a  '  palaver  '  of  his  village,  the  disturbing 
cause  being  the  murder  of  his  wife;  and  lie  is  the  murderer. 
Without  doubt,  the  man  will  escape,  by  paying  a  very  small 
fine;  for,  the  woman  he  killed  was  only  his  wife!  He  owned 
her ;  had  he  not  a  right  to  do  with  his  property  as  he  pleased ! 
.  .  .  Another  of  the  Fanwe  has  been  a  great  comfort  to  us,  and 
is  the  most,  and  nearly  the  only  one  who  has  been  willing  to 
work  steadily  at  the  station.  .  .  .  When  the  husband  first  tried 
to  employ  the  Fahwe,  they  would  come  an  hour  or  so  late.  .  .  . 
Now,  they  are  regular  in  their  hours,  trust  the  missionary  as  to 
their  pay,  and  work  as  faithfully  as  the  African  negroes  gen- 
erally do." 

I  left  Airs.  Nassau  in  one  of  the  villages  (where  she  was  a 
great  curiosity ;  as,  equally,  the  trees,  huts,  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  their  occupations,  were  to  her)  while  I  went  on 
down  to  Yena.     And,  returned  with  her  later. 

Nyamba  came  on  Tuesday,  the  17th,  and  I  gave  her  a  gift. 
She  told  me  a  strange  story  of  Nyare,  who  was  sick.  He  had 
a  dream,  and  heard  a  spirit  saying,  "  Give  me  Nyare."  There- 
fore, he  changed  his  name  to  "  Ndamina,"  so  that  when  death 
came  to  seek  Nyare,  he  shall  not  be  found!  (Nevertheless,  I 
continued  to  call  him,  Nyare.) 

Two  traders,  Messrs.  Rene  and  Gibson,  with  eight  canoes, 
came  up-river  on  the  19th,  bringing  letters  from  Kangwe;  and 
they  spent  the  morning  with  us.  Their  crews  were  very  noisy 
and  rebellious ;  and  Air.  Rene  fell  into  the  water.  The  contagion 
of  disorder  extended  to  my  people,  and  they  seemed  to  work 
with  divided  thought  in  the  afternoon.  A  woman  came  from 
Ndona-ma-vuna's  on  the  20th,  to  see  Airs.  Nassau,  and  made  a 
strange  conversation;  that  her  menses  were  irregular,  and  she 
wanted  medicine  to  regulate  them,  in  order  that  she  might  have 
children  ;  that  she  had  had  two  children,  but  that  both  had  died 


428  MY  OGOWE 

while  they  were  only  creeping;  that  "  Njambi-Creator "  had 
taken  them.     I  pitied  the  unsatisfied  mother-love. 

The  month  of  May  was  a  very  trying  one;  Dr.  Bacheler,  in 
leaving  the  mission,  wrote  some  very  unjust  statements  against 
me  (not  to  me,  but)  to  members  of  the  Mission  and  the  Board. 
And,  Secretary  Lowrie  gave  me  a  very  unsatisfactory  reply  to 
my  appeal  for  redress.  There  were  some  anxieties  about  one  of 
my  son's  funds  in  the  United  States,  on  an  outrageous  claim  by 
one  of  his  mother's  relatives.  There  were  obstructions  on  the 
part  of  the  French,  about  giving  a  permit  to  build  at  Talaguga. 
There  was  great  difficulty  in  getting  food  supplies  and  workmen. 
All  these  things  so  distressed  me,  that,  for  two  months,  I  lost 
interest  in  affairs,  and  made  no  entries  in  my  diary.  I  regret 
that  I  so  failed.  For,  there  were  important  facts  as  to  the  com- 
ing of  an  expedition  under  De  Brazza,  and  the  encroachments 
of  the  Commandant  at  Libreville  on  the  work  of  our  Ogowe 
mission-stations. 

It  is  only  from  Mrs.  Nassau's  diary  that  I  obtain  dates  of 
certain  events  during  those  months.  Under  date  of  May  8, 
Mrs.  Nassau  notes :  "  Commands  from  the  French  govern- 
ment that  we  are  to  close  all  '  stations,'  outside  of  Kangwe  and 
Talaguga.  Also,  not  to  teach  or  preach  in  English,  or  even  in 
Mpongwe ;  only  in  French."  Those  French  government  edicts 
were  only  a  part  of  a  program  of  Roman  Catholic  persecution 
of  our  Protestant  missions,  of  which  we  had  already  felt  signs, 
and  were  yet  to  feel  greater  effects,  which,  eight  years  later, 
drove  the  mission  from  our  (then)  best  field,  the  Ogowe.  There 
would  have  been  no  reason  for  our  departure,  if  France  had 
been  as  wise  at  that  time  to  emancipate  herself  from  Papal  dom- 
ination, as  she  finally  became,  twenty  years  later.  The  "  sta- 
tions "  indicated,  were  only  little  village  school-houses,  where 
native  evangelists  had  been  sent;  even  against  these,  Romanism 
raised  its  hand.  And,  yet,  some  of  our  Protestant  friends  in 
the  United  States,  in  strange  blindness  and  mistaken  liberality, 
wrote  of  these  Roman  Catholic  priests,  as  our  "  christian  broth- 
ers "  ;  and  suggested  "  comity  " !  I  did  not  comply  with  the 
order  not  to  preach  in  the  native  languages.  And  Mrs.  Nassau 
(and  my  sister)  continued  to  teach  both  in  English  and  native 
to  a  limited  extent;  an  official  reply  to  an  inquiry,  as  to  what 
constituted  a  "school,"  being,  "any  aggregation  of  pupils  over 
the  number  five." 

"  Thursday,  May  10.  We  heard  that  the  French  had  occu- 
pied Njoli  Island  (two  miles  up-river  from  Talaguga)  and,  when 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     429 

I  saw  a  white  man  at  our  beach,  I  thought  that  the  French  had 
come.  It  proved  to  be  a  German  trader,  Mr.  Rene.  He  came 
and  took  tea  with  us.  .  .  .  We  were  all  excited,  because  of  the 
French.  Mr.  Sinclair's  trader  was  not  allowed  to  locate  in  the 
Fanwe  villages  near  Njoli.  Mr.  Rene's  canoes  were  stopped, 
and  searched  for  guns." 

"  Saturday,  May  12.  Husband  went  to  Njoli  Island,  to  call 
on  the  Frenchmen.  Found  them  beyond  Njoli.  Met  pleasantly 
by  them."  They  had  actually  landed  on  and  inspected  Njoli; 
but,  had  gone  on  farther,  and  definitely  located  at  Asange  Island ; 
which,  however,  is,  to  this  day,  mis-called,  "  Njoli  Post." 

"  Monday,  May  14.  About  9  a.  m.  came  the  French  gentle- 
men, Messieurs  Lieuts.  Michelez  and  Montaignac.  Lieut.  Mizon 
also  called ;  but,  only  at  the  water-side,  as  he  was  not  well,  and 
was  on  his  way  down-river  to  Gaboon  and  to  France.  The  gen- 
tlemen were  very  pleasant.  Spoke  English  well,  particularly 
Montaignac.  .  .  .  We  must  learn  French.  I  have  made  special 
prayer  that  I  may  be  able  to  learn  these.  Mpongwe,  Fanwe, 
French.  This  afternoon,  a  Mpongwe  trader  has  come  to 
Nyare's  town ;  brought  rum.  We  hear  their  drunken  songs  this 
first  night." 

From  her  first  coming  to  Talaguga,  Mrs.  Nassau  had  a  zeal 
to  carry  the  Gospel  beyond.  We  saw  Roman  Catholic  priests 
carried  into  the  Interior  by  the  government  canoes.  I  asked  no 
such  favor;  but,  both  Mrs.  Nassau  and  I  planned  to  travel  far 
up-river,  over  my  route  of  18  months  previous,  during  the 
cool  dry  season  (June-August),  safe  from  rains.  She  made 
herself  a  short-skirted  dress  for  convenience  in  canoe-travel. 
I  knew  that  trading,  by  other  than  the  French,  was  forbidden 
beyond  Njoli  Post.  But,  I  had  no  idea  that  preaching  would 
be.  when  I  applied  for  permit  to  travel,  to  the  local  commandant 
("Governor")  Victor  de  Kerraoul,  at  the  post.  He  refused 
it:  said  that  none  but  French  might  pass,  for  any  purpose  what- 
ever. I  appealed,  by  letter,  to  his  superior.  Count  de  Brazza. 
Kind  permission,  and  explanation  that  Kerraoul  was  mistaken, 
and  that  the  prohibition  was  only  against  traders,  came  from 
De  Brazza  just  a  year  later.  It  was  then  too  late.  I  am  pleased 
to  record  that  M.  Kerraoul  was  the  only  French  official  with 
whom  I  had  intercourse  other  than  pleasant.  Moreover,  I  be- 
lieve, that  whatever  was  unpleasant  in  the  government's  deal- 
ings with  me  and  our  mission,  was  directly  due  to  Roman  Cath- 
olic mis-statement  and  intrigue. 

"  Sunday.  June  3.     One  of  the  most  perfect  days  of  rest  and 


430  MY  OGOWE 

quiet  we  have  known  here.  Nyare  and  Nyamba  call.  Doctor 
talked  to  them.  A  company  of  strangers  passed  up  from  their 
town,  and  stuck  on  a  log,  and  broke  their  canoe.  Nyare  said 
he  told  them  not  to  go,  because  it  was  the  Sabbath !  Just  as  the 
peaceful  day  closed,  and  we  were  kneeling  in  prayer,  a  noisy 
crowd  of  drunken  fellows  passed.  Contrast!  Such  noise  from 
the  towns  was  unknown  before  the  rum  came." 

Mrs.  Nassau  was  rejoiced  by  a  week's  visit  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Reading  and  their  little  daughter  Elizabeth.  And,  on  Wednes- 
day. June  13,  we  all  made  an  official  call  on  the  French  station 
of  "  Njoli."  "  We  met  '  Gov.'  Kerraoul,  an  army  officer,  De 
Brazza,  and  others.  .  .  .  Mr.  Reading  and  I  look  up  a  site  for 
a  house  nearer  the  waterside."  It  had  become  apparent  that 
the  location  on  Talaguga  hillside  was  open  to  the  same  objec- 
tion to  the  Kangwe  hilltop.  Climbing  the  hill  was  too  much 
exertion  for  most  persons.  It  was  decided  that  the  permanent 
Talaguga  house  should  be  built  by  the  water-side,  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  across  the  brook,  on  the  east  side,  opposite  to  the  orig- 
inal hut  (which  was  now  the  workmen's  dormitory). 

JOURNEY  TO  KANGWE. 

Leaving  the  premises  in  charge  of  four  young  men.  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau and  I  in  the  boat,  and  accompanied  by  my  canoe,  on  Tues- 
day. June  26.  we  went  down-river  to  attend  the  quarterly  com- 
munion at  Kangwe.  Slept  at  Njagu-demba's.  And.  next  day. 
stopped  at  Belambla,  to  put  its  grounds  in  order.  Reached 
Kangwe  that  evening.  I  assisted  the  minister  in  charge.  Rev. 
W.  H.  Robinson,  at  the  Saturday  preparatory;  and.  at  the  Sun- 
day, July  1,  communion  service.  A  woman  and  two  young  men 
were  baptized.  (One  of  the  latter.  Yongwe.  grew,  later,  into 
the  eldership  and  the  native  ministry.)  On  the  Monday,  Elder 
Nguva  was  married  to  little  Onivi.  I  thought  her  entirely  too 
young  for  marriage. 

My  visits  to  Kangwe  were  generally  followed  by  desertions 
by  my  crew.  Their  constant  complaint  was  the  uncertainty  of 
food  at  Talaguga.  (The  same  was  true  of  the  traders'  em- 
ployees: but.  in  their  case,  the  employees  accepted  the  situation, 
for  their  work  was  not  a  daily  grind,  as  mine  was.)  My  stay 
at  Kangwe.  therefore,  was  not  restful.  I  had  to  go  down-river 
to  Wombalva,  to  search  for  new  workmen.  On  the  way,  I 
stopped  and  watched  in  the  forest  the  process  of  enclosing,  by 
some  Fan  we,  of  some  five  elephants,  in  a  corral.  (A  work- 
such  as  I  had  assisted  at.  at  the  risk  of  my  life,  in   1879.) 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     431 

On  my  return  to  Kangwe,  having  obtained  a  carpenter.  A- 
nkombie,  and  a  very  weak  lad,  Re-Mbili,  I  took,  on  Thursday, 
the  5th,  Mrs.  Nassau,  my  sister,  and  Miss  Harding,  to  see  the  ele- 
phants and  the  corral.  On  the  way,  we  had  a  dangerously  ex- 
citing experience  with  the  boat  in  the  Degeliye  Rapids  of  a 
side-stream  (not  far  from  Kangwe)  of  whose  existence  I  had 
known,  but  had  not  really  been  aware  that  it  was  an  effluent  and 
not  an  affluent,  nor  how  near  the  rapids  were  until  the  boat  was 
drawn  into  them.  On  our  return  from  the  excursion,  a  mail 
was  handed  us,  telling  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  sister-in- 
law,  Mrs.  Julius  Foster.  With  her  heart  sore  for  her  brother, 
she  began  the  packing  of  our  goods  for  the  furnishing  of  our 
Talaguga  cottage,  while  I  was  busy  purchasing  supplies  at  the 
trading-houses.  Awaiting  at  Andende.  to  accompany  us  up- 
river,  was  Mr.  Menkel,  the  mission-mechanic,  whom  I  had  in- 
vited to  relieve  me  of  the  labor  of  gathering  from  the  forest 
material  for  the  proposed  new  framed  house,  so  that  I  might 
be  free  for  my  evangelistic  work.  With  him,  was  his  mother- 
less little  mulatto  boy,  Alek.  who  was  to  become  a  new  care  to 
Mrs.  Nassau. 

RETURN    TO    THE    COTTAGE. 

When,  on  Tuesday,  July  10.  the  heavily-laden  Kelly-Howard 
was  finally  ready  for  our  return  journey  to  Talaguga,  I  was. 
as  usual,  hampered  by  desertions.  My  Galwa  crews,  who 
brought  me  down,  with  promise  to  return  with  me,  found  the 
abundant  food  of  their  homes  and  the  attractions  of  their  vil- 
lages too  strong.  Some  would  always  fail  at  literally  the  last 
moment :  and.  I  had  to  get  a  loan  of  men  from  Mr.  Reading, 
just  for  the  trip,  or  pick  up  some  incompetent  idler  at  villages 
on  the  way.  This,  for  years,  was  a  distressing  feature  of  my 
work  at  Talaguga.  The  difficulty  with  these  employees  was  not 
any  personal  feeling  against  myself,  or  their  tasks,  or  their 
wages ;  but,  solely  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  regularly  from 
the  Fariwe  of  Talaguga  sufficient  variety  or  even  quantity  of 
food.  My  friends  Messrs.  Reading  and  Robinson  kindly  aided 
me  by  forwarding  native  supplies  from  the  abundance  obtain- 
able in  Kangwe  region :  and.  they  loyally  supported  me  by  re- 
fusing employment  to  any  who  deserted  me.  Among  the  de- 
serters was  cook  William.  He  had  no  cause  of  complaint  on 
the  food  question.  My  bargain  with  him  covered  more  rice 
than  he  could  eat  daily,  and.  he  had  the  same  meats  that  I  ate. 

On  the  way  during  the  morning,   the  boat  was  struck  by  a 


432  MY  OGOWE 

hippopotamus  biting1  through  the  keel.  As  the  animal  rose  under 
us,  it  lifted  out  of  the  water  the  entire  stern  of  the  boat,  where 
were  sitting  Mrs.  Nassau  and  myself,  Mr.  Menkel  and  his  child, 
and  two  native  girls.  Near  us  also  was  the  large  heavy  box 
containing  Mrs.  Nassau's  parlor-organ.  And.  besides  the  other 
eight  souls  in  the  boat,  there  was  a  heavy  load  of  food-supplies, 
hardware,  and  building-materials.  Note.  [T  have  described 
this  adventure  in  full,  in  "  In  an  Elephant  Corral,"  Neale:  1912.] 
After  a  tryingly  slow  journey,  we  readied  Talaguga  on  Friday, 
the  13th. 

Mrs.  Nassau  makes  a  record  on  Saturday,  the  14th.  "  Busy 
putting  things  to  rights.  Mr.  Menkel  and  son  with  iron  bed- 
stead in  the  dining-room.  Husband  bargains  with  Njambi  as 
cook ;  but,  first  he  leaves  for  a  two-months'  vacation.  T  go  to 
the  kitchen,  with  Ogeningo  and  Re-Mbili's  help."  This  was 
the  beginning  of  a  long  year's  trial  with  unwilling  and  incom- 
petent kitchen  aid,  than  which,  my  constant  efforts  were  unable 
to  obtain  better.  Occasionally  Mrs.  Reading  sent  a  temporary 
loan  of  one  of  her  servants.  But.  as  they  came  only  under  com- 
pulsion. T  did  not  like  to  retain  them. 

On  Saturday,  the  21st,  Elder  Nguva  came  from  Kangwe. 
with  a  mixed  crew  of  Kru-men  and  Galwas.  sent  by  Mr.  Read- 
ing, to  help  me  for  a  week,  in  dragging  logs.  Mr.  Menkel  had. 
unnecessarily,  brought  with  him  a  personal  servant,  whose  pres- 
ence was  a  cause  of  friction.  Himself,  who  came  as  my  assist- 
ant, demanded  to  be  placed  in  unqualified  control  of  the  new 
building  operations  and  of  the  workmen.  To  hasten  the  work, 
in  order  to  obtain  a  better  house  for  Mrs.  Nassau.  I  yielded. 
And,  yet.  so  violently  irascible  was  he  that  the  workmen,  whom 
I  had  obtained  with  so  much  difficulty,  declined  to  obey  him. 
One  after  another  he  dismissed  them:  and.  I  could  obtain  no 
others.      His  boarding  and  laundry  were  also  additional  burdens. 

On  Saturdav.  the  28th.  T  went  across  the  brook,  with  Mrs. 
Nassau,  to  locate  the  site  of  what  we  hoped  would  be  her  house. 
T  took  Nyare  there  also,  to  ask  him  about  the  price  of  a  garden 
of  his,  near-by.  which  T  wished  to  purchase.  Mrs.  Nassau  re- 
turned to  the  cottage  to  play  her  organ  for  a  large  company  of 
Fan  we.  That  organ-playing  was  a  constant  delight.  Tt  was  a 
religious  exercise  for  the  frequent  companies  of  visitors.  The 
music  drew  their  attention:  and.  then,  she  followed,  through  an 
interpreter,  with  the  Gospel  story.  It  was  a  "  sowing  by  all 
waters."  that  gratified  her  desire  for  direct  missionary  work. 

On  Monday,  the  30th.  Laseni  kindly  sent  six  of  his  men  to 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     433 

work  for  me  for  the  day,  at  clearing  of  the  new  site.  But,  I 
was  not  quite  ready  for  them,  not  having  positively  fixed  on  it. 
I  butchered  a  goat;  and  sent  one  quarter  to  Laseni,  and  two 
quarters  to  Mons.  Kerraoul  at  "  Njoli  Post."  When  my  mes- 
senger returned,  he  brought  a  letter  from  the  "  Governor  "  prom- 
ising to  give  me  a  permit  of  residence  and  for  house-building. 

Wednesday,  August  1,  was  a  very  busy  and  varied  day. 
Nyare  and  his  wife  Nyamba  came  to  see  about  the  price  of  her 
garden  that  adjoined  the  proposed  site  for  our  new  house.  A 
long  and  diplomatic  bargaining.  Which  resulted  in  my  paying 
Nyare,  one  cap-gun  $15.00,  one  wooden  chest  $2.00,  one  shirt 
$2.00,  one  axe  $5.00.  And  to  his  wife,  one  iron-pot  $3.00,  brass 
leg-rings  $1.00,  cloth  $1.00,  chain  $1.00.  All  making  $30.00 
(Fan  we  trade).  A  canoe  of  Gal  was  passed  up,  with  thatch  for 
the  French  buildings  at  the  Post. 

On  Monday,  the  6th,  I  went  down-river  in  the  Swan  to  Yena, 
with  six  Fanwe  paddlers,  to  make  arrangements  with  the 
Mpongwe  trader  opposite  there,  Ongamu,  that  he  should  hire 
Bakele  to  make  thatch  for  the  new  house.  This  was  much  in 
advance  of  its  erection;  but,  I  needed  thousands  of  pieces;  and 
the  accumulation  would  be  slow.  As  a  trader,  he  could  bar- 
gain better  than  I ;  and,  I  was  quite  willing  to  pay  him  a  com- 
mission, and  thus  escape  a  work  that  was  distasteful  to  me. 

It  was  wonderful,  the  changes  that  had  come  into  the  river, 
in  less  than  two  years !  Then,  I  was  the  only  white  man  in 
that  portion  of  it,  and  there  were  but  few  native  traders.  Now, 
there  was  a  government  military  post,  a  chain  of  white  traders' 
houses,  and  connecting  links  of  scores  of  native  subordinates. 

On  Tuesday,  the  7th,  Laseni  again  sent  four  of  his  people  to 
assist  me.  A  Fahwe  woman  came  to  complain  of  my  goats 
eating  on  her  garden.  Her  complaint  was  just.  But,  I  knew 
perfectly  well  that,  in  the  villages,  goats  browsed  on  all  gardens, 
and  no  complaints  were  made.  This  woman's  action  was  based 
on  the  knowledge  that,  from  the  rich  (?)  white  man  she  could 
collect  damages.  While  I  was  considering,  I  saw  Nyamba  plant- 
ing on  the  ground  I  had  recently  purchased  from  her,  and,  she 
was  claiming  that  the  ground  was  still  hers,  not  mine.  I  was 
surprised;  for,  she  was  an  unusually  noble  native.  I  told  her  that 
I  would  pluck  up  anything  she  planted  there.  Afterward,  Nyare 
followed  me ;  and,  we  had  a  plain  talk,  in  which  he  distinctly 
said  that  the  ground  was  mine.  Also,  that,  even  if  my  goats 
trespassed  on  the  gardens,  he  did  not  wish  me  to  send  them 
away,  but  that  he  would  accept  compensation  out  of  a  part  of 


434  MY  OGOWE 

the  increase  of  the  kids.  And,  the  two  difficulties  were  appar- 
ently settled.  A  week  later,  Nyamba  brought  me  plantains,  as 
a  peace-offering. 

On  Friday,  the  24th.  Mrs.  Nassau  records :  "  Nyare  and 
Ndona-ma-vuna  and  some  twenty  men  came  before  breakfast 
(two  Mpongwe  traders  also)  to  ask  doctor's  help  in  a  'pala- 
ver '  with  the  French.  The  latter  had  shot  into  a  canoe  be- 
longing to  Nyare.  killed  one  man.  and  seized  the  goods  belong- 
ing to  the  traders.  They  did  not  know,  for  what  reason. 
Husband  consented  to  go.  He  went  in  the  Szvan.  Nyare's 
fiery  speech.  Just  after  they  had  gone,  the  Gov.  Kerraoul 
came ;  and.  also  a  canoe  from  Andende,  telling  of  Mrs.  Read- 
ing's illness.  She  had  been  blind  for  twenty-four  hours  (a 
symptom  considered  almost  always  fatal)  :  but,  she  was  a  little 
better.  .  .  .  Felt  very  much  the  shock,  and  the  sorrow,  and  the 
pain,  and  the  suspense.     Wanted  to  go  down  to  her  right  away. 

"  Gov.  Kerraoul  was  distressed  because  of  the  '  palaver ' ;  the 
cause  was  the  firing  of  a  gun  in  order  to  stop  the  Fanwe.  All 
the  traders'  things  restored  to  them.  Nyare  much  pleased. 
But.  we  hear  that  the  Benayel  clan,  to  which  the  dead  man  be- 
longed, say  that  nothing  but  blood  will  satisfy  them;  and 
threaten  to  fire  on  any  white  man's  canoe." 

On  Saturday,  the  25th,  T  went  to  the  villages,  to  engage  men 
for  a  journey  to  Mrs.  Reading. 

JOURNEY  TO  ANDENDE. 

On  Monday,  August  27.  in  a  large  canoe.  T  went  to  Kangwe, 
with  a  crew  of  ten  men:  the  object  being  simply  haste  to  be  of 
any  possible  medical  aid  to  Mrs.  Reading,  and  not  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  stopping  on  the  way  or  delay  in  returning  with 
any  load  of  goods. 

A  week  later,  on  Tuesday.  September  4.  at  1  1  r.  m..  T  dis- 
charged my  Winchester,  as  I  approached  Talaguga.  that  Mrs. 
Xassau  might  know  1  was  arriving.  (  It  was  my  usual  night 
signal:  its  report  was  entirely  different  from  'ha!  of  the  "  trade  " 
guns  of  the  natives.)  1  brought  her  the  good  news  of  Mr*;. 
Reading's  life.  Although  Mr.  Reading  had  with  him  Mr.  Rob- 
inson. Miss  Xassau.  Miss  Harding,  and  an  educated  Mpongwe 
woman.  Julia,  nurse  of  little  Flizabeth,  in  her  anxiety  to  be  of 
any  aid  to  the  only  woman  who  had  given  her  unqualified  friend- 
ship and  sympathy,  Mrs.  Nassau  insisted  on  going  to  Andende. 
With  her.  I  started  three  days  later.  Friday,  the  7th.  in  the  Swan. 
We  would  have  gone  sooner,  had  I  been  able  to  obtain  a  crew. 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     435 

and  had  Mr.  Menkel  been  willing-  to  remain  alone.  On  his 
finally  consenting,  we  started  with  only  two  Fan  we;  just  at  the 
last  moment,  two  others  stepped  in.  We  slept  that  night  at 
Belambla.  Resuming  the  journey  next  day,  we  met  two  trad- 
ing-canoes, each  led  by  a  white  man  (an  English  and  a  German), 
when  we  were  only  fifteen  miles  from  Kangwe.  They  handed 
us  letters  which  told  us  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading  had  gone  to 
Libreville,  to  seek  a  steamer  to  England  and  the  United  States. 
[She  did  not  return;  and  never  entirely  recovered  her  sight.] 

So,  we  turned  the  boat  back ;  rested  over  Sunday  at  Belambla ; 
and  reached  Talaguga  on  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  the  nth. 
On  the  way  back,  Mrs.  Nassau  had  a  trying  experience.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  route,  going  and  returning,  we  wrere  in  constant 
anxiety,  not  for  ourselves,  nor  even  for  our  crew.  But,  Fanwe 
were  not  used  to  long  steady  work  at  the  paddles ;  they  needed 
constant  urging.  Also,  the  recent  killing  by  the  French  had 
made  all  the  tribes  excited;  and,  the  Fanwe  clans  were  not  at 
peace  even  with  themselves.  For  our  white  selves,  we  would 
have  stopped  in  any  clan  and  at  any  village,  as  our  convenience 
dictated.  But,  again  and  again,  some  one  or  other  of  the  four 
would  object,  saying  that  it  was  not  safe  for  him  to  be  seen  at 
such-or-such  a  village.  So,  for  our  noon  lunch  on  that  Tues- 
day, we  had  stopped  at  the  shaded  mouth  of  a  creek  on  the  left 
bank,  a  large  village  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  broad  Ogowe. 
but  none  near  us  on  our  side.  During  our  rest,  a  canoe  had 
come  from  that  other  side ;  but,  we  did  not  encourage  its 
presence:  and  it  went  away.  (One  of  our  company  afterwards 
said  that  its  occupants  had  not  spoken  well  of  our  crew.)  After 
our  meal,  Mrs.  Nassau  went  alone  to  a  quiet  spot  across  the 
creek,  with  her  Bible  and  other  books  for  reading  and  prayer. 

When  I  called  her  to  resume  the  journey,  she  hastily  took  up 
her  shawl  and  other  articles,  but  forgot  the  books.  We  had 
gone  some  two  miles,  when  she  discovered  her  loss.  Her  Bible 
was  a  precious  souvenir.  Against  the  anger  of  the  crew  at  the 
additional  time,  extra  work,  and  apparent  return  to  a  dangerous 
neighborhood,  I  turned  the  boat  back.  Annoyed  at  the  slow 
progress,  I  put  the  boat  ashore,  and  ran  down  the  bank  alone, 
Mrs.  Nassau  following  slowly  in  the  boat.  While  I  was  away, 
voices  called  to  her  across  the  stream  from  a  canoe.  She,  not 
understanding  what  they  said,  had  to  use  almost  force  to  compel 
the  crew  to  be  silent  and  keep  at  their  paddles.  When  I  arrived 
at  the  nooning  spot,  the  book  was  gone !  I  returned  with  the 
distressing  news  to  my  wife,  who  was  then  in  tears.     As  I  re- 


436  MY  OGOWE 

sumed  the  tiller-ropes,  that  canoe  was  observed,  apparently  in 
pursuit  of  us.  I  had  no  fear;  but,  the  crew  were  in  terror. 
When  we  were  overtaken,  the  canoe-men  handed  me  the  precious 
Bible !  They  said  that  they  had  returned  to  our  nooning  place 
out  of  curiosity ;  had  found  the  books ;  and  had  called  to  the 
boat  to  wait  for  them.  But,  their  kindness  had  been  misunder- 
stood. I  rewarded  them  liberally.  But,  the  whole  affair  had 
been  very  distressing. 

By  this  time,  I  had  succeeded  in  getting  better  household  aids ; 
and,  Mrs.  Nassau's  actual  manual  labors  were  lessened  by  two 
new  young  men.  civilized  Galwas,  to  whom  she  gave  daily  les- 
sons;  thus  gratifying  her  special  tastes,  of  what  had  been  her 
intended  lifework  as  a  teacher. 

Mr.  Menkel  with  his  little  son,  left  on  Friday.  September  21, 
saying  that  he  would  return  and  build  the  house  six  months  later. 
Tt  was  well.  Mrs.  Nassau  had  spent  much  care  on  the  mother- 
less boy.  But,  the  situation  was  anomalous.  She  was  given 
no  authority;  yet  she  was  expected  to  control  the  child.  And, 
her  views  of  child-training  could  never  have  coincided  with  the 
father's.  As  to  the  preparations  for  the  building  of  the  new 
station-dwelling,  the  crisis  had  become  extreme.  I  could  do 
nothing,  the  while  that  my  visitor  demanded  unqualified  control 
of  my  workmen,  who  resented  his  methods,  and  who,  rather  than 
submit  to  them,  were  constantly  deserting  me.  Precious  months 
had  been  lost,  the  dry  season  weather  of  June— September  (which 
is  not  obstructed  by  rainy  days)  ;  I  had  lost  otherwise  willing 
workmen:  Mrs.  Nassau's  irenic  spirit  had  l>een  grieved:  and  I 
knew  that,  for  the  simple  work  of  felling  trees  and  squaring  logs 
for  sills  and  sleepers,  etc.,  T  was  quite  competent.  Mr.  Menkel 
offered  to  return  and  do  the  actual  carpenter  work  of  the  house- 
erection.  The  parting  was  amicable.  [And,  yet.  twenty  years 
later,  when  T  was  under  fire  during  the  visit  of  inspection  of  a 
board  secretary.  I  was  asked  about  my  "  quarrels  with  Mr.  Men- 
kel "!  /  never  quarreled  with  him;  but  for  twenty-five  years  I 
had  patiently  borne  his  insane  outbursts  of  anger."] 

On  Wednesday,  October  3.  Mrs.  Nassau  wrote:  "Lieut. 
Montaignac  called,  on  his  way  to  Gaboon,  with  despatches,  etc.. 
to  act  as  deputy,  in  surveying  points  along  the  coast.  He  was 
very  kind  and  gentlemanly.  He  gave  me  two  native  knives,  a 
fetish,  and  other  things.  We  gave  him  coffee,  and  sent  witli 
him  a  few  tins  of  food."' 

I  celebrated  the  second  anniversary  of  our  marriage,  by  hand- 
ing Mrs.  Nassau  the  following  verses: 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     437 

One  little  space  of  golden  time, 

A  few  short  words  low-spoken, 
A  vow  engraved  on  Hand  sublime 

Too  strongly  to  be  broken :  — 

A  rose,  and  fair  white-petaled  flowers, 

And  veil  o'er  maiden's  blush, 
And  beat  of  hearts  through  hurried  hours, 
That  joined  our  hope's  high  flush :  — 

This  day  brings  back  that  space  of  gold, 

What  need  those  words  to  say  ? 
Or  rose  to  bind  ?     Or  veil  unfold  ? 

Those  hearts  are  far  away ! 

These  all  for  memory.     Their  youth 

Is  ours  to  claim  no  longer. 
But,  what  they  meant,  the  love,  the  truth, 

Grows,  Darling,  brighter,  stronger. 

She  responded,  by  making  a  special  feast,  to  commemorate 
both  my  birthday  the  nth  and  our  sailing-day  the  12th.  To 
this  feast  were  invited  Laseni  and  Alida. 

The  Fanwe  were  beginning  to  recognize  my  Sunday  services, 
and  came  with  more  or  less  regularity.  On  the  14th,  some 
thirty  gathered  on  the  open  porch,  where  I  held  the  meeting. 
I  was  able  to  talk  a  little  without  an  interpreter;  in  which  fact 
Mrs.  Nassau  took  much  satisfaction. 

On  Wednesday,  the  17th,  in  the  afternoon  were  heard  signal- 
shots  and  the  heavy  beatings  of  steamer  paddles  against  the 
swift  current.  I  went  to  Nyare's ;  and  found  there  at  anchor  a 
new  steamer,  the  Okota,  better  equipped  than  any  that  had  as 
yet  appeared  on  the  Ogowe,  with  its  agent,  Mr.  Scruff,  and  a 
French  Roman  Catholic  priest,  and  three  other  white  men.  The 
captain  brought  us  a  very  large  mail,  including,  among  other 
things,  thirty-eight  letters  and  forty  papers.  In  the  evening, 
the  five  men  called.  The  priest  appeared  to  be  very  polite  and 
very  conversational,  even  sympathetic  against  the  Gaboon  com- 
mandant and  "  Gov."  Kerraoul.  But,  with  our  knowledge  of 
Papal  duplicity,  we  discounted  his  professions  of  friendship. 
Among  the  other  blessings  that  the  Okota  brought,  was  a  new 
and  more  reliable  cook,  Njambi. 

On  Saturday,  the  20th,  I  was  shocked  by  being  asked  by  a 
native  whether  a  certain  Fanwe  woman  "  was  the  one  that 
Ndamina  (Xyare)  had  given  me  for  wife."     It  was  true  that. 


438  MY  OGOWE 

as  a  part  of  native  hospitality,  village  chiefs  offered  to  a  guest 
a  woman  for  the  night.  And.  if  the  visitor  remained  perma- 
nently, as  traders,  the  woman  became  his,  until  he  should  leave. 
Almost  all  the  native  traders,  and  some  white  ones,  availed 
themselves  of  this  custom.  It  was  true,  also,  that  both  Mamyaga 
and  Nyare  had  made  the  offer  to  me  on  my  first  arrival  at 
Talaguga.  But,  it  was  never  repeated.  I  was  pained  at  the 
thought  that,  with  all  my  preaching  against  polygamy,  any  native 
at  that  late  day  could  think  that  secretly  I  was  practicing  it! 

I  met  Nyamba  coming  from  her  garden,  and  she  told  me  that 
Xyare  wished  to  remove  her  as  "  head-wife,"  and  place  one  of 
his  younger  women  in  that  position.  On  October  23,  she  came 
bringing  a  present  of  plantains,  and  told  how  people  up  the 
river  where  she  had  traveled  had  begged  her  for  her  ornaments, 
saying  to  her,  that  "  Nasa  would  give  her  more  instead  of  them." 
(A  polite  suggestion  that  I  should  do  so.) 

On  Saturday.  November  3,  Mrs.  Nassau  and  I  had  an  earnest 
conversation  and  made  many  plans  about  work  to  be  done  in  the 
Interior.  For,  my  persistent  desire  was  to  go  there.  I  still 
looked  on  the  location  at  Talaguga.  as  I  had  done  from  the  first, 
as  only  a  stepping-stone,  a  camping-place  on  the  way. 

Though  no  Fan  we  expressed  any  personal  interest  in  religion, 
it  was  a  joy  that  our  Galwas  occasionally  did.  One  of  them, 
Alundo,  on  Sunday,  the  4th,  asked  to  join  the  inquiry  class.  1 
might  have  had  a  church-organization  at  Talaguga,  but,  I  did 
not  attempt  one,  for  three  reasons:  (1)  As  in  the  case  of  the 
first  Ogowe  converts  and  the  "  bishopric  "  of  Rev.  Dr.  Bushnell 
at  Gaboon,  I  held  the  same  ecclesiastical  courtesy  to  Rev.  \Y. 
1 1.  Robinson  at  Kangwe.  (2)  1  would  therefore  wait  until  there 
should  be  Fanwe  converts,  from  the  Talagug'a  vicinity.  (3)  I 
thought  of  no  church-organization  at  Talaguga,  as  long  as  1 
looked  on  it  as  only  a  way-station.  (I  think  now  that  1  erred. 
A  church  organization  would  have  made  Christianity  more  obvi- 
ous, and  might  have  impressed  the  Fail  we  earlier.) 

The  man  Xyare,  of  whom  I  had  bought  the  Talaguga  prem- 
ises, and  whose  village  lay  nearest,  less  than  quarter  of  a  mile 
down-river  on  the  same  side,  had  become  an  uncomfortable 
neighbor.  Naturally  of  a  quarrelsome  and  domineering  nature, 
he  seemed  to  have  misunderstood  my  quiet  demeanor.  lie  be- 
came exacting  in  demands,  and  acted  offensively  in  a  police-like 
inspection  of  all  canoes  that  came  to  visit  me.  Canoes  going 
up-river  had  hard  work  forcing  their  way  past  a  swift  current 
in  front  of  his  village.      He  thus  had  a  clear  opportunity  to  ob- 


^^^  '"/-:>ki 

/ 

a, 

1 

l§ 

""X  ;•'    j  ,,~ 

| 

t<U'-y 

v1. 

H^^ 

1  \  i 

FA  WYE 


I  acing   page   439 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     439 

serve  who  the  crews  were,  and  what  their  canoes  contained. 
They,  after  reaching  the  quieter  water  at  the  mouth  of  my 
mountain-brook,  liked  to  rest,  eat  their  lunch,  and  sell  or  buy 
with  me.  Also,  I  valued  the  opportunity  to  preach  to  them. 
If  I  could  not  go  everywhere,  it  was  my  interest  to  attract 
people  to  me.  But.  Nyare  acted  in  a  piratical  way,  demanding 
fine  or  tribute  of  these  canoes,  if  he  could  make  any  sort  of 
claim  for  debt  or  due  from  the  clan  or  tribe  of  even  any  per- 
sonally innocent  member  of  the  visiting  crew.  I  had  often  pro- 
tested against  his  making  these  demands  on  my  premises.  Na- 
tive custom  made  those  travelers  my  "  guests  " ;  and  universal 
oriental  law  required  every  host  to  protect  any  guest  (even  a 
guilty  one)  at  any  cost.  Neighboring  tribes  began  to  cease  to 
stop  at  my  place,  fearing  Nyare's  demands.  My  influence  was 
being  circumscribed.  There  came  a  day  when  I  threw  aside  the 
quiet  pacific  role,  and  asserted  myself  and  the  mission's  right. 
Tuesday,  November  6.  That  was  the  day.  An  eventful  day ! 
In  the  afternoon,  two  canoes  with  about  a  dozen  men  from 
Njagu-demba's  Ngwilaka  town,  came  to  sell  me  plantains;  and 
some  of  them  remained  to  talk  at  the  cottage.  About  5  p.  m., 
Nyare,  followed  by  thirteen  of  his  people,  all  of  them  armed 
with  guns  and  other  weapons,  came  on  my  grounds  and  began 
to  quarrel  with  the  strangers  at  the  water-side.  I  snatched  up 
my  Winchester,  and  hasting  down  the  hill,  pushed  him  aside  and 
ordered  him  away.  He  tusseled  with  me ;  and  with  my  gun- 
barrel  I  struck  him  on  the  breast  and  head.  He  became  rag- 
ingly  angry,  and  tried  to  fire  his  gun  at  me.  Several  of  his  own 
men  took  away  his  gun  and  dragged  him  off;  and  two  of  them 
(in  a  friendly  way,  I  felt)  seized  me  and  my  rifle.  Then.  Nyare 
tried  to  stab  me  with  his  dagger.  That  also  his  people  took 
from  him.     Then,  he  sought  for  sticks  to  throw  at  me. 

During  all  this  contest,  the  strangers  stood  silent,  making'  no 
effort  to  assist  the  white  man  who  was  fighting  for  them.  They 
actually  yielded  to  Xyare's  demand  for  tribute,  and  gave  him 
a  gun.  But,  one  of  his  men  snatched  it  away  and  returned  it 
to  them,  saying  that  a  mistake  had  been  made  in  coming  on  my 
grounds,  and  that  they  would  make  their  demand  at  another  time 
when  they  should  meet  the  canoe  on  the  river.  Suddenly,  a 
little  boy  of  our  household  handed  me  a  note  from  Mrs.  Nassau 
advising  me  to  appeal  to  the  French.  I  looked  around ;  she  was 
standing  near.  I  had  not  known  that  either  she  or  the  lad  were 
there.  She  had  followed  me  down  the  hill ;  but  bravely  had 
kept  quiet,  and  had  not  weakened  me  by  interference.     I  went 


440  MY  OGOWE 

with  her  up  the  hill  to  get  the  boat-key.  When  I  returned  they 
turned  one  by  one  and  left.  The  whole  affair  had  occupied  a 
full  hour.  That  evening,  the  usual  prayer-meeting  was  held ; 
and,  I  felt  special  thanks  for  protection  from  the  greatest  dan- 
ger I  had  experienced  since  my  coming  to  Talaguga.  Some  of 
the  visitors  were  present  during  the  evening.  Instead  of  thank- 
ing me  for  exposing  my  life  in  their  behalf,  they  were  begging 
me  for  small  gifts! 

The  next  day,  I  went  to  the  Post  and  represented  matters  to 
M.  de  Kerraoul,  who  offered  to  give  me  soldiers  at  once,  if 
I  wished  to  burn  Xyare's  village;  or,  would  send  me  aid  at  any 
future  time.  (Of  course,  I  did  not  wish  to  burn  the  village.) 
On  returning,  I  found  that  but  few  people  had  come  to  the  cot- 
tage during  my  absence,  and  that  among  them,  Xdona-ma-vuna 
had  said  that  if  French  soldiers  came,  he  would  not  help  Xyare 
against  them.  [Note.  I  wrote  a  detailed  account  of  this  affair 
in  "In  an  Elephant  Corral":  Xeale:    1912.) 

On  Friday,  the  9th,  two  river-steamers,  the  Ezcaffa  and  Pap- 
ilio  stopped  at  my  landing  to  get  billets  of  fire-wood  (of  which 
I  kept  on  hand  a  free  supply  in  return  for  the  favors  all  the 
steamers  did  for  me).  These  movements  alarmed  the  people  in 
Nyare's  village;  and,  they  fled  with  their  goods  to  the  forest. 
They  did  not  return  until  they  sent  a  messenger  to  ask  my  per- 
mission. (I  simply  replied  that  I  had  not  ordered  them  to 
leave.) 

On  Saturday,  the  10th,  Messieurs  Lesteur  and  Michelez,  with 
thirty  canoes  of  the  French  expedition,  on  their  way  down  from 
the  Interior,  stopped  to  salute  us.  Nyare's  people  were  again 
alarmed,  thinking  that  the  French  had  come  to  avenge  me. 
(They  and  all  the  white  men,  French  officials,  and  German  and 
English  traders,  and  small  river-steamer  captains,  generally 
made  it  a  point  to  call  on  —  as  one  of  the  Germans  called 
Mrs.  Nassau, — "The  Lady  of  the  River.")  The  arrival  of 
these  gentlemen,  just  at  that  time,  was  only  a  coincidence;  but.  it 
impressed  Xyare  greatly. 

In  the  afternoon,  I  went  with  Mrs.  Nassau  in  the  Swan  to 
Ndoiia-rna-vuna's.  The  people  there  met  me  with  great  re- 
spect and  protestations  of  friendship.  As  a  result  of  this  whole 
affair.  I  never  had  another  contest  with  Xyare  or  any  other 
chief.  My  position  was  assured.  The  report  of  my  action 
spread  far  and  wide.  I  still  believe  that  it  was  one  of  the  best 
day's  work  done  by  me  at  Talaguga.  Clans  and  tribes  fifty  or 
one  hundred  miles  away  heard  of  it.  and  felt  assured*that  thev 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE     441 

would  be  safe  under  my  protection,  if  they  visited  me.  They 
did  thus  visit;  and  I  thus  preached  to  thousands  whom  I  would 
never  otherwise  have  met.  Thenceforward,  my  canoes  were 
safe  on  any  part  of  the  river,  even  in  war-time.  Nyare  made 
many  efforts  to  re-establish  our  "  friendship  "  by  offer  of  gifts. 
But,  I  refused  to  accept  them.  I  heard  that  people  said  that,  if 
I  went  away,  they  would  kill  Nyare  as  the  cause. 

On  Sunday,  the  nth,  with  all  this  excitement,  there  was  a 
reaction;  and  Mrs.  Nassau  was  sick.  At  the  morning  service, 
many  Fahwe  were  present.  Our  friend  Laseni  also  came  in  the 
afternoon.  And  later,  came  the  Okota  with  Mr.  Schiff  and  a 
French  trader'.  The  vessel  was  laden  with  all  the  imported  pine 
boards  and  lumber  for  our  new  house.  Mr.  Schiff  did  not  ask 
me  to  allow  him  to  discharge  on  the  Sunday.  He  and  the 
trader  took  tea  with  us.  And,  in  return  for  his  courteous  recog- 
nition of  my  principles,  early  on  Monday  morning,  with  a  crowd 
of  friendly  Fan  we,  and  with  people  whom  Laseni  sent,  the  un- 
loading was  all  completed  by  8.30  o'clock. 

On  the  Okota  also  had  come  from  Benita,  a  civilized  native 
man,  Metyeba,  a  skillful  carpenter,  who  successfully  took  up  the 
work  which  Mr.  Menkel  had  laid  down.  With  him  was  his 
wife,  whose  presence  would  give  Mrs.  Nassau  a  little  bit  of 
society.  Heard  that  Mr.  Schiff  had  broken  up  his  trading-house 
at  Nyare's,  and  removed  his  trader  elsewhere. 

On  Wednesday,  the  21st,  people  came  with  Nyare,  to  settle 
peace  between  him  and  myself.  I  declined  to  speak  to  him, 
though  I  was  cordial  to  all  the  others. 

Mr.  Schiff  took  his  trader,  on  Friday,  the  23d,  to  locate  him 
at  a  point  beyond  Njoli  Post.  On  Saturday,  the  24th,  heard 
that  some  of  Nyare's  women  had  deserted  him,  and  ran  away. 
On  Monday,  the  26th,  heard  that  M.  de  Kerraoul  had  enacted 
a  law  that  no  one,  white  or  native,  except  French,  should  pass 
up-river  beyond  Njoli  Island;  and  that  all  produce  from  the 
Interior  must  be  brought  down  that  far  by  the  interior  tribes 
themselves.  But,  as  this  was  only  a  native  report,  and  we  never 
received  any  official  notice  of  the  interdict,  Mrs.  Nassau  resumed 
the  sewing  of  her  short-skirted  dresses,  for  our  planned-for 
journey  to  the  Okota  boundary  (twenty  miles  up-river)  for  the 
dry  season  of  1884.  For,  she  joyfully  looked  to  the  prospect 
of  a  station  farther  toward  the  Interior,  and  insisted  that  she 
should  share  with  me  the  initial  experience  of  the  selection  of 
the  location. 

Not  thinking  that  we  were  included  in  de  Kerraoul's  interdict 


44-'  MY  OGOWE 

about  passing-  Njoli  Island,  Mrs.  Nassau  and  I,  on  Wednesday, 
the  28th,  made  an  interesting  visit  and  preaching  services  at  a 
large  Bindul>e  town  beyond  the  island.  Mrs.  Nassau  enjoyed 
the  excursion  very  much,  noticing  the  trees  and  plants  and 
flowers,  and  was  amused  with  some  of  the  natives'  acts.  We 
made  a  similar  excursion  down-river,  on  Saturday.  December 
1,  the  short  distance  to  Laseni's  trading-place. 

We  often  had  difficulties  with  our  employees.  But,  the  ex- 
planation for  some  of  them  was  that  we  did  not  treat  our 
workers  as  servants.  We  gave  them  parental  interest,  and  ex- 
pected filial  respect.  Some  of  them  failed  to  appreciate  this. 
Other  men,  who  established  their  household  arrangements  on  a 
somewhat  military  basis,  often  obtained  better  service  than  we. 
But,  they  never  obtained  the  affection  we  reaped. 

As  the  carpenter  Metyeba  had  come  to  the  river  originally  <>n 
my  sister's  invitation,  she  claimed  him;  and,  to  our  regret,  he 
had  to  leave  us,  on  Wednesday,  the  12th.  But,  two  days  later, 
came  three  Galwas ;  one  of  them,  Elder  Nguva,  who  had  grown 
in  competence  as  a  carpenter,  having  obtained  his  first  knowl- 
edge of  tools  from  me  in  1876. 

On  Friday,  the  21st,  Nyare  with  a  company  of  twenty  people 
came  laden  with  gifts,  which  he  begged  me  to  accept  as  a  peace- 
offering.  1  finally  did  so.  lie  made  great  promises  for  the 
future.  Sunday,  the  23d,  was  a  very  quiet  day.  Nyare  and 
his  retinue  of  20  were  present  at  the  services. 

During  these  days,  Mrs.  Nassau  wrote:  "December  has 
come;  but,  we  have  been  again  unable  to  find  a  crew  to  take  us 
to  Okota.  We  now  look  forward  to  June,  1884.  The  desire 
is  not  only  to  z'isit,  but  to  remain  and  teach."  [Hoping  that 
someone  else  would  be  sent  to  occupy  Talaguga.  |  "During 
husband's  visit  there,  he  was  charmed  with  the  people,  their  ex- 
pressed desire  to  learn,  their  superior  houses,  apparent  docility 
and  intelligence,  the  freedom  from  the  roving  disposition  which 
makes  our  Fail  we  so  difficult  to  reach.  Said  Fan  we  have  been 
very  unimpressible.  Their  fierceness  and  fearlessness  give  a 
hardness  to  their  character,  which  united  with  their  readiness 
to  break  up  home  and  move  villages  every  year  or  two,  and  their 
absorbing  covetousness,  renders  our  work  among  them  slow 
and  not  satisfactory." 

In  the  unsettled  state  of  affairs  between  the  tribes,  it  was  not 
safe  to  leave  our  cottage  unguarded,  with  its  accumulated  goods 
(really  few,  in  our  economical  view,  but  wealth  to  avaricious 
natives).      So,    I    placed  my   four  workmen   and   two  household 


IN  THE  TALAGUGA  HILL-SIDE  COTTAGE      443 

lads  in  strict  charge  and  watch  (having  determined  to  have  no 
repetition  of  a  Belambla  robbery),  and  attempted  the  down- 
river quarterly  to  Kangwe,  with  three  weak  hands,  simply  float- 
ing down-stream,  taking  two-and-a-half  days  for  a  journey  that 
could  readily  be  made  in  one,  with  a  proper  crew. 

JOURNEY  TO  KANGWE. 

On  Thursday,  December  27,  with  Mrs.  Nassau  in  the  Nelly- 
Hozvard,  we  started  down-river,  with,  as  crew,  a  lad  Mbigino, 
a  little  boy  Ogeningo,  and  a  young  man  Origo  sick  with  boils 
on  his  back  and  legs.  This  a  crew  for  a  boat  30  ft.  long.  6  ft. 
beam,  and  whose  usual  propulsion  was  by  six  long  oars !  I  took 
this  boat,  rather  than  the  Szvan;  for,  the  former  would  be  needed 
to  bring  back  supplies;  and  I  trusted  to  obtain  new  recruits  at 
Kangwe.  At  Laseni's,  I  took  in,  as  passenger,  a  helpless  little 
boy.  That  night  was  passed  at  Ngwilaka.  The  small  stuffy 
hut,  and  heat  from  two  adjacent  fires  gave  Mrs.  Nassau  a  most 
distressing  night.  Friday  night  was  better,  in  a  native  trader's 
house  near  to  the  Ngunye  mouth.  Of  it,  Mrs.  Nassau  wrote : 
"  His  two  rooms,  with  nice  bed,  and  table,  high  and  swept  fairly 
clean,  were  like  palaces,  after  our  experience  of  last  night." 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  29th,  in  passing  the  Ngunye 
mouth,  a  hippopotamus  rose  a  few  yards  in  front  of  us,  then 
sunk,  and  immediately  afterward  rose  exactly  at  the  boat's  stern. 
Sitting  at  the  rudder,  I  could  almost  have  touched  it.  Evi- 
dently, it  had  risen  with  intention  to  strike  the  boat ;  but  our 
progress  with  the  current  had  carried  us  just  beyond  him. 

Reaching  Andende  that  morning,  Mrs.  Nassau  was  just  in 
time  to  receive,  at  Mr.  Robinson's  table,  the  returned  agents  of, 
respectively,  the  English  and  German  houses,  Messrs.  Sinclair 
and  Schiff,  where  were  invited  also,  my  sister,  and  Miss  Hard- 
ing and  her  mother,  from  the  Hill.  But,  in  the  evening,  Air. 
Robinson  was  taken  sick. 

On  the  Sunday,  I  preached  for  Mr.  Robinson  in  the  morning; 
and  he  attempted  Sabbath  school ;  but,  in  the  evening  he  had  to 
go  to  bed.  That  was  the  beginning  of  a  sickness  that  compelled 
Mr.  Robinson  to  save  his  life  by  going  to  the  United  States. 

This  visit  to  Kangwe  was  no  vacation  rest  for  either  of  us. 
During  Mr.  Robinson's  sickness,  and  for  the  few  days  until 
Mr.  Reading's  return  from  England,  I  had  to  take  entire  charge 
of  church  and  station,  and  Mrs.  Nassau  in  charge  of  the 
Andende  household.  We  made  out  our  semi-annual  orders  to 
England  and  the  United  States,  for  provisions  and  supplies  for 


444  MY  OGOWE 

a  year  ahead,  i.  e.,  allowing  six  months  for  the  going  and  delays 
in  coming  of  the  orders,  and  that  they  should  arrive  before  our 
stock-on-hand  should  oe  exhausted. 

Mrs.  Nassau  was  interested  in  keeping  record  of  all  my  various 
journeys  during  the  year,  long  or  short.  Her  account  book 
showed  over  1500  miles  for  1883,  even  though  I  was  so  ham- 
pered by  house-building. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

IN   THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW, 
JANUARY,    1884-AUGUST,    1884 

BARAKA,  at  Libreville,  in  the  Gaboon,  was  the  central  sta- 
tion of  the  mission.  On  which  fact,  it  rather  prided  it- 
self. Usually,  our  semi-annual  (afterward  annual) 
meetings  had  been  held  there,  compelling  me  to  very  painful 
journeys.  I  had  made  a  respectful  protest;  and,  it  was  kindly 
regarded.  Thenceforth,  the  meetings  (no  longer  semi-annual) 
were  to  be  held,  as  far  as  possible,  at  the  three  stations,  Gaboon, 
Benita,  and  Ogowe,  in  rotation.  For  1884,  members  of  mission 
and  presbytery  were  to  come  to  Kangwe.  Few  came.  And,  for 
those  who  did  come,  the  meetings  were  distressing  in  the  con- 
fused condition  of  the  station. 

On  Wednesday,  January  2,  Mr.  Reading  arrived,  having  left 
Mrs.  Reading  in  the  United  States,  and  immediately  resumed 
his  charge  of  the  station.  Unfortunately,  a  violent  hostility 
against  him  had  developed  among  the  employees,  who  met  his 
return  with  mutiny.  In  the  quelling  of  which.  Elder  Nguva 
was  subjected  to  suspension,  by  action  of  presbytery. 

On  Monday,  the  7th,  at  presbytery,  there  was  exactly  the 
legal  quorum,  three  ministers  and  several  ruling  elders ;  that 
quorum  being  obtained  by  our  organizing  at  Mr.  Robinson's  bed- 
side. Though  our  subsequent  sessions  were  held  in  another 
room,  no  parliamentary  notice  was  taken  of  his  absence.  Rev. 
A.  C.  Good  arrived  from  Baraka,  after  presbytery  had  ad- 
journed. As  he  would  not  wait  for  the  little  river-steamer,  he 
borrowed  my  Ncllx-Hozvard,  in  which  to  return  to  Libreville, 
on  January  16.  In  the  mission  meetings,  the  full  legal  quorum 
was  maintained.  At  their  close,  the  Rev.  Win.  C.  Gault  took 
away  the  sick  Mr.  Robinson,  on  the  little  steamer.  Of  those 
days,  Mrs.  Nassau  wrote:  "Mr.  Reading  arrived  from  Eng- 
land; also  Rev.  W.  C.  Gault  of  Benita.  They  found  at  Andende 
house,  Mr.  Robinson  very  low  with  fever,  in  its  most  dangerous 
form;  and   Dr.   and   Mrs.    Nassau   in   temporary  charge   of  the 

445 


44r>  MY  OGOWE 

station,  and  acting  also  as  physician  and  nurse.  With  Messrs. 
Reading-  and  Gault,  came  an  elder  from  Galxxin.  and  five  from 
the  northern  field:  gentlemanly  christian  men  they  all  appeared 
to  be.  .  .  .  That  week  passed  slowly,  filled  with  watchings  and 
anxieties. 

"  Sabbath,  the  6th,  brought  an  interrupted  communion,  the 
comfort  of  which  was  greatly  lessened  by  the  very  apparent 
coldness  and  pride  of  many  native  christians :  which,  on  the 
following  Monday,  the  7th,  culminated  in  a  cruel  desertion  of 
all  workmen,  save  three,  from  the  station,  leaving  us  strangers, 
with  perhaps  a  dying  man  on  our  hands,  to  care  for  ourselves. 

"  Providence  kindly  so  ordered  that  one  of  the  native  visitors 
who  was  with  us  took  the  place  of  cook :  until  the  deserters, 
seeing  their  folly  and  wrong,  returned,  begging  to  be  received 
back. 

"  A  strange  vacation  it  has  been,  between  the  joy  of  meeting 
native  friends  and  fellow-christians,  then,  cut  to  the  heart  by 
their  cruel  desertion:  greetings  of  welcome  from  dear  fellow- 
missionaries,  followed  by  farewells  spoken  by  pallid  lips,  and  so 
feebly  spoken  that  we  fear  lest  those  tones  will  never  again  be 
heard  by  us."  [Mr.  Robinson  did  return:  married:  but  Mrs. 
Xassau  was  gone!] 

The  maternity,  for  which  in  1883.  Mrs.  Xassau  had  hoped, 
was  now  to  be  granted.  Mow  bitterly  she  missed  the  sympathy 
of  the  absent  Mrs.  Reading!  The  latter  had  joined  with  her 
in  her  prayer  for  motherhood;  and  had  promised  to  be  with  her. 
to  help  and  advise  in  all  its  stages. 

The  next,  to  whom  she  should  turn,  as  a  repository  of  her 
happy  secret,  would  naturally  be  her  sister-in-law.  Rut.  my 
sister,  having  deliberately  chosen  for  herself  the  single  life, 
caused  it  to  be  understood  that,  as  she  "  knew  nothing  about 
babies."  she  could  render  no  aid:  adding  an  expression  of  opin- 
ion that  children  in  a  missionary's  household  were  a  hindrance 
to  mission  work.  She  was  conscientious  in  her  opinion.  lint, 
with  the  majority.  1  believe  that,  whatever  limitation  of  direct 
work  the  presence  of  the  mission-child  lays  on  its  mother,  i^ 
more  than  compensated  by  the  demonstration  to  heathen  minds 
of  the  noblest  feature  of  christian  civilization,  the  family.  It 
was  quite  true  that  my  sister  had  no  capacity  for  the  care  of  in- 
fants, ller  one  great  success  was  in  the  education  of  young 
men.  Hut.  the  opinion  which  she  so  inappropriately  added  that 
day.  and  which  sent  my  wife  in  tears  to  me.  vividly  governed 
all  my  own  subsequent  care  of  the  child,  after  its  birth:  and  for- 


IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  447 

ever  barred  me  from  allowing  its  aunt  any  authority,  control, 
or  charge  over  it. 

We  then  turned  to  Mrs.  Ogden,  of  the  Baraka  household. 
That  she  came  from  the  same  part  of  New  Jersey  as  did  Mrs. 
Nassau,  suggested  a  slight  claim  beyond  that  of  missionary  sis- 
tership.  Especially,  also,  a  year  previously,  while  she  was  at 
Benita,  she  had  generously  insisted  on  taking  a  risky  sea- 
journey  of  ninety  miles  in  a  small  open  sail-boat,  in  order  to  be 
present  in  Libreville  with  Mrs.  Good  at  her  confinement. 

Airs.  Ogden  kindly  promised  to  come.  As  her  service  was 
to  be  only  that  of  a  friend,  I  would  save  her  from  anything 
manual,  and  wrote  to  Rev.  Ibia-j-Ikenge,  native  pastor  on  Cori- 
sco  Island,  to  engage  for  me  the  very  best  educated  native  chris- 
tian lady  he  could  find  in  his  congregation,  as  nurse  for  the  ex- 
pected babe.  I  also  wrote  to  a  certain  Dr.  Adam,  a  physician 
of  Liverpool,  England,  who  formerly  had  lived  on  the  West 
Africa  Coast,  and  knew  its  necessities.  I  gave  him  carte  blanche 
to  send  to  me  everything  of  infant  food,  clothing,  medicines, 
and  appliances  that  he  would  deem  necessary  for  a  lady  in  con- 
finement in  Liverpool. 

RETURN"    TO    TALAGUGA. 

We  left  Kangwe  again  for  Talaguga  on  Tuesday.  January 
22,  assisted  most  of  the  way,  being  towed  by  a  trader's  launch 
that  was  towing  his  own  sailing  vessel. 

A  deed  for  some  property  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  in  the  United 
States  had  come  to  her  for  signature.  We  went  to  Mons.  Ker- 
raoul,  at  Njoli  Post,  to  ask  him  to  give  his  official  seal  to  the 
statement  of  fact  that  the  woman  "  M.  B.  F."  named  in  the 
dee(\.  was  the  same  as  my  wife.  "  M.  B.  F.  N."  whose  signature 
was  required.  He  declined;  saying  that  he  was  not  a  notary 
public.  But,  he  had  known  us  for  two  years,  and  could  have 
testified  to  the  fact  of  her  identity.  Because  of  his  refusal, 
Mrs.  Nassau  had  to  make  a  journey  down  to  Kangwe.  We  did 
not  think  it  safe  for  our  house  that  both  of  us  should  just  at 
that  time  be  absent.  So,  she  bravely  went  alone,  in  our  native 
kongongo.  with  a  strong  crew  of  seven.  In  order  to  make  the 
down-trip  in  one  day.  and  thus  avoid  sleeping  on  the  way.  she 
started  in  the  dark  of  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  February  13. 
Neither  she  nor  I  were  afraid  of  the  natives  on  the  way.  After 
my  fight  with  Nyare,  we  were  safe  anywhere.  But.  there  were 
other  dangers.  It  was  very  brave,  a  lone  woman,  going  out  in 
the  darkness  of  that  hour,  on  the  sixty-five  mile  trip  to  Kangwe. 


448  MY  OGOWE 

Next  day,  some  trade-canoes,  coming  up-river,  reported  to  me 
that  they  had  met  her. 

And,  on  the  following  day.  Mr.  Menkel  arrived  from  Libre- 
ville, bringing  my  Nelly-Howard.  He  too  reported  having  met 
Mrs.  Nassau.  She  had  a  successful  journey;  returning  to  Tala- 
guga  on  Friday,  the  22d,  with  her  own  kongengo  and  another 
boat,  both  of  them  laden  with  supplies.  She  informed  me  that, 
at  Lembarene  Post,  the  ordinary  police-sergeant  (though  not 
a  notary  public),  with  Mr.  Reading  as  witness,  had  kindly  done 
what  de  Kerraoul  had  declined  to  do. 

During  her  absence,  great  anxiety  was  raised,  both  at  Tala- 
guga  and  Kangwe,  on  account  of  an  affray  at  Erere-volo : 
French  canoes  going  down-river,  with  Aduma  crews,  and  a 
French  priest  in  company,  had  stopped  at  that  place.  Fail  we 
and  Aduma  quarreled:  the  former  fired,  and  wounded  the  priest : 
reports  also  that  some  men  were  killed.  The  canoes  had  re- 
turned to  Xjoli  Post;  and  Mon.  Kerraoul  had  gone  to  Erere- 
volo,  and  had  seized  some  Fail  we  and  a  Mpongwe  trader  Iveke 
Wilson,  who  was  charged  with  complicity.  These  reports  did 
not  alarm  me,  nor  did  they  Mrs.  Nassau.  But  they  did  alarm 
most  of  her  two  crews,  though  Mr.  Reading  had  kindly  pro- 
vided her  with  two  reliable  leaders.  Mamba  and  Yongwe,  in  his 
boat,  the  Montclair.  Mrs.  Nassau  said  to  the  terrified  ones. 
"  When  we  shall  be  passing  a  place  where  shots  are  coming,  I 
will  stand  up  in  the  boat  and  take  them,  and  you  may  jump  into 
the  water." 

The  work  at  gathering  of  the  logs  for  the  foundation  of  the 
new  house  went  on  with  some  vigor.  As.  besides  Mr.  Menkel. 
I  had  also  the  excellent  Metyeba.  whom  my  sister  had  allowed 
to  return  to  me. 

The  exact  record  of  those  days  is:  On  Friday,  the  J-'d.  the 
Montclair,  under  Mamba's  charge,  arrived  from  Kangwe.  with 
Mrs.  Nassau;  also,  accompanied  by  Piere  and  the  kongongo  (in 
which  she  had  gone  down-river).  Mamba  and  Mr.  Reading's 
other  employees  returned  to  Kangwe  that  night. 

On  Wednesday.  March  5.  the  Okota  came,  bringing  the  re- 
mainder of  the  lumber  for  Mrs.  Nassau's  new  house.  As  pas- 
senger, my  sister  came,  to  have  a  tooth  extracted.  And,  she 
returned  to  Kangwe  by  that  vessel,  next  day.  During  a  fur- 
lough in  the  United  States,  1  had  spent  one  day  in  a  dentist's 
office,  and  had  been  shown  how  to  handle  a  forceps.  There  was, 
at  that  time,  no  dentist  in  the  mission,  nor  in  the  entire  Gaboon 
and    Ocrowe    region.     Manv   an    aching   tooth    was    unskillfullv 


IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  449 

drawn  by  some  fellow-missionary,  that  might  have  been  saved 
by  skilled  dentistry. 

In  Mr.  Menkel's  return  to  me,  I  hoped  that  he  had  come  in 
better  spirit  than  when  he  left  the  house-building  six  months 
before.  But,  he  made  most  astonishing  new  demands.  He  re- 
quired of  me.  not  only  that  I  should  place  all  of  my  employees 
under  his  sole  control,  but  that  I  should  offer  no  advice,  sugges- 
tion or  criticism  of  his  work  after  I  had  given  the  plan  of  the 
house  into  his  hands.  Being  helpless,  I  had  to  comply.  And, 
thence  on.  I  was  only  a  silent  spectator  of  the  erection  of  my 
own  house!  (Xo  contractor  in  the  United  States  would  have 
assumed  so  autocratic  a  position.)  On  occasions,  Mr.  Menkel 
would  cease  the  work,  and  amuse  himself  in  some  other  way. 
On  Thursday,  March  12.  Mrs.  Nassau  wrote:  "Mr.  Menkel 
stayed  on  his  bed,  reading,  all  the  morning.  T  have  not  the 
sympathy  which  I  had  before  for  him.  in  troubles  between  him- 
self and  Hamill.  He  finished  his  novel:  and,  after  dinner,  went 
down  the  hill.  After  a  long  talk,  he  went  to  work.  His  de- 
mands, some  of  them  are  unjust:  to  others,  Hamill  consented." 
Again,  on  Saturday.  March  22.  Mrs.  Nassau  writes:  "  Metyeba 
told  Hamill  that  all  things  were  going  to  destruction  at  the  new 
house,  unless  Hamill  himself  would  go  and  remain  on  the 
grounds.  Hamill  talked  with  Mr.  Menkel:  reminded  him  of 
his  promise  not  to  strike  the  men  (which  he  had  broken,  these 
days),  and  reproved  him  for  his  impatient  and  angry  way  of 
directing  the  workmen.  He  took  the  reproof  kindly.  I  wish 
Hamill  could  give  the  control  of  the  men  to  Mr.  Menkel:  but. 
we  are  morally  certain  that  this  would  result  in  the  departure 
of  nearly  every  man."     As  had  been  the  case,  six  months  before. 

In  her  diary  of  Tuesday.  April  8,  Mrs.  Nassau  mentions  hav- 
ing found  a  piece  of  plumbago  near  the  brook.  I  do  not  re- 
member her  having  said  anything  to  me  about  it.  [But.  a  few 
years  later,  when  the  Rev.  A.  C.  Good  was  visiting  me.  T  took 
him  over  the  Hill,  following  the  course  of  the  mountain-brook, 
and.  T  found,  and  directed  his  attention  to  what  I  believed  was 
plumbago.] 

On  Saturday.  April  12.  with  Mrs.  Nassau.  T  went,  for  preach- 
ing services,  to  the  Bindube  villages,  three  miles  up-river.  The 
Goree  sentinel  soldier  on  Xjoli  Island  stopped  us.  Nevertheless, 
we  proceeded. 

On  Saturday,  the  19th.  that  sentinel  stopped  me  again.  The 
day  was  a  critical  one  in  our  Talaguga  life.  That  day.  T  had 
taken  Mr.  Menkel  with  me  to  make  a  courtesv  call  on  the  French 


45o  MY  OGOWE 

official  at  Njoli  Post.  Mrs.  Nassau  baked  and  sent  with  me  a 
tasteful  gift  of  pastries  for  Mons.  Kerraoul.  As  we  were  pass- 
ing the  lower  end  of  Njoli  Island,  we  observed  that  French  laptot 
(Senegal  soldier)  making  frantic  motions  toward  us.  I  had  no 
idea  what  he  was  saying.  Thinking  that  he  was  in  distress,  I 
went  to  his  aid  (  ?).  Then,  we  understood  that  he  was  ordering 
us  not  to  proceed.  We  knew  no  reason  why,  and  refused.  He 
berated  me  for  having  been  visiting  the  Bindube  towns ;  and 
threatened  to  shoot  me.  I  told  him  that  my  errand  was  to  the 
administrator  himself.  He  was  obdurate.  I  showed  him  my 
gifts  for  "his  excellency."  Then,  he  yielded;  but,  said  that  if, 
on  our  return.  I  did  not  bring  a  written  permit  from  Mon.  Ker- 
raoul, he  would  shoot  me.  At  the  post,  we  were  received  (ap- 
parently) cordially.  Mons.  Kerraoul  spoke  in  English,  and  we 
conversed.  Ironically,  I  complimented  him  on  having  such  a 
good  guard  on  Njoli.  He  justified  him!  "But,  Governor,  is 
it  not  permitted  that  I  shall  visit  you,  as  now?"  "No." 
Amazed,  I  added.  "Not  even  to  make  a  call  of  courtesy?" 
"  No."  Utterly  amazed,  I  asked,  hypothetically.  "  But,  your 
excellency,  if  my  life  was  in  great  danger  from  the  Fanwe  at 
Talaguga  might  I  not  come  to  you  for  assistance?"  "  No;  it 
is  not  permitted  that  any  but  French  shall  pass  Njoli.  If.  how- 
ever, you  should  be  in  danger,  you  may  come  as  far  as  Njoli ; 
and,  the  sentinel  there  will  bring  word  for  you  to  me."  "  And. 
during  that  waiting  there  of  almost  two  hours.  T  would  probably 
be  killed.  I  see  natives,  Okota  fishermen,  coming  almost  daily 
down  to  Talaguga.  How  is  it  that  they  pass  Njoli?  "  "They 
are  French  citizens,  and,  I  give  them  daily  written  permits." 
"  Then,  your  excellency,  please  give  a  citizen  of  a  country  which 
is  in  friendship  with  France  a  number  of  permits,  to  use  as  he 
may  have  occasion."  He  refused.  "  But.  certainly,  you  will 
write  me  one  permit,  to  pass  me  in  safety,  as  I  return  to  Tala- 
guga to-day?  "  "With  apparent  reluctance  he  wrote  it.  And.  \ 
gave  it  to  the  laptot  on  Njoli.  During  all  that  astonishing  in- 
terview. Mons.  Kerraoul  displayed  the  fullest  of  typical  French 
courtesy  of  voice  and  manner,  including  the  shoulder  shrug  and 
outturned  palms,  the  Gallic  final  closure  of  any  argument.  I  did 
not  believe  that  he  had  authority  to  issue  that  prohibition  to  me. 
(  His  superiors,  long  afterward,  disclaimed  it :  saying,  that  it 
applied  only  to  tradesmen.)      But.  I  submitted. 

From  that  19th  of  April.  I  never  again  thought  of  Njoli  Post 
or  M.  Kerraoul  as  a  source  of  aid  in  any  way,  as  to  letters. 
mail,    food,    purchases,    help,    comfort,    or   companionship.     He 


IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  451 

and  his  post  passed  utterly  out  of  the  lives  of  Mrs.  Nassau  and 
myself,  except  when  we  grieved  at  the  belief  that  our  plan  for 
advance  into  the  Interior  was  dead.  (I  bitterly  reminded  him 
of  his  prohibition,  four  months  later.) 

During  all  those  years,  I  had  interested  myself,  as  a  recreation, 
in  the  collection  of  insects,  most  of  which  I  sent  to  my  friend 
Mr.  A.  Murray,  the  entomologist,  in  London,  England.  While 
I  was  at  work  on  the  21st,  on  a  new  hut  for  the  employees,  I 
had  seen  a  strange  object  flying  overhead,  whose  proboscis  I 
recognized  as  that  of  Drury's  Goliath  beetle.  It  was  very  rare. 
I  described  it  to  the  men,  and  told  them  that,  any  time  they  ever 
should  see  it,  they  might  drop  their  work,  and  I  would  give  a  dol- 
lar to  whoever  could  catch  the  beetle.  The  very  next  day,  just  as 
we  were  dropping  work  about  noon,  Menge,  going  to  the  brook, 
saw  one  alight  on  a  small  bush  near  him.  He  caught  it  unin- 
jured, in  his  hand,  and  brought  it  to  me.  He  felt  rich  with  his 
dollar.  And,  when  I  sent  that  beetle  to  Prof.  Lockwood  in  New 
Jersey,  he  replied  that  he  "  felt  dangerously  rich  "  in  its  pos- 
session. 

In  the  afternoon,  I  saw  a  canoe  of  the  Bemijige  clan  being 
pursued,  on  their  way  up-river,  by  a  canoe  of  Nyare's  (having 
in  it  two  men,  Bilaii  and  Ntula,  members  of  the  thirteen  who  had 
accompanied  Nyare  on  November  6,  1883).  The  pursued 
halted,  and  bravely  dared  their  pursuers  to  follow  them,  and 
fired.  Nyare's  people  also  fired,  but  retreated ;  and,  coming 
ashore  and  hiding  in  the  bushes  on  my  premises,  fired  at  the  other 
canoe  out  on  the  river.  That,  I  could  not  allow.  I  went  alone 
and  unarmed  to  the  two  men,  and  ordered  them  off.  Mr. 
Menkel  rapidly  followed  with  my  Winchester  to  my  aid.  The 
men  obeyed  me,  and  started  away;  but,  we  two  followed  them  to 
the  boundary  line  near  their  village,  and  stood  there  awhile  to 
see  that  they  did  not  return.  Then,  one  of  my  men  came  to  tell 
me  that  the  Bemijige  were  safely  proceeding,  and  were  coming 
to  my  landingf-place.  I  went  to  meet  and  to  welcome  them,  and 
commended  them  for  their  courage.  In  their  contest,  they  had 
lost  a  paddle.  I  sold  them  one,  and  gave  them  another :  and. 
they  went  on  their  way  safely. 

At  that  time  there  were  twenty  natives,  including  the  wife 
each  of  the  two  native  carpenters,  Metyeba  and  Ankombie.  I 
could  get  no  plantains  at  all.  I  had  to  feed  them  on  rice  and 
farinya,  often  without  meat ;  a  diet  they  were  not  used  to. 
Only  their  loyalty  to  me  made  them  endure  it. 

I  had  faithfully  complied  with  Mr.  Menkel's  demand  that  (in 


452  MY  OGOWE 

order  that  he  might  have  the  entire  credit  for  the  erection  of  the 
building)  I  should  offer  no  advice  nor  make  any  criticisms. 
But.  he  had  allowed  me  to  be  present,  in  order  to  keep  the 
workmen  obedient.  The  house  was  at  last  rapidly  growing; 
the  first  floor  was  boarded;  and  the  entire  frame  was  being 
erected.  Metyeba  was  a  very  quiet,  diligent,  conscientious 
worker.  On  May  7,  he  quietly  pointed  out  to  me  that  the  frame 
of  the  house  was  out  of  pluml},  one  end  being  six  inches  out  of 
level.  I  at  once  saw  it,  without  attempting  to  measure ;  and  re- 
spectfully asked  Mr.  Menkel's  attention  to  it.  He  broke  into  a 
rage.  I  as  quietly  asked  him  to  take  his  square  and  level.  He 
did  so.  Then,  he  sat  down  weeping  in  shame  at  his  mistake ; 
turned  his  anger  on  Metyeba  for  not  having  told  him  rather 
than  me ;  and  said  that  he  would  throw  up  the  job.  I  insisted 
that  it  would  be  very  wrong  to  leave  me  at  that  critical  stage  of 
the  building.  He  remained,  and  enclosed  the  outer  walls.  (  It 
was  true  that  Metyeba  had  pointed  out  that  six  inches,  some 
days  before:  but,  Mr.  Menkel  had  scouted  the  idea,  had  not  even 
attempted  to  verify  it,  and  had  forgotten  it.) 

On  Saturday.  May  10.  I  took  Mrs.  Nassau  on  an  excursion 
in  her  Swan,  down-river  to  the  Mpongwe  trader  Ongamu,  at 
Xjomu,  opposite  Yeria,  whom  I  had  commissioned  to  collect 
thatch.  And  with  us  a  canoe  in  which  to  load  the  thatch,  so 
that  the  Stcan  should  be  occupied  by  only  herself.  With  her 
expected  motherhood,  she.  at  first,  hesitated  to  go.  Rut.  she 
returned,  having  enjoyed  the  ride,  and  the  view  of  many  beau- 
tiful flowers. 

On  Thursday.  May  22,  very  generously.  Mr.  Reading  visited 
us.  bringing  a  supply  of  plantains,  tins  of  fresh  fruits  and  egg- 
plant and  other  vegetables,  grown  in  his  own  Andende  garden, 
but  which  I,  in  the  newness  of  the  place  had  not  attempted  to 
cultivate  at  Talaguga.  They  were  especially  acceptable  to  Mrs. 
Nassau. 

On  Sunday.  June  8,  \  preached  in  the  morning,  on  isingi 
("little  foxes").  Three  of  my  people  came  afterwards  to  in- 
quire whether  I  had  been  preaching  at  them,  as  if  \  thought  they 
had  done  something  wrong  while  T  had  been  away  in  the  village 
with  Mrs.  Nassau  on  the  preceding  Saturday.  1  had  had  110 
such  thought;  but.  their  inquiry,  led  me  to  suspect  that  they  had 
guilty  consciences. 

On  Monday,  June  23,  Mr.  Menkel  left,  having  completed  the 
outer  walls,  doors,  and  windows  of  the  house,  so  that  it  could 
be  securely  closed,  when  I  should  go  to  Kangwe  for  the  usual 


IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  453 

quarterly  communion.      [I  subsequently  completed  the  interiors 
of  the  house.] 

JOURNEY  TO  ANDENDE. 

On  Tuesday,  July  1,  with  a  crew  of  nine,  and  Metyeba's  wife. 
Edibwani,  in  the  X cl I y- Howard,  Mrs.  Nassau  and  I  started 
down-river.  I  left  in  charge  of  Talaguga  the  very  competent 
Renita  carpenter.  Metyeba,  with  six  hands  under  his  direction, 
to  continue  the  interior  walls  of  the  house.  He  was  a  steady 
man.  and  my  Galwas  had  no  difficulty  in  obeying  him.  I  was  to 
try  to  obtain  at  the  Lembarene  trading-houses,  a  large  quantity 
of  thatch  for  the  roofing  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  new  house.  For,  the 
"  former "  rains  would  be  coming,  by  the  end  of  September. 
We  were  safe  in  our  boat-travel,  during  the  cool  dry  months 
(July- August). 

On  the  way,  saw  natives  cutting  up  a  manatee  (dugong  seal). 
To  my  taste,  it  is  the  richest  meat  I  have  ever  eaten.  In  one 
hour,  saw  thirteen  crocodiles  (gavial).  On  the  way,  stopped  at  a 
Bemijige  town,  on  which  the  French  had  fired  a  few  days  previ- 
ously. There  was  a  warlike  demonstration,  but  entirely  friendly 
to  me.  At  the  town,  Mbomi,  where  we  passed  the  night,  was 
the  largest  elephant  tusk  I  had  ever  seen.  The  next  day,  before 
starting,  I  discovered  theft  by  Simbuve,  and  suspected  Piere  of 
liquor.  Was  very  much  tried  by  them.  Saw  a  crocodile  that 
had  been  shot  so  suddenly,  that,  instead  of  falling  into  the  water, 
it  still  lay  on  the  log  where  it  had  been  sleeping. 

We  could  have  rushed  down  stream  in  one  day  instead  of  two. 
But,  we  chose  to  take  it  easily,  for  Mrs.  Nassau  to  enjoy  it  as 
an  excursion,  and  to  see  objects  on  the  way.  We  had  the  noon 
meal  at  our  good  friend  Ermy's.  And,  in  passing  the  Ngunye, 
some  alarms  from  hippopotami.  And,  were  at  home,  for  the 
night,  at  Mr.  Reading's. 

The  next  day,  I  was  at  the  trading-houses  on  business.  Met 
two  German  travelers,  who  proposed  entering  the  continent,  at 
Kamerun.  going  eastward.  My  longings  for  the  Interior  were 
again  aroused. 

On  Friday,  the  4th,  in  the  absence  of  Rev.  W.  H.  Robinson, 
I  had  to  moderate  the  meeting  of  session.  And,  to  conduct  the 
preparatory  service  on  Saturday. 

Sunday.  July  6.  Just  after  midnight  of  Saturday,  in  the  first 
dark  hour  of  the  morning,  Mrs.  Nassau  awoke  me.  She  was 
suffering  with  a  blood-flow  and  threatened  miscarriage.  Mr. 
Reading  was  most  attentive,  while  I  hasted  to  the  Hill,  for  medi- 


454  MY  OCOWE 

cines  I  had  left  there.  After  being  relieved  of  the  worst  symp- 
toms, Mrs.  Nassau  was  able  to  sleep  somewhat.  I  left  her,  dur- 
ing the  morning,  to  administer  the  communion  in  the  church. 
In  a  study  of  her  condition,  I  believed  it  to  be  a  case  of  placenta 
previa.  (I  had  attended  confinements  successfully,  but  had  not 
met  a  similar  case.)  Most  providentially,  that  very  morning, 
came  the  Falaba,  bringing  the  box  of  medical  supplies  which  I 
had  ordered  from  Liverpool,  in  the  preceding  January.  Also, 
there  arrived  an  excellent  Benga  christian  woman,  the  childless 
widow,  Handi,  of  about  Mrs.  Nassau's  age,  an  educated  member 
of  the  Corisco  church,  the  one  whom  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya  chose  for 
me,  in  response  to  my  letter  to  him  of  January.  Coincidentallv, 
my  sister  had  written  a  similar  request  for  herself  to  Rev.  F. 
Myongo,  of  Benita,  who  selected  this  same  woman.  The  date 
of  my  sister's  letter  gave  her  priority  of  claim.  There  had 
come  also  a  mail,  among  which  were  letters  from  six  of  Mrs. 
Nassau's  best  friends  in  the  United  States.  T  read  them  to  her, 
as  she  lay  more  quietly  in  the  afternoon.  They  were  the  last 
she  ever  received  from  the  United  States.  But.  to  our  disap- 
pointment, Mrs.  Ogden  did  not  arrive.  Nor  did  she  come  sub- 
sequently. 

On  Monday,  the  7th,  Mrs.  Nassau,  still  confined  to  bed,  felt 
so  much  better  that  I  ventured  to  go  to  the  trading-house,  to  in- 
quire for  thatch.  I  obtained  a  large  quantity,  on  promise,  from 
my  ever-helpful  friend.  Mr.  Sinclair.  But.  there  was  still  to  be 
the  work  of  transferring  it  to  the  Okota,  whose  captain.  Ludo- 
vici.  offered  to  take  l>oth  it  and  Mrs.  Nassau  and  self  a  week  later. 
Mr.  Reading  was  again  having  trouble  with  his  employees,  as 
in  January;  and  the  best  of  them  were  leaving  his  service.  Cap- 
tain Ludovici's  offer  was  most  providential.  In  Mrs.  Nassau's 
delicate  condition.  I  would  not  have  dared  to  attempt  to  take  her 
to  Talaguga  on  the  usual  four  days'  boat-journey.  The  Okota 
had  tried  to  ascend  the  Ngunye.  Had  it  succeeded,  there  would 
have  1>een  no  Talaguga  trip.  She  failed,  because  the  Ngunye 
water  was  too  low.  She  was  willing  to  attempt  the  deeper  water 
of  the  Ogowe. 

On  Tuesday,  the  8th.  I  had  to  attend  to  two  marriages  of 
natives;  Piere  and  his  betrothed  Apoyo,  and  Ntyindiorema  and 
his  betrothed  Ivenga.  According  to  French  law.  no  church  cere- 
mony was  permitted  in  advance  of  the  civil  rite.  As  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau, though  in  bed,  was  improving.  I  left  her,  to  take  the  four 
young  people   to   the   commissaire   at   Lembarene.    for  the   civil 


IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  455 

ceremony;  and,  then,  in  the  afternoon,  I  performed  the  church 
ceremony. 

I  opened  the  box  from  Dr.  Adam.  And,  there  was  also  a 
box  of  articles  sent,  in  kind  remembrance,  by  my  sister  Letitia, 
wife  of  Rev.  A.  Gosman,  D.D.,  and  their  four  daughters, 
specially  named  and  labeled.  Mrs.  Nassau  appreciated  them  very 
much.  They  were  the  last  earthly  gifts  she  was  to  receive  from 
the  United  States. 

On  Wednesday,  the  9th,  it  was  safe  to  venture  away  again,  on 
errands  to  the  trading-houses.  A  new  house  had  been  added  to 
those  already  in  the  river,  that  of  J.  Holt  &  Co.,  located  at 
Inenga,  three  miles  up-river  from  Lembarene,  on  the  left  bank. 
Their  little  steam-launch  was  named  Oviro.  (A  native  word, 
meaning,  "  Come  on!  ") 

On  Thursday,  the  10th,  as  both  Mr.  Reading  and  Handi  were 
with  Mrs.  Nassau,  I  again  stayed  away  all  day,  returning  only 
after  dark,  in  a  successful  transfer  to  the  Okota  of  the  thatch 
which  Mr.  Sinclair  allowed  me  to  take  from  what  he  had  en- 
gaged for  himself  at  a  Fanwe  town.  When  I  returned  Mrs. 
Nassau  was  sitting  on  the  lounge. 

Next  day,  Sunday,  the  13th,  she  was  able  to  walk  to  the  din- 
ing-room to  take  her  meals. 

Packing  was  done  on  the  14th,  for  the  Okota's  journey  of  the 
following  day.  In  the  evening,  looking  hopefully  into  the  future, 
we  made  out  an  order  of  provisions  for  the  next  year.  My 
sister  was  not  willing  to  pay  Handi  the  wages  she  desired ;  and 
the  latter  was  dissatisfied  with  the  variety  of  services  expected 
of  her.     Amicably  for  all  parties,  she  entered  my  service. 

In  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  15th,  there  was  an  hour's 
pull  in  our  boat,  from  Andende,  around  the  head  of  the  island, 
to  Lembarene,  where  we  were  to  board  the  Okota.  There,  we 
were  received  most  courteously.  We  had  had  a  hearty  break- 
fast before  leaving  Mr.  Reading's ;  but  another  was  given  us  on 

board.     Fellow  passengers  were  a  Mr.  B ,  an  employee  of 

the  French  house,  and  Commissionaire  Le  D .  Mrs.  Nas- 
sau sat  in  a  comfortable  chair  on  the  little  poop-deck  at  the  ves- 
sel's stern,  under  an  awning,  where  her  dinner  was  brought  to 
her.  But,  for  supper,  she  joined  the  company  in  the  little  saloon. 
How  unlike  all  her  other  Ogowe  journeys!  This  last  one  was 
to  be  the  only  comfortably  civilized  one !  The  progress  was 
slow ;  for  Captain  Ludovici  constantly  had  to  feel  his  way  with 
lead-line ;  so  that,  at  night,  we  anchored  near  Mbomi. 


456  MY  OGOWE 

The  next  clay,  the  16th,  on  nearing  Nkogo  Creek,  the  captain 
found  his  way  blocked  by  sand-bars ;  after  going  out  in  a  canoe 
to  feel  the  way,  he  returned,  saying  that  there  was  no  passage, 
and  that  the  vessel  must  go  back.  As  we  were  already  half- 
way to  Talaguga,  and  Mrs.  Nassau  was  feeling  so  well,  I  went 
ashore  to  secure  additional  men  for  my  crew  of  the  Nelly-How- 
ard (which  was  in  tow),  in  order  to  make  a  Hying  run  to  our 
cottage.  But,  in  the  meanwhile,  Mr.  SchifT  had  gone  out  in  a 
canoe,  and  found  a  passage.  So,  the  Okota  remained  at  anchor 
that  night. 

The  next  day,  the  journey  was  resumed.  At  Vena,  the  com- 
missionaire with  Mr.  SchifT,  went  to  the  Fafiwe  village  which 
had  been  burned  by  the  French,  for  the  assault  on  the  priest  in 
the  middle  of  February.  The  affair  was  settled  by  the  Fafiwe 
giving  two  hostages,  a  little  boy  and  an  old  woman.  The  boy 
was  placed  in  the  French  Roman  Catholic  school,  and  the  old 
woman  was  allowed  to  stay  with  her  own  clan,  at  the  house  of 
a  Liberian  trader,  John  Pierce. 

The  only  unpleasant  incident  of  the  journey  was  the  attempt, 
one  night,  of  the  white  engineer  to  solicit  Handi.  He  assumed 
that,  like  most  native  women,  she  was  purchasable.  He  found 
his  mistake  when  Handi  reported  him  to  me  the  next  day.     I 

was  indignant;  Mrs.  Nassau  was  distressed.     But,  Mr.  B 

begged  me  not  to  carry  the  case  to  the  man's  employers.  Agent 
Schiff  and  Captain  Ludovici.  Considering  the  marked  hospi- 
tality they  had  accorded  us,  the  matter  was  dropped.  Arrived 
at  Talaguga,  on  landing,  Mrs.  Nassau  said  that  she  "  felt  stronger 
than  when  she  started  on  the  voyage."  Nevertheless,  I  had  her 
carried  up  the  hill  to  our  cottage;  where  the  good  Handi  at  once 
made  herself  useful. 

On  Friday,  the  18th,  Mr.  SchifT,  Mr.  B ,  Captain  Ludo- 
vici, and  Mons.  Le  D ,  made  an  enjoyable  call  in  the  morn- 
ing, before  the  steamer  left.  And,  Metyeba,  having  tilled  his 
contract,  took  passage.  I  set  to  work  on  Monday,  the  Jist,  with 
all  my  people,  if  possible  to  hasten  the  roofing  of  the  new  house, 
with  the  newly-acquired  thatch. 

In  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  24th.  while  I  was  reading 
aloud  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  "  Young  Mrs.  Jardine,"  we  were  startled 
by  one  of  the  goats  making  a  peculiar  gurgling  sound  under  the 
house.  Both  of  us,  promptly  said,  "  Njega!  "  (leopard).  I  went 
out  with  rifle,  lantern,  and  some  of  the  men:  but,  the  goat  was 
gone;  evidently  seized  and  carried  away  by  the  leopard.      Next 


IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  457 

day,  two  of  my  men  found  the  half-eaten  carcass  of  our  goat, 
out  in  the  forest. 

On  Sunday,  the  27th,  I  detected  a  Fail  we  lad  cutting  trees  on 
my  grounds.     I  confiscated  his  axe. 

The  very  last  record  in  Mrs.  Nassau's  diary  is  on  Monday, 
the  28th,  noting  that  the  washing  was  "  well  done."  But,  in 
her  scrap-book  are  later  dates,  Tuesday,  the  29th,  and  Wednes- 
day, the  30th,  a  record  of  letters  written  to  a  W.  F.  M.  S.  secre- 
tary, Miss  M.  C.  Taylor,  of  Bordentown,  N.  J.,  and  to  Mrs. 
Nassau's  cousin,  Miss  Harriet  Todd,  Holmanville,  N.  J. 

On  Tuesday,  the  29th,  I  returned  to  Mr.  Reading  a  canoe  he 
had  loaned  me,  sending  in  it  four  Galwa  young  men  and  one 
Benita,  who  had  faithfully  filled  the  time  of  service  for  which 
they  had  contracted.  Later,  the  father  of  the  lad  came  to  ask 
for  the  axe ;  I  declined  to  release  it  until  he  should  pay  a  fine. 
Still  later,  came  the  French  explorer,  Dr.  Ballay,  companion  of 
De  Brazza,  with  five  large  canoes  and  one  hundred  men,  on  his 
way  overland  from  the  Kongo.  He  stopped  to  salute  us ;  and, 
kindly  offered  to  take  letters  for  us  to  Libreville. 

On  the  30th,  the  employees  were  afraid  to  go  about  the 
grounds,  because  of  leopards.  One  of  the  men  said  that  he  saw 
one,  that  day.  There  had  been  several  alarms  since  the  killing 
of  the  goat  in  the  previous  week.  That  night,  while  compelled 
to  sit  up  late,  retreating  from  room  to  room  before  the  vicious 
advances  of  an  army  of  driver  ants,  we  heard  an  outcry  among 
the  employees,  about  a  leopard.  But,  I  did  not  go  out  to  see 
about  it ;  I  was  having  enough  trouble. 

On  Thursday,  July  31,  Mrs.  Nassau  was  not  feeling  com- 
fortably. The  loss  of  sleep,  on  account  of  the  "  drivers,"  and 
the  much  loud  talking  among  the  employees  at  the  water-side, 
had  tried  her  nerves.  And,  she  wearied  herself  in  sewing  for 
the  expected  little  one,  and  in  writing  an  important  missionary 
letter  to  a  clergyman  in  the  United  States. 

Very  early,  in  the  dark  of  the  morning  of  Friday,  August  1, 
I  was  awakened  by  Mrs.  Nassau's  being  seized  with  another  at- 
tack of  threatened  miscarriage,  accompanied  by  profuse  hemor- 
rhage. I  have  a  minute  record  of  almost  every  hour,  day  and 
night,  of  the  eight  days,  Friday,  Saturday,  Sunday,  Monday, 
Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday,  the  8th. 

The  life-blood  was  dripping  away,  from  the  first  rush  at  1 
a.  m.  of  the  1st  to  the  last  drop  at  4  a.  m.  of  the  8th.  During 
all  those  days,  no  work  was  done;  but,  my  men  quietly  awaited 


458  MY  OGOWE 

my  possible  call.  And,  I  saw  them,  only  when  I  went  to  the 
morning  and  evening  prayers.  During  all  that  week,  either 
Handi  or  I,  day  and  night,  were  alternately  watching  by  the  bed- 
side. There  was  no  lack  of  medicines,  water-bags,  expedients, 
and  rearrangements  of  bedstead,  pillows,  and  lidding;  due  to  that 
carte  blanche  order  of  mine  to  Dr.  Adam  in  January.  No  lack 
of  a  variety  of  kinds  and  modes  of  preparation  of  food  and  drink. 
But,  an  inability  to  retain  any  of  them,  more  than  half  an  hour, 
until  the  patient  became  faint  and  weak  with  hunger.  At  no 
time,  were  there  any  symptoms  of  African  fever. 

The  babe  was  born  at  11.30,  midnight  of  Thursday,  the  7th 
of  August.  And,  five  hours  later,  she  was  motherless.  The 
only  persons  in  the  cottage  with  me,  besides  Handi,  were  Apoyo, 
Piere's  young  wife,  and  a  lad  Ngawe. 

It  would  have  been  maddening,  if,  in  the  reflections  of  those 
hours,  there  had  been  needed  anything,  for  which  there  would 
be  the  regret,  "  O!  if  I  had  only  had  so-and-so!  "  That  Liver- 
pool box  from  Dr.  Adam  had  supplied  every  possible  need  for 
both  mother  and  child.  But,  there  have  always  remained  two 
bitter  regrets :  that  no  woman  of  the  mission  had  come  to  their 
fellow-woman's  hour  of  trial ;  and,  that  I  was  not  a  surgeon. 
Yet,  looking  at  the  situation,  in  the  light  of  other  examples,  T 
read  of  other  women,  even  in  the  United  States,  in  precisely  the 
same  case,  having  died,  though  surrounded  by  parents,  sisters, 
nurses,  doctors,  and  a  wealth  of  medicines,  comforts  and  appli- 
ances. 

There  was  the  babe  to  be  clothed  and  fed.  I  began,  with  un- 
skilled hand  and  mode,  the  solemn  mother-task,  which  I  re- 
tained, aided  only  by  native  hands,  for  more  than  six  years. 
During  the  first  two  years  aided  by  the  excellent  Handi ;  during 
more  than  two  other  years,  by,  successively,  eight  incompetent, 
half-civilized  (and  not  all  of  them  christian),  Ogowe  young 
women ;  and,  during  the  final  more  than  two  years,  by  a  superi- 
orly educated  christian  woman,  A-nye-ntyu-wa,  of  the  Mpongwe 
tribe,  as  nurse  and  governess.  And,  in  pursuance  of  a  pledge 
to  my  dying  wife,  and  because  T  thought  (and  still  think)  it  was 
best,  but  against  the  protests  of  relatives  and  other  friends  in 
the  United  States,  and  of  members  of  the  mission,  I  kept  the 
little  Mary  with  me  in  Africa,  until  she  was  more  than  six  years 
old,  in  good  health. 

There  was  the  coffin  to  be  made.  The  skillful  Metyeba  was 
gone:  but,  one  of  the  ordinary  workmen,  Ompwenge,  helped  me 
with  saw  and  plane.     French  law,  in  the  tropics,  required  inter- 


IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  SHADOW  459 

ment  to  be  made  within  twelve  hours  after  the  decease.  For 
months,  I  had  ceased  to  think  of  the  French  government  as  a 
•  factor  in  my  life,  for  any  matter  of  courtesy  or  even  obedience. 
I  kept  my  dead  for  thirty-six  hours.  There  was  no  corruption ; 
for,  the  corpse  was  bloodless,  and,  in  its  organs  there  had  been 
no  fever.  French  law  required  that  deaths  should  be  reported, 
and  permit  for  burial  requested.  I  did  not  request.  Why 
should  I  think  of  post  officials,  with  whom  communication,  even 
of  courtesy,  had  been  prohibited?  (Subsequently,  I  did  report, 
when  applying  for  a  birth-certificate.)  I  sent  word  to  no  white 
man  in  the  neighborhood.  The  Fan  we  were  my  friends.  They 
sat  in  their  villages  in  distress,  refraining  even  from  going  to 
their  daily  garden-work. 

On  Saturday,  the  grave  was  to  be  dug.  My  men  made  it, 
among  the  quartz  boulders  of  the  steep  hillside  near  the  new 
house  that  was  to  have  been  hers.  At  4.30,  in  the  afternoon, 
my  eight  young  men  and  lads,  Ompwenge,  Piere,  Simbuve, 
Nambo,  Alundo,  Mbigino,  Isambo,  and  Ngawe,  carried  the  cof- 
fin down  hill,  across  the  log  bridge,  and  up  to  the  grave. 
Ambaga  accompanied,  carrying  a  little  bundle  to  be  placed  in 
the  grave.  On  jingo  stayed  in  the  cottage  with  Handi  and  the 
baby.  Ampamba's  hand  prevented  him  from  helping.  Fan  we 
stood  silently.  They  could  not  understand  a  burial  that  was 
devoid  of  yells  of  grief.  "They  listened  to  my  short  address  and 
prayer. 

I  have  mentioned  the  above  names  of  my  household  assistants. 
I  looked  on  them,  at  the  time,  as  almost  my  only  friends.  They 
certainly  were  very  attentive  and  sympathetic  during  those  days. 
But,  perhaps  I  expected  too  much  of  them  afterward.  African 
negroes  are  mercurial.  Neither  grief  nor  joy  long  influences 
them. 

On  Sunday,  the  10th,  as  if,  like  Ezekiel,  it  had  been  said  to 
me,  "  Neither  mourn  nor  weep,"  "  so,  I  spoke  unto  the  people 
in  the  morning."  And,  there  was  Mrs.  Nassau's  Bible  class  in 
the  afternoon.  She  would  not  have  liked  me  to  neglect  it.  And, 
in  the  evening,  I  spoke  of  God's  great  Love  for  us ;  greater  even 
(as  I  illustrated)  than  Mrs.  Nassau's  love  for  me,  or  for  the 
people  of  Africa. 

Then,  on  Monday,  the  nth,  a  canoe  and  crew  was  to  be  sent 
to  Kangwe,  with  the  heavy  shadow  to  the  mission,  to  the  Board, 
and  to  American  relatives  and  friends. 

About  10  a.  m.  Mons.  Kerraoul  and  a  French  associate  of  his 
called,   on  a  visit  of  condolence.     He  mentioned  that,   for  the 


46o  MY  OGOWE 

week  past,  lie  had  had  the  company  of  nine  friends  who  had 
arrived  overland  from  the  Kongo.  It  was  a  bitter  thought  to 
me,  that,  among  those  men,  was  a  physician,  Dr.  Manas.  And, 
I  had  not  known  it !  Mons.  Kerraoul  said  that  I  should  have 
sent  for  the  doctor's  assistance.  I  reminded  him  that  he  himself 
had  forbidden  me  to  approach  Njoli  Post  under  any  circum- 
stances. He  said  that  the  restriction  had  recently  been  removed ; 
and  offered  any  aid  from  the  physician  for  my  babe. 

I  had  not  known  that  even  M.  Kerraoul  or  anyone  was  at  the 
post.     I  had  been  told  by  natives  that  he  had  gone  down-river. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

A  MOTHER-TASK,  AUGUST,    1884-1886 

MY  mother-task  began  with  the  aid  of  the  excellent  Benga 
woman  Handi.  On  Tuesday,  August  12,  Dr.  Manas 
came,  and  gave  medical  advice  about  the  babe.  I  had 
from  the  very  first  day,  arranged  exact  hours,  and  directions,  as 
to  the  child's  food  and  baths,  between  Handi  and  myself.  When 
9  p.  m.  came,  she  was  to  lay  the  child  down,  even  if  it  was  not 
asleep.  And.  from  that  hour,  Handi  was  free,  for  her  own 
reading,  sewing,  recreation,  etc.,  until  7  a.  m.,  of  the  next  day. 
During  that  interval.  I  never  called  on  her  for  any  service  what- 
ever. I  took,  unaided,  all  the  nights,  during  the  subsequent  six 
years ;  whatever  were  the  babe's  needs  of  food,  medicine,  or  any 
other  attention.  I  have  prepared  her  bottle  of  milk  over  the 
little  kerosene-stove,  when  T  was  so  sick  that  I  had  to  creep  across 
the  floor  on  my  hands  and  knees.  The  morning  and  evening 
baths  were  Handi's  office;  but,  I  sat  by,  to  observe  any  symp- 
toms. Handi's  duty  beginning  at  7  A.  m.,  I  felt  free  to  write, 
or  to  superintend  work.  At  the  babe's  regular  specified  food- 
hour,  I  came  from  my  work,  whatever  it  was,  and  prepared  the 
milk,  with  my  own  hands.  Handi  might  hold  the  bottle  to  the 
babe's  mouth :  but,  only  my  hands  prepared  it,  in  only  certain 
cups  and  vessels,  which  I  kept  locked  in  a  certain  cupboard,  to 
be  washed  and  handled  only  by  myself.  With  careful  observa- 
tion of  symptoms,  and  with  a  variation,  as  indicated,  in  the 
amount  of  water,  or  of  sugar,  or  a  little  lime,  or  a  pinch  of  salt. 
in  a  series  of  experiments  during  the  first  two  weeks,  I  found 
just  what  suited  my  babe's  digestion;  and  had  not  much  difficulty 
subsequently. 

The  excavation  of  the  grave  had  been  among  rocks.  T  told 
the  men  not  to  put  the  stones  in  again,  but,  to  carry  earth  from 
the  water-side.  As  I  wished  it  done  quietly,  and  not  with  the 
shouting  usual  where  several  worked  together,  I  assigned  only 
one  young  man.  Piere,  for  the  duty.  That,  of  course,  was  slow 
work;  and  therefore  several  days  elapsed  before  the  grave  was 

461 


462  MY  OGOWE 

entirely  filled.  I  found  Piere  grumbling  at  his  lonely  task.  This 
so  hurt  me,  as  I  wished  nothing  but  kind  thoughts  around  the 
grave,  that  I  dismissed  him  to  other  work,  and  took  up  the  duty 
myself,  until  a  kinder-hearted  one,  Nambo,  came  and  said,  that, 
although  he  was  not  well,  he  would  complete  the  filling  of  the 
grave. 

The  Fanwe  women  so  missed  the  visits  of  Mrs.  Nassau,  that, 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  15th.  I  took  Handi's  place  in  charge  of 
the  babe,  and  sent  her  to  hold  a  meeting  with  the  women  in  the 
villages. 

I  had  lost  almost  all  interest  in  the  new  house.  I  had  none  at 
all  in  it  for  myself,  now  that  the  one  for  whom  it  was  being 
built  was  gone.  Only  obligation  to  the  mission  property  and  to 
a  possible  successor  made  me  feel  that  its  completion  was  a  duty. 

After  two  weeks  stoppage  of  the  work,  I  resumed  the  finishing 
of  the  interior  partitions,  etc.  Dr.  Manas,  passing  on  a  trip, 
stopped  at  the  beach,  to  say  that  he  would  soon  call  again,  to 
prescribe  for  my  babe. 

On  Friday,  the  22d.  a  woman,  with  a  few  fish,  came  to  redeem 
the  axe  I  had  captured  a  month  before.  I  refused  to  take  so 
small  a  ransom,  and  told  her  to  bring  a  cloth  fa  "dollar"). 
She  went ;  and  returned  with  one,  which  T  accepted,  and  gave 
up  the  axe.  Immediately,  I  burned  the  cloth,  to  show  that  T 
did  not  wish  to  make  gain.  Again,  in  the  afternoon,  T  took 
charge  of  my  babe,  while  Handi  went  for  her  recreation  and  for 
service  with  the  village  women.  That,  thenceforward,  became 
our  almost  regular  Friday  custom.  After  evening'-prayers,  four 
of  the  household  remained,  for  the  usual  Friday  night  christian- 
conversation  meeting,  which,  for  some  weeks,  had  been  omitted. 
But,  I  declined  to  resume  it  just  then,  because  the  church  mem- 
bers among  them.  Mbigino,  Piere,  and  Mambo,  and  two  of  the 
inquiry  class,  Ompwenge  and  Simbuve,  persisted  in  using  liquor. 
They  never  used  it  to  the  point  of  intoxication.  But,  I  had  re- 
quired total  abstinence,  and  was  pained  at  their  lowering  the 
standard.  I  resumed  my  own  regular  Saturday  afternoon 
visitations,  on  Saturday,  the  23d,  and,  with  only  occasional  in- 
terruptions, thenceforward  continued  them. 

After  supper  Simbuve  gave  me  a  talk  which  showed  a  very 
bad  heart.  He  told,  quite  at  length,  how  that  in  his  village  he 
had  not  yielded  to  polygamy  or  slave-holding;  how  he  had 
worked  for  me.  even  to  the  point  of  a  year's-contract  book ;  and 
how  he  had  "served  God."  Then,  he  threatened  that,  because  I 
had   suspended  him   from  the  inquiry  class,  on  account  of  his 


A  MOTHER-TASK  463 

liquor-drinking,  he  would  leave  my  employ,  even  if  he  should 
lose  the  contract-money  due  him.  It  was  very  rare  that  a  native 
thus  berated  me.  I  was  amazed  at  his  thinking  that  I  would 
restore  him  just  because  of  that  threat.  I  took  no  notice  of  it; 
told  him  that  the  class  was  not  a  matter  of  dollars ;  that  his  pro- 
fessed sorrow  at  being  suspended  from  it  was  insincere,  as  shown 
by  the  anger  he  was  then  displaying  to  me;  and,  turned  from 
him,  unwilling  to  listen  to  any  more  of  his  spiteful  words. 

On  Sunday,  the  24th,  a  trader,  Asagomwenge,  came  to  say 
that  he  was  going  down-river  next  day,  and  would  take  letters 
for  me.  Also,  he  stated  that  several  of  my  people  had  been 
engaging  passage  with  him ;  he  wished  to  know  how  many  I 
authorized  to  go,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  be  even  an  innocent 
medium  for  deserters.  This  was  very  honorable  in  him.  I 
named  three  of  my  employees,  to  whom  I  had  given  permission ; 
that  any  others  would  be  deserters.  He  came  next  day,  with 
the  three.  I  paid  their  wages  to  date.  Then,  a  fourth  said  that 
Simbuve  and  Piere  owed  him,  and  he  was  waiting  to  see  them 
paid,  so  that  they  might  pay  their  debt  to  him.  So;  those  two 
intended  to  desert!  I  told  them  that  if  they  wished  to  forfeit 
their  contract,  they  could  go ;  but,  that  nothing  would  be  due 
them  on  pay  until  the  close  of  the  month.  They  were  very  angry. 
But,  they  knew  that  I  was  right.  Piere  deserted.  Simbuve 
stayed.  Just  as  this  episode  closed,  came  Gov.  Kerraoul  and 
Dr.  Manas.  I  was  glad  of  the  coming  of  the  latter ;  for,  my 
babe  had  a  diarrhoea,  which  change  of  food  did  not  control. 
The  doctor  prescribed  diluted  white  of  egg  in  her  milk.  It 
proved  very  efficient ;  and,  I  depended  on  it,  in  subsequent  years. 
At  evening-prayers,  the  few  who  remained  with  me  were  in  good 
spirit ;  and  the  house-employees  were  apparently  trying  to  do 
extra  well  for  me. 

My  sister  came  from  Kangwe,  in  her  boat  Evangeline,  and 
assisted  me  in  the  distribution  of  some  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  clothing. 
The  next  day,  Simbuve  came,  and  made  a  partial  apology  for  his 
misconduct  of  Monday.  I  bought  a  quantity  of  crocodile-meat, 
and  gave  my  household  a  feast.  My  sister  went,  on  Saturday, 
the  30th,  to  visit  the  Bindube  villages  near  the  post.  She  saw 
no  sentinel  on  Xjoli,  to  threaten  her  with  shooting! 

On  Sunday,  August  31.  heard  that  the  Bemijige  clan  had  cap- 
tured one  of  Nyare's  women ;  he  went  down-river  for  a  fight. 
Next  day,  I  arranged  bundles  of  some  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  gar- 
ments to  give  to  her  native  friends.     Increased  the  wages  of  the 


4<4  MY  OGOWE 

two  boys,  Onjingo  and  Ambaga,  whom  I  had  designated  as 
sj>ecial  attendants  on  Handi  in  her  care  of  the  babe. 

On  Wednesday,  September  3,  my  sister  returned  to  Kangwe. 
Handi  was  much  surprised.  She  could  not  understand  it.  She 
had  assumed  that  the  aunt  had  come  to  take  charge  of  her  little 
niece.  I  made  no  explanations.  I  resumed  work  on  the  new 
house.  If  it  could  not  be  "  Mrs.  Nassau's,"  it  should  be  "  Mary's 
house." 

In  the  United  States,  empty  cans  are  thrown  away  in  garbage 
boxes.  At  that  time,  in  the  Ogowe,  natives  bought  them  of  me ; 
as  they  valued  them  for  drinking-cups,  and  for  packing,  against 
the  attacks  of  white-ants. 

Ever  since  my  contest  with  him,  Nyare's  position  had  sunk. 
Finding  that  proximity  to  me  was  no  longer  a  source  of  gain  or 
power;  but,  rather  of  shame,  he  decided,  on  Friday,  the  5th. 
to  remove  his  village  across  the  river,  directly  opposite  to  me. 
Thenceforth,  there  was  little  occasion  for  his  people  to  trespass. 

I  had  been  very  regular  and  methodic,  as  to  my  bale's  food- 
hours.  If  she  cried  between  hours.  T  assumed  that  the  cause 
was  other  than  hunger;  perhaps  thirst,  or  irritable  skin,  or  a  tight 
garment,  or.  internal  pain,  etc.  So,  although  my  nights  were 
all  of  them  necessarily  broken,  the  breaks  gradually  became  fewer 
or  shorter.  The  night  of  the  5th  was  the  best.  From  7  p.  M. 
until  2  a.  m..  she  did  not  call  for  food.  And,  even  then,  she 
slept  so  well,  that  1  myself  awoke  her  at  6  a.  m.  to  offer  her  food, 
which  I  thought  necessary.  Just  after  morning-prayers,  came, 
from  down-river,  the  young  Frenchman  who  had  accompanied 
M.  Kerraoul  in  his  call  on  me  of  August  it.  lie  brought  me 
some  mail,  and  two  boxes.  One  of  them  contained  infant  cloth- 
ing which  Mrs.  Nassau  and  1  had  ordered  months  before;  and 
books  for  which  I  had  sent  for  her.  Some  of  the  little  garments 
had  become  wet  in  the  boat:  Handi  immediately  washed  and 
ironed  them.  The  work  on  "  Mary's  house  "  was  nearing  com- 
pletion. In  the  evening,  the  household  were  interested  in  my 
showing  them  my  babe's  newly-arrived  treasure  of  clothing. 

Sunday,  the  7th.  My  child  one  month  old!  Mr.  (lallibert.  a 
French  trader,  living  a  short  distance  down-river,  where  Laseni 
formerly  located,  came  from  Kangwe.  bringing  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Reading,  and  needed  medicines  (rhubarb  and  quick-lime).  I 
heard  distant  thunder,  the  first  of  the  season.  The  river  had  been 
slowly  rising,  and  showers  every  night. 

Among  mv  several  Sundav  and  week  religions  services, 
Mrs.  Xassau  had  suirefested  "monthly  concert."      I  had  not  seen 


A  MOTHER-TASK  465 

my  way  to  commence  it;  for,  though  her  life  and  mine  were  all 
"  missionary,"  there  was  no  interest  on  that  subject  among  my 
Galwas,  and  entire  indifference  on  part  of  the  Fanwe.  But,  that 
evening,  as  a  memorial  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  I  commenced  a  regular 
monthly  concert  of  prayer  for  missions.  A  Frenchman,  a  Mr. 
Froment,  stopped  on  the  8th,  offering  to  take  letters  down-river. 
I  sent  a  package  to  my  sister. 

Until  a  more  permanent  structure,  which  I  had  ordered,  should 
arrive,  to  protect  the  grave,  Simbuve  built  a  plain  wooden  frame. 
He  came,  in  the  evening  of  the  next  day  to  acknowledge  his 
faults,  and  asked  to  be  permitted  to  rejoin  the  inquiry  class. 
After  the  usual  weekly  prayer-meeting,  the  employees  held  one 
of  their  own.     Was  that  a  result  of  the  Sunday-night  concert? 

The  dates  10th,  nth  and  12th,  were  always  anniversaries. 
Simbuve  came  again  to  confess  his  wrong  doings  and  ill-will  to 
me,  in  various  matters  since  our  journey  in  July  down-river  with 
Mrs.  Nassau,  especially  on  the  night  spent  at  Mbomi.  I  restored 
him  to  the  inquiry  class. 

Work  was  going  on  well.  In  the  evening  of  the  nth,  a  pleas- 
ant chat  with  the  household  about  wild  native  fruits.  On  the 
1 2th,  Air.  Froment,  returning  from  Lembarene,  delivered  to  me  a 
mail,  and  a  box  from  my  sister  to  Handi.  It  gratified  her;  for, 
her  life  at  Talaguga  was  a  lonely  one.  Not  unoccupied;  for,  out 
of  her  regular  daily  duties  to  my  babe,  she  had  her  own  free  hours. 
But,  how  to  occupy  them  outside  of  her  own  reading  or  sewing, 
was  a  problem.  She  had  no  recreation,  or  companionship.  Her 
tribe  was  a  civilized  coast-tribe,  and  she  could  not  affiliate  with 
the  river  tribes.  It  was  a  strong  proof  of  her  devotion  to  my 
child,  that  she  was  willing  to  stay  in  such  lonely  surroundings. 
It  was  a  sad  shadow  over  my  mails,  that,  for  months,  they  con- 
tained letters  addressed  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  from  those  who  did  not 
yet  know  of  her  decease.  One  of  the  most  sisterly  ones  to  her 
was  from  my  sister  Letitia.  wife  of  Rev.  A.  Gosman,  D.D.,  of 
Lawrenceville,  N.  J.  Dr.  Manas  came,  not  to  prescribe,  but  to 
obtain  medicines  from  my  good  supply.  That  night,  I  resumed 
the  lessons  with  the  inquiry  class. 

At  night  of  Saturday,  the  13th,  my  employees,  in  their  water- 
side hut,  were  singing  hymns.  How  different  from  the  days 
when  their  shouts  made  me  suspect  liquor-drinking!  How 
pleased  Airs.  Nassau  would  have  been!  She  had  so  longed  for 
the  spiritual  growth  of  those  young  men. 

I  was  sick  on  Sunday,  the  14th.  and  unable  to  preach;  only  a 
short  meeting,  and  only  two  Faiiwe  present.     Nyare  was  busy 


466  MY  OGOWE 

building  his  town  across  the  river.  Baby,  providentially  quiet  at 
night,  so  that  I  had  to  rise  for  her  only  twice.  Next  day,  a 
young  Fan  we  woman,  who  came  to  sell  sweet  potatoes,  asked  to 
be  permitted  to  see  the  process  of  bathing  a  white  baby.  She  was 
much  interested  and  amused  at  Handi's  careful  and  gentle 
handling  of  every  part  of  the  body. 

On  Wednesday,  the  17th,  Mr.  Gallibert  sent,  offering  to  take 
letters  down-river  for  me  on  the  morrow.  So,  I  sat  up  until 
midnight,  writing.  Next  day,  after  Mr.  Gallibert  had  gone,  Mons. 
Kerraoul  sent  to  me  inquiring  whether  I  was  about  to  send  a 
boat  down-river ;  for,  he  wished  to  place  a  sick  man  as  passenger 
in  it.  One  of  Njagu-demba's  women  made  a  visit,  dressed  in 
most  theatric  finery.  Mavyafi  came  to  see  me.  He  expressed 
sorrow  for  Mrs.  Nassau's  death.  He  said,  "  God  is  not  good!  " 
I  had  to  tell  him  not  to  say  so:  that  God  was  always  good.  It 
was  true  that,  not  always,  had  I  myself  been  able  to  say  of  Him. 

"  Good,  when  He  gives,  supremely  good ; 
Nor  less,  when  He  denies." 

All  foreigners  in  the  river,  even  the  government  post,  some- 
times were  short  on  food-supplies.  I  needed  rice;  and.  on  Fri- 
day, the  19th.  had  applied  to  the  post,  for  a  sale.  M.  Kerraoul 
sent  a  bag  of  rice  on  loan;  and  asked  to  borrow  some  English 
books;  which  T  promptly  sent  him.  Just  as  his  messenger  left, 
there  arrived  from  Lembarene,  an  English  trader,  bringing  me  a 
mail.  He  attempted  to  give  me  condolence,  on  Mrs.  Nassau's 
death;  but,  was  so  intoxicated,  that  he  could  say  nothing  con- 
nectedly. 

A  large  number  of  Fanwe,  from  a  distance,  came  on  Saturday. 
the  20th.  to  condole  with  me:  among  them  a  man  whom  Mrs. 
Nassau  had  once  very  much  gratified  by  playing  the  organ  for 
him,  but  who  (she  had  remarked  to  me  at  that  time)  seemed  in 
great  fear  of  her.  Handi  took  my  place  in  the  village  visitation. 
When  she  told  the  people  to  come  for  Sunday  to  meeting,  they 
replied  that  there  was  no  use  for  them  to  do  so,  because  Mrs. 
Nassau  being  dead,  there  was  no  one  to  play  the  organ.  The 
rainy  season  officially  began,  with  thunder,  lightning,  heavy 
clouds,  and  threatening  rain. 

On  Thursday,  the  25th,  \  set  out  the  little  trees  and  plants. 
which  six  months  before.  Mrs.  Nassau  had  started  in  a  box.  as 
a  nursery.  She  had  taken  care  of  them  all  the  while  that  they 
were  small.  Everything  1  touched  was  hers;  everything  T  was 
doing  was  for  her;  every  board  I  laid,  every  nail  I  drove,  was  for 


A  MOTHER-TASK  467 

her.  The  hous,e  was  to  have  been  hers !  I  felt  bitterly  that  she 
had  not  been  permitted  even  to  enter  it. 

In  reading  over  her  diary,  I  saw  where  she  had  often  been  tried 
by  the  kitchen  employees,  especially  the  very  one,  Mbigino,  who 
now  for  me  was  doing  so  well.  Yet,  with  all  those  annoyances, 
there  was  an  almost  daily  entry  of  some  ground  for  tlianks,  even 
when  she  had  been  in  trouble. 

On  Sunday,  the  28th,  after  breakfast,  Mons.  Lesteur,  of  the 
French  expedition,  from'  the  Interior,  stopped  to  express  sym- 
pathy; to  apologize  for  my  having  been  prevented  in  my  journeys, 
by  Gov.  Kerraoul ;  and  to  offer  to  take  letters. 

Next  day,  Mons.  Kerraoul  called,  to  obtain  paint,  with  which 
to  mark  a  head-board  over  the  grave  of  one  of  his  men  who  had 
died.  Two  of  Mr.  Reading's  men,  Mamba  and  Abumba,  who 
were  leaving  his  service,  came,  professedly  to  express  sympathy 
in  my  loss.  Mr.  Reading,  in  a  letter  which  they  brought,  thought 
that  they  had  some  other  object  in  view.  Perhaps  they  had. 
They  subsequently  entered  my  employ.  They  had  been  my  best 
aids  during  my  Kangwe  days ;  and  they  became  my  best  aids 
during  my  Talaguga  years. 

Mrs.  Gault,  from  Benita,  sent  me  an  infant-feeding-bottle,  not 
knowing  that  I  had  one.  But.  I  appreciated  the  gift.  It  had 
been  used  by  her  own  Willy  who  had  died;  and,  it  was  the  first 
gift,  from  any  missionary,  to  my  child. 

At  night,  of  Thursday,  October  1,  while  I  was  writing,  I  heard 
Ompwenge  talking  angrily  at  the  water-side  hut ;  and  soon,  there 
was  an  outcry  of  little  Onjingo's  voice,  as  if  he  had  been  struck. 
I  went  down  the  hill,  and  called  the  boy  to  me.  He  said  that 
Ompwenge  had  struck  him  because  little  Ambaga  had  complained 
that  Onjingo  "  bossed  "  him,  in  their  work  for  Handi  and  the 
babe.  I  felt  troubled,  and  was  indignant  at  the  young  man. 
But,  I  said  nothing  to  him,  waiting  until  I  should  control  my 
temper,  and  study  what  was  best  to  be  done.  The  next  morning, 
after  prayers,  I  told  Ompwenge  that  I  would  not  investigate 
whether  the  little  boy  was  right  or  wrong ;  but,  that  I  would  fine 
himself  a  half-dollar  (trade)  for  breaking  my  rule  that  there 
should  be  no  striking.  Even  more  obediently  than  I  had  hoped 
for,  he  promptly  paid  the  fine  (in  goods,  one  mug  .30,  and  one 
spool  of  thread  .20).  At  night,  after  prayers,  in  the  presence  of 
the  company,  I  destroyed  the  two  articles,  as  a  proof  that  I  had 
put  a  fine  on  him  simply  as  a  punishment. 

On  Friday,  baby  was  sick;  and,  T  stayed  with  her,  while  Handi 
went  on  her  excursion  to  the  villages. 


468  MY  OGOWE 

On  Tuesday,  the  7th,  the  Okota  came;  on  it  was  Mr.  Reading, 
with  a  mail,  and  a  supply  of  farinya  and  dried  fish  for  my  work- 
men. He  frequently  was  generous  to  me  in  that  helpful  way, 
knowing  that  very  little  was  obtainable  from  my  Fanwe.  We 
sat  up  late,  talking  over  our  respective  station  affairs.  And, 
then,  I  sat  up  still  later,  reading  my  mail. 

The  Mpongwe  trader,  Njalele,  had  located  near  me;  and  with 
him  was  the  young  Galwa  Ngawe,  who  recently  had  deserted 
me.  The  trader  could  afford  to  pay  higher  prices  for  food,  and 
the  boy's  work  was  easier,  and  not  so  continuous  as  mine. 

Another  Mpongwe  trader,  "  Dixon,"  who  had  formerly  been 
in  Nyare's  village,  and  who  had  returned,  actually  asked  per- 
mission of  me  to  land  his  goods  on  the  premises,  and  trade  in 
my  water-side  hut  until  he  could  build  his  own !  Aside  from 
the  unwisdom  of  allowing  trading  on  the  mission  grounds,  the 
idea  of  landing  his  rum  barrel  in  my  hut  was  insulting. 

I  could  get  along  with  housekeeping,  etc.,  etc. ;  but,  the  care 
of  the  babe  tied  me  from  direct  missionary  work,  e.  g.,  itinera- 
tion. I  wrote  to  Mrs.  Ogden,  asking  her  aid,  as  her  Baraka 
duties  were  not  numerous.  Under  somewhat  similar  circum- 
stances, she  had  laid  them  entirely  aside,  for  many  weeks,  to 
take  care  of  Mrs.  Good's  infant,  though  there  were  other  ladies 
and  an  available  supply  of  native  nurses  in  civilized  Gaboon. 
Mr.  Reading  left,  on  the  Okota. 

The  10th,  nth  and  12th  of  October  were  anniversary  days. 
On  the  nth,  I  was  forty-nine  years  of  age.  I  made  my  first 
visit  to  Nyare's  new  village. 

On  Sunday,  the  12th,  I  observed  a  growth  on  the  babe,  that 
caused  me  careful,  constant,  anxious  watching.  I  cured  it,  at 
the  cost  of  attention  that  was  not  relaxed  for  one  hour  during 
an  entire  month.  It  was  the  heaviest  task  of  all  the  six  years 
of  my  motherhood. 

I  planted  fruit  trees,  oranges,  sour-sop,  pitanga,  and  guava  on 
the  new  grounds  around  Mary's  house. 

Housekeeping  had  been  a  comparatively  simple  affair,  while 
T  had  lived,  during  camping  days,  in  a  hut.  And.  since  I  had 
had  to  direct  something  more  formal  in  the  cottage,  after  Mrs. 
Nassau's  death,  I  had  managed,  to  a  comfortable  degree,  with 
the  kitchen  service.  Rut,  1  had  attempted  nothing  at  house- 
cleaning.  During  the  two  months  since  her  departure,  nothing 
of  that  kind  had  been  done  in  my  room.  I  spent  the  entire  day 
of  Wednesday,  the  15th,  with  the  household  servants,  in  remov- 


A  MOTHER-TASK  469 

ing  all  the  furniture ;  brushed,  dusted,  and  washed ;  beat  the 
carpet;  sunned  all  the  bedding. 

On  Thursday,  the  16th,  the  carpentering  work  was  completed; 
and,  I  began  the  work  of  painting  Mary's  house. 

I  had  obtained  a  wheelbarrow,  as  a  more  expeditious  mode 
of  transporting  earth,  etc.,  than  our  old  way  of  "  toting  "  in  a 
box.  When  I  put  the  barrow  into  Alundo's  hands,  he  did  not 
know  how  to  use  it !  On  the  20th,  Mbigino  also  broke  the  rule 
about  striking  (the  complainant  was  the  same  little  Onjingo). 
And,  I  treated  the  case  exactly  as  I  had  with  Ompwenge,  on  the 
2d.  The  effect  was  good;  for,  instead  of  harboring  ill-will  for 
his  punishment,  he  cooked  an  especially  nice  supper. 

It  was  necessary  for  me  to  have  bamboo  for  the  outbuildings 
of  Mary's  house.  So,  there  had  to  be  a  journey  to  Yena.  I 
had  no  reliable  men  who  could  do  the  buying  for  me ;  they  were 
competent  only  for  the  paddling.  So,  I  ventured  to  go  myself 
on  Wednesday,  the  22d.  But,  I  was  very  anxious.  In  the  ten 
weeks  since  my  babe's  birth,  I  had  not  been  absent  from  her, 
at  one  time,  more  than  four  hours.  I  went  with  the  four 
strongest  of  my  people.  When  near  Yena,  I  met  the  man 
Ongamu,  whom  I  had  hired  to  obtain  me  thatch,  coming  with  a 
load.  I  hasted  back,  by  noon.  When  he  arrived,  he  had  his 
wife  with  him.  This  was  company  for  Handi.  And,  the  two 
women  went  shopping  at  the  trading-house  at  Nyare's.  Ongamu 
looked  through  the  new  house,  and  praised  it.  He  was  com- 
petent to  do  so;  for,  he  was  an  educated  coast-man. 

I  had  sat  up  reading,  rather  late  at  night,  when,  just  as  I  was 
preparing  for  bed,  Ompwenge  knocked  excitedly,  to  say  there 
was  some  quarrel  of  Nambo  with  Onjingo.  I  told  him  it  was 
too  late  for  me  to  investigate;  that  he  should  go  quietly  to  his 
hut  until  the  next  clay.  He  went  away;  but,  I  overheard  him 
call  to  Nambo,  who  followed  him  to  the  water-side,  to  discuss 
the  matter.  I  felt  very  much  that  I  must  do  something  decided, 
to  stop  imposition  on  the  little  boys.  I  prayed  for  guidance,  that 
the  offenders  might  take  submissively  whatever  punishment 
should  be  given  them.  Next  morning,  the  23d,  at  prayers,  the 
matter  was  settled.     My  petition  seemed  answered. 

On  Friday,  the  24th,  I  ventured  again  to  leave  my  babe  for 
a  day.  Went  to  Ndona-nyare's  Njomu,  opposite  Yena,  at  Onga- 
mu's  trading-house.  The  chief  welcomed  me  effusively. 
Ongamu  helped  me.  But,  there  was  no  disposition  on  the  part 
of  the  Fan  we  to  sell  or  make  thatch,  unless  goods  were  first 
advanced  in  pre-payment.      (This  vicious  "trust"  system  was 


4jo  MY  OGOWE 

practiced  by  all  the  white  and  native  traders ;  with  the  result  that 
all  natives  were  in  debt,  by  their  deliberately  failing  to  repay  in 
ivory,  rubber,  etc.,  for  the  goods  that  had  l)een  advanced.  I  en- 
dured many  privations  rather  than  recognize  that  "  system " 
with  the  Faiiwe;  they  were  too  uncivilized.  Coast-tribe  men,  I 
could  believe,  would  fulfill  their  promises.)  I  had  to  go  back 
and  forth  several  times  in  the  long  villages,  to  look  for  and  count 
the  thatch  and  bamboo.  Even  then,  I  did  not  always  succeed 
in  making  a  bargain.  Instead  of  sitting  down  and  buying  what 
was  brought  to  me,  I  had  to  go  through  the  humiliating  process 
of  seeking;  and  perhaps  meeting  with  only  indifference.  All, 
because  I  would  not,  as  an  initial  step,  make  some  gift.  (I  was 
willing  to  give,  at  the  close  of  a  bargain.)  But,  Ongamu  was 
honest.  I  left  goods  in  his  hands;  he  would  enjoy  bargaining; 
I  never  did.  I  was  at  the  cottage  again,  by  7  p.  m.  Handi  had 
waited  supper  for  me.  Rut.  as  baby  was  hungry,  I  told  her  to 
eat  her  supper  at  once,  so  that  the  child  might  have  her  evening 
bath,  and  its  always  associated  bottle  of  milk. 

On  Saturday,  the  25th,  Gov.  Kerraoul,  with  Mons.  Michaud 
from  Bowe  Falls  in  the  Interior,  returned  the  borrowed  books, 
and  took  some  new  ones.  He  told  me  that  he  was  expecting 
2000  men  from  the  Interior,  to  take  up,  in  pieces,  a  steamer 
which  was  soon  to  be  brought  from  Gaboon  by  Mr.  Lesteur.  I 
was  grateful  to  him  in  that  he  promised  to  send  me  some  milk, 
as  baby  was  rapidly  using  hers,  and  I  could  not  expect  the  new 
supply  I  had  ordered  from  Liverpool  to  arrive  before  my  then 
present  lot  was  exhausted. 

Just  after  morning  service  of  the  26th,  I  was  seized  with  a 
fever-chill;  could  not  eat  or  do  anything;  unable  to  conduct  Sab- 
bath school,  or  evening  service.  Nevertheless,  I  took  care  of 
baby  at  night.  Nothing  ever  prevented  that  duty.  And,  yet. 
with  the  ability  that  always  came  back  to  me  after  the  twenty- 
fourth  hour.  I  was  up  again,  on  Monday  afternoon,  and  at  work 
on  Mary's  house. 

That  insect  pest,  which  I  have  already  described,  the  eye-worm, 
came  at  intervals  of  a  few  weeks  or  months;  was  endured  on  its 
two  days'  travel;  and  forgotten  until  it  came  again. 

T  noted  carefully  any  changes  in  my  babe.  On  Wednesday, 
the  29th.  her  developments  were  so  obvious,  that  I  made  an 
entry,  "Baby  seems  to  be  growing."  (for.  at  first,  she  had 
weighed  only  5^2  pounds). 

In  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  the  30th.  we  heard  the  rhythmic 
noise   of    the    paddle-wheels    of    the    Okota;    then,    her   whistle 


A  MOTHER-TASK  471 

(which  meant  not  simply  a  salute,  but  a  summons).  While  I 
was  preparing  a  canoe  to  go  off,  my  sister  appeared  with  her 
crew  in  her  Evangeline,  which  had  been  in  tow  of  the  steamer. 
The  vessel  brought  me  five  trunks  and  boxes  of  goods  for  Mrs. 
Nassau  and  myself,  and  a  mail.  There  was  a  valuable  box  of 
presents  to  Mrs.  Nassau  from  dear  friends  in  Freehold,  N.  J. 
My  sister  had  come  to  help  me  arrange  Mrs.  Nassau's  trunks, 
which  I  was  sending  to  the  United  States.  After  all  had  gone 
to  bed,  I  read  my  mail.  That  night  was  the  first  time  since  her 
birth,  that  my  babe  slept  through  the  entire  night;  ordinarily,  I 
had  to  attend  to  her  wants  two  or  three  times,  during  a  night. 

The  Okota  went  down-river  again  on  Saturday,  November  1. 
Sister,  having  her  own  boat  and  crew,  remained.  Metyeba  was 
one  of  the  crew,  and,  I  hired  him  to  make  an  alteration  in  Mary's 
house,  cutting  off  a  space  from  the  dining-room,  and  making  a 
small  bath-room,  for  convenience  of  the  baby,  adjoining  my  bed- 
room. 

This  addition  of  a  warm  closed  bath-room  (in  which  I  placed 
a  little  box-stove)  was  a  great  improvement  on  my  original  plan 
of  the  house.  Stairways  let  from  both  the  sitting-room  and 
bath-room  to  the  second  or  attic  floor.  That  floor  did  not  ex- 
tend over  the  sitting-room ;  it  was  open  to  the  roof.  In  the  attic 
there  were  four  rooms,  for  a  guest,  or  for  school-children,  or 
for  storage. 

On  Wednesday,  the  5th,  my  sister  had  a  long  talk  with  me, 
about  her  future  location.  Besides  her  rare  skill  as  a  teacher, 
she  had  unusual  ability  as  an  administrator.  At  all  the  stations 
of  the  mission,  there  was  always  a  problem  of  authority,  due  to 
the  habit  of  the  natives  of  recognizing  only  one  as  "  chief  "  or 
"  master  "  wherever  two  or  more  whites  were  located  together, 
unless  the  functions  of  those  whites  were  entirely  distinct,  e.  g\, 
one  in  charge  of  the  church,  another  in  charge  of  the  school, 
another  in  charge  of  secular  work.  But,  if  any  two  men  or 
women  were  associated  in  any  one  of  these  departments,  however 
tactful  or  courteous  those  two  might  be  to  treat  each  other  as 
equal,  the  natives  always  made  distinctions  that  sometimes  were 
unpleasant.  For  this,  and  for  other  reasons,  my  sister,  from  the 
very  first,  at  Mbade,  Benita,  preferred  to  have  her  own  house. 
And,  I  had  built  her  one  at  Bolondo  (which,  subsequently,  be- 
came the  station,  and  Mbade  was  abandoned).  When  her 
health  had  begun  to  fail,  in  1877.  and  she  could  not  control 
Bolondo  alone,  she  came  to  me  at  Kangwe,  knowing  that  I  would 
accord  her  the  largest  libertv,  and  unlimited  control  of  her  school 


472  MY  OGOWE 

department.  But,  since  her  return  to  Kangwe  in  1883,  her  as- 
sociation with  Miss  Harding  had  not  been  a  happy  one.  And, 
in  the  prospective  transfer  of  Rev.  A.  C.  Good,  for  1885,  from 
Baraka  to  Andende,  she  was  sure  that  she  would  be  uncomfort- 
able. Mr.  Good  was  a  very  able  man  and  efficient  worker. 
But,  his  natural  constitution  was  such  that  any  one  associated 
with  him  had  to  submit  to  his  direction.  Sister  intimated  that 
she  would  like  to  have  the  mission,  at  its  January  meeting, 
transfer  her  to  Talaguga;  but,  at  the  same  time,  she  said, 
"  Brother.  I  will  help  you  in  any  other  way.  but  I  can  take  no 
care  of  the  child."  That  was  satisfactory.  It  was  true  that  she 
"  knew  nothing  about  babies."  My  three  months'  experience 
had  taught  me  that  I  could  take  better  "  care  of  the  child  "  than 
she  could.  But  she  could  relieve  me  of  the  housekeeping,  which 
would  not  at  all  interfere  with  her  school  hours  (which,  she  had 
been  doing  for  herself  alone  at  Kangwe,  without  the  additional 
advantage  I  gave  her  at  Talaguga,  of  my  providing  the  servants 
and  provisions). 

Friday,  the  7th,  my  babe  was  three  months  old.  On  weighing 
her,  I  found  that  she  had  gained  only  just  three  pounds  in 
weight.  My  sister  returned  to  Kangwe.  As  very  little  more 
carpentering  was  to  be  done  on  Mary's  house  (except  the 
porches)  I  had  it  entirely  swept  and  cleaned,  ready  for  occupa- 
tion. While  I  was  busy  with  two  of  the  men,  under  the  cottage, 
tarring  the  posts  against  white-ants,  and  removing  some  of  those 
ant-eaten  posts  (though  they  had  been  in  use  only  two  years) 
there  came  three  Fan  we  with  the  carcasses  of  a  wild  hog.  a 
monkey,  and  a  wild  rat.  I  bought  largely  for  the  workmen, 
and  they  and  Handi  and  the  two  little  boys  quite  lost  their  heads 
for  any  more  work,  in  their  thinking  of  and  preparing  for  their 
feast. 

The  French  steamer  Conqucz  passed  up  to  the  post,  in  the 
morning  of  the  nth.  In  the  afternoon,  some  Fan  we  shouted 
across  the  river  that  Mr.  Gallibert  wished  me  to  send  my  canoe 
down  to  his  house  for  some  goods  left  there  by  the  steamer.  1 
sent  the  canoe;  and.  it  returned  with  boxes  of  paint. 

It  seemed  almost  impossible  to  teach  my  Fan  we  visitors  not 
to  beg.  I  recognized  the  native  etiquette  that  expected  a  host 
or  hostess  to  give  a  parting  gift  to  the  visitor.  But,  my  visitors 
could  not  restrain  their  cupidity.  They  would  not  wait  until 
their  departure.  And,  often,  when,  in  unwise  kindness.  I  had 
given  in  advance,  they  trespassed  on  the  opened  heart,  and  asked 
for  more.     That  always  vexed  me,  and  spoiled  the  visit.     On 


A  MOTHER-TASK  473 

Friday,  the  14th,  a  man  Zingema  came  to  make  a  call  with  his 
sister  and  his  baby.  I  voluntarily  gave  him  two  good  gifts. 
Then,  he  asked  for  a  third.  I  restrained  myself.  I  gave  a 
third ;  and,  quietly  took  away  one  of  the  two. 

On  Sunday,  the  16th,  three  Fanwe  came,  after  services  were 
over.  I  made  a  special  little  service  for  themselves.  In  the 
afternoon,  Mr.  Gallibert  and  two  other  Frenchmen  called,  on 
their  way  to  the  post.  One  of  the  two  had  recently  arrived 
from  the  Kongo,  and  the  other  was  going  there.  My  interest 
for  the  Interior  was  aroused  more  than  ever  by  their  tales  of 
the  Bateke  tribe,  who  in  language  were  somewhat  like  Faiiwe, 
but  in  disposition  more  docile.  They  reported  that  De  Brazza 
was  not  in  good  health,  and  that  he  was  expected  in  the  Ogowe 
in  a  few  months. 

On  Monday,  the  17th,  Ankombie  with  five  people  came,  on 
his  own  errand  of  canoe-making,  and  asked  permission  to  live 
on  my  premises.  I  felt  doubtful  about  allowing  him ;  for,  when 
he  had  been  at  Talaguga  in  my  service,  though  under  my  rules, 
he  did  not  keep  the  Sabbath  and  he  drank  liquor.  I  feared  that 
he  would  be  an  evil  example,  if  I  accepted  him  as  a  resident,  not 
under  my  control.  But,  as  he  had  been  a  good  workman  and 
helpful  friend,  I  consented.  I  was  not  responsible  for  his  food. 
And,  he  and  his  people  furnished  somewhat  (what  had  always 
been  one  of  the  Talaguga  difficulties)  i.  e.  companionship  for  my 
Galwas.  Xext  day,  Nyare  and  his  people  came  noisily  to  select 
in  the  forest  what  trees  Ankombie  was  to  cut  down  for  his 
canoes.  Then,  came  a  canoe  from  Ongamu,  with  a  welcome 
box  of  dried  fish,  from  Mr.  Reading. 

Then,  came  the  trader,  Asago-mwango  with  his  goods  which 
he  asked  permission  to  land  on  my  premises  for  a  night's  pro- 
tection until  he  could  choose  a  place  at  which  to  locate.  I  al- 
lowed him:  as  he  had  been  honorable;  and,  particularly,  as  he 
was  not  to  open  his  goods  for  trade  on  my  grounds.  All  these 
comings  and  goings  set  my  household  off  their  heads,  and  they 
neglected  their  work  and  even  their  own  meals.  Y\  nile  such 
things  disturbed  the  quiet  which  I  enjoyed  of  my  place,  I  could 
not  but  be  conscious  that  Talaguga  had  grown  in  importance. 
On  a  map  published  about  that  time,  in  England,  among  the  few 
places  marked  above  Lembarene,  was  my  station,  named  as, 
"  Nassau."  At  the  time  when  I  was  alone  on  the  verge,  in  1882, 
travelers  starting  up-river  inquired  how  far  it  was,  "  to  Nas- 
sau's." And,  they  all  stopped  to  rest,  or  to  seek  help,  or  to  ren- 
der a  courtesy. 


474  MY  OGOWE 

On  Wednesday,  the  19th,  Gov.  Kerraoul  came  to  bid  me 
good-by,  as  he  was  going  to  the  Kongo.  He  asked  for  a  pur- 
chase of  matches  and  quinine,  of  both  of  which  I  had  a  good 
supply.  When  I  asked  him  to  accept  them  as  a  parting-gift, 
he  promised  to  send  me  some  bottles  of  milk  for  baby.  Asago- 
mwango  was  still  on  my  premises,  on  Friday,  the  21st,  though, 
when  he  came,  he  had  asked  only  for  a  night's  protection. 

Two  Fanwe  canoes  from  Yena,  wet  with  the  heavy  rain  of 
the  preceding  night,  came  and  stayed  all  day,  afraid  to  pass  in 
daylight  the  post  sentinel.  They  remained  very  quietly;  Koso, 
a  Kangwe  schoolboy,  was  with  them.  (It  was  disheartening, 
that,  just  as  soon  as  our  young  men  in  school  learned  even  a 
smattering,  they  were  tempted  away  into  trade.) 

At  service  on  Sunday,  the  23d,  were  two  Galwa  traders  from 
Nyare's,  and  a  number  of  his  people  with  himself.  Heard  that 
the  Fanwe  who  had  rested  with  me  on  Friday  before,  had  been 
robbed  by  the  Bindube  people  near  the  post.  I  recorded  that, 
"  Baby  is  developing  rapidly,  eats  a  good  deal  more  than  for- 
merly, looks  more  animated,  and  is  beginning  to  notice  persons."' 

Next  day,  Mr.  Gallibert  sent  for  me,  saying  that  he  was  sick. 
I  went  to  him,  and  found  that  he  had  an  obscure  pain  in  the  right 
groin.  I  advised  him  to  seek  a  surgeon.  As  he  had  nothing 
but  a  small  canoe,  I  sent  to  him  my  large  one,  at  night,  so  that 
he  should  be  ready  to  start  early  the  next  morning. 

Ndona-nyare  came  from  Njomu,  on  his  way  up-river,  and 
stopped  for  the  night.  He  was  present  at  prayer-meeting. 
After  which,  I  entertained  him  in  various  ways.  Among  others, 
I  showed  him  the  little  fireworks  called  "  Pharaoh's  serpents." 
They  surprised  him  very  much. 

Just  as  the  Okota  was  reported  coming,  in  evening  of  the  26th, 
I  was  seized  with  a  sharp  chill  that  made  me  so  weak  as  to  be 
almost  indifferent  to  what  was  going  on.  I  took  off  my  shoes, 
and  went  to  bed,  unable  to  remove  any  of  my  clothing,  and  re- 
mained so  all  night.  Fortunately,  baby  was  very  good  and  quiet. 
Before  I  gave  up  entirely,  I  had  sent  a  canoe  to  the  Okota,  and 
wrote  a  note  requesting  passage  for  Ompwenge  and  On  jingo,  who 
wished  to  leave. 

The  next  day.  the  27th.  though  weak  and  faint,  I  went  to  the 
Okota,  to  superintend  the  landing  of  my  furniture  and  other 
property  for  Mary's  house.  My  people,  without  my  supervision, 
had  carelessly  allowed  a  mattress  to  get  wet.  There  was  mat- 
ting for  the  floor,  a  chair  for  baby,  fireworks  with  which  to  cele- 
brate davs  and  amuse  my  household,  and  a  box  of  gifts  from 


A  MOTHER-TASK  475 

Freehold,  N.  J.,  friends.  So  suddenly  came  and  as  suddenly 
went,  those  African  chills,  in  my  personal  experience,  that,  by 
Friday,  the  28th,  I  was  able  to  go  to  Ongamu,  at  Ndona-nyare's 
Njomu,  for  bamboo,  for  the  new  outbuilding's.  Though  the 
water  was  higher  than  I  had  known  it  for  three  years,  my  crew 
pulled  admirably.  By  the  departure  of  the  two  on  the  Okota, 
I  had  very  few  hands  remaining.  But,  the  man  Ankombie 
loaned  me  four  of  his  people.  I  had,  with  hesitation,  allowed 
him  to  live  on  the  premises ;  but,  I  found  him  companionable  and 
helpful. 

On  Saturday,  the  29th,  the  Akcle,  a  little  steamer  of  the  new 
English  firm  of  J.  Holt  &  Co.,  passed  up,  inspecting  sites,  for 
the  location  of  a  trading-house.  My  small  number  of  hands 
was  still  farther  reduced  by  the  desertion  of  Nambo,  after  being 
convicted  of  stealing. 

During  the  four  months,  after  Mrs.  Nassau's  death,  in  my  de- 
votion to  the  care  of  her  babe;  and,  in  efforts  to  complete  the  new 
house,  I  had  given  very  little  supervision  to  the  kitchen,  leaving 
the  two  assistants  there  much  to  their  own  devices.  With  the 
result  that  there  was  theft  and  waste,  which,  on  the  Saturday, 
had  culminated  in  Nambo's  crime.  So,  on  Monday,  December 
1,  I  had  to  investigate  the  domestic  affairs,  and  locked  up  the 
soap,  fish,  sugar,  etc.,  giving  myself  the  additional  care  of  per- 
sonally handing  out  the  needed  daily  supply. 

While  at  work  in  the  afternoon  of  the  4th,  in  the  attic  of 
Mary's  house,  Njagu-demba,  from  Ngwilaka,  came.  Some  time 
before,  leprosy  had  developed  in  him.  I  saw  that  it  was  rapidly 
becoming  worse ;  and,  was  told  that  his  women  were  deserting 
him,  and  that  his  power  and  prestige,  as  a  head-man,  were  gone. 

Next  day,  Simbuve  came  to  complain  of  some  questions  I 
had  asked  him  while  investigating  Nambo's  thefts.  I  had  made 
no  charge  or  even  imputation.  That  he  resented  my  question 
seemed  to  be  the  outcome  of  a  guilty  conscience,  and  that  he 
probably  had  some  guilty  complicity  (though  I  did  not  tell  him 
so).  Two  Frenchmen  came  from  the  post  to  buy  food  of  me! 
In  my  orders,  from  England  and  the  United  States,  I  generally 
allowed  for  delays  and  losses,  and  made  the  orders  large.  So, 
happening  to  have  a  good  supply  of  meats  on  hand,  I  was  able 
to  spare  to  the  gentlemen,  over  $7  worth  of  canned  meats. 

Sunday,  December  7.  Baby  was  four  months  old.  Though 
she  was  well,  she  had  gained  only  one  pound  per  month.  The 
local  difficulty,  which  I  had  carefully  watched,  almost  hourly, 
daily,  for  a  month,  with  a  compress  and  bandage,  had  happily 


476  MY  OGOWE 

disappeared;  and,  I  finally  removed  the  bandage.  A  Fanwe, 
Otsago,  came  to  live  on  the  premises  and  work  for  me.  The 
very  first  Fanwe  who  had  done  that !  Others  had  worked  only 
as  day-laborers.     Simbuve  asked  for  baptism. 

Next  day,  during  the  morning,  the  French  steamer  Conquez, 
passing  up,  whistled.  I  went  in  a  canoe  alongside  of  her  (for, 
she  did  not  stop,  the  current  opposite  Talaguga  being  very 
strong)  and  was  handed  a  letter  from  my  sister,  written  at 
Libreville.     I  had  not  known  that  she  had  gone  thither. 

On  Friday,  the  12th,  I  sent  the  men  for  building  material  to 
Yena.  I  remained  with  the  house-painting  and  the  baby;  with 
whom  I  had  a  long  hard  time.  For,  the  sand-flies  were  dread- 
ful, worse  than  I  had  known  them  for  three  years.  (I  think 
that  the  wind  brought  them  from  a  peculiar  quarter.) 

On  Sunday,  the  14th,  the  Mpongwe  trader,  Njalele,  with 
eight  other  coast-people,  and  several  Fanwe,  came  to  services. 
But,  my  household  were  not  in  a  pleasant  frame  of  mind.  Sim- 
buve was  still  sullen.  And,  even  good  Handi  seemed  out  of 
humor,  and  did  not  speak  kindly  to  baby.  That  hurt  me  more 
than  anything  else.  I  begged  her  to  be  more  tender.  Perhaps 
she  was  not  well ;  for,  the  next  day,  I  relieved  her  of  much  of 
her  duty  with  the  babe,  in  order  that  she  might  recover  herself. 
One  of  Ankombie's  men  agreeably  surprised  me  by  saying  that, 
when  his  contract  was  ended,  he  wished  to  remain  and  work 
for  me.  The  Akele  came  to  locate  a  trading-house  near 
Nyare's  town.  The  white  trader,  Mr.  Ahrens,  called  on  me,  to 
ask  my  opinion  of  the  locality. 

Simbuve  asked  for  the  loan  of  my  little  canoe,  that  he  might 
go  on  a  vacation  of  three  or  four  months,  as  he  was  "  tired  of 
eating  farinya."  His  manner  was  not  respectful.  But,  I  made 
no  reply  until,  in  the  evening,  after  prayer-meeting,  I  called  him, 
and  told  him  that  it  was  not  true  that  he  had  had  only  farinya; 
for,  I  had  offered  him  part  rations  of  rice,  and  was  giving  him 
fish  twice  a  day.  1  gave  him  a  long  talk,  justifying  myself; 
and  he  responded  properly.  Then,  we  knelt,  and  I  prayed  with 
him. 

During  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  17th,  came  the  Okota, 
bringing  the  1000  feet  last  consignment  of  boards  for  the  com- 
pletion of  Mary's  house.  Best  of  all,  it  brought  from  Igenja, 
three  workmen,  my  faithful  Mamba  of  my  days  at  Kangwe 
(and  who,  subsequently  had  been  equally  faithful  to  Mr.  Read- 
ing) Awora,  a  christian,  and  a  younger  lad.  I  gave  thanks  for 
their  arrival ! 


A  MOTHER-TASK  477 

In  the  afternoon,  I  had  sewing  to  do;  a  new  task  since  Mrs. 
Nassau's  departure.  I  did  not  ask  Handi  to  do  any  such  work 
for  me.  She  sewed  for  herself  and  for  the  babe.  I  wished  her 
to  feel  that  her  whole  service  belonged  to  my  child.  In  that 
service,  she  had  the  aid  of  a  little  girl,  Fiti,  whom  she  had 
brought  with  her  from  the  coast,  and  whom,  for  a  while,  she 
had  left  at  Kangwe,  but  who  was  subsequently  brought  to  her 
at  Talaguga. 

After  my  sewing,  I  relieved  Handi  of  the  babe,  in  order  that 
she  could  finish  her  (own  clothing)  ironing.  Awora,  with 
marked  oriental  politeness,  spoke  of  bringing  to  me,  at  the  late 
day,  sympathy  for  Mrs.  Nassau's  death. 

Thursday,  the  18th,  was  a  red-letter  day.  Mamba  promptly 
at  work,  planing  boards ;  and  Awora  drying  the  farinya  that  had 
been  dampened  in  landing.  Everybody  in  a  fresh  good  humor, 
and  apparently  happy;  all  due  to  the  arrival  of  Mamba.  and  his 
two  companions. 

About  noon,  the  Conquez  steamed  past,  on  its  way  to  the  post 
at  Asange.  Ankombie's  people  working  for  me  were  very  care- 
ful to  observe  all  rules,  and  to  ask  permission  for  what  they 
wished  to  do  for  themselves.  At  night  of  Friday,  tlie  inquiry 
class  was  very  satisfactory,  on  my  new  plan,  of  their  voluntary 
study  of  Bible  history.  The  study  that  evening  was  on  The 
Fall. 

After  breakfast  on  Saturday,  the  20th,  I  had  just  handed 
baby  to  Handi  for  her  bath,  and,  after  putting  her  little  bed  to 
rights.  I  had  gone  outdoors  for  a  short  while.  When  I  returned, 
1  was  surprised  and  delighted  to  see  Count  De  Brazza  standing 
in  my  front  doorway.  He  had  just  arrived  overland  from  the 
Kongo.  He  was  in  great  haste.  The  Conquez  was  to  come  in 
a  few  minutes  from  the  post,  and  would  pick  him  up.  As  it 
would  not  stop  at  Talaguga,  he  had  come  in  advance,  in  a  small 
canoe ;  as,  in  his  courtesy,  he  would  not  pass  me  by,  without  a 
salutation.  He  spoke  kindly  and  tenderly  of  Mrs.  Nassau  and 
the  baby.  I  snatched  up  a  letter  I  had  ready  for  the  United 
States,  and  went  with  him  down  hill,  talking  rapidly  as  we 
went.  I  knew  of  his  rivalry  with  Stanley  in  the  Kongo  Interior ; 
(if  Stanley's  efforts  for  the  organization  of  the  mis-called 
"Kongo  Free  State";  and  of  De  Brazza's  treaties  with  the 
native  kings  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Kong'o.  Speaking  of  his 
annexation  to  France  of  that  part  of  the  Kongo,  he  exclaimed, 
"  It  is  done,  without  firing  a  shot,  excepting  of  a  soldier  of  one 
of  my  subordinates;  and  him  I  dismissed.     It  is  peace!"     He 


478  MY  OGOWE 

was  thin ;  and  there  were  eruptions  on  his  hands  and  face,  from 
his  experiences  in  the  jungle;  but,  he  seemed  vigorous.  He  took 
charge  of  my  letter;  and  said  that  he  would  soon  return  from 
Libreville.  Then,  he  presented  me  with  two  pigs  brought  from 
the  Interior. 

For  the  Saturday  afternoon  visitations,  I  appointed  Mamba, 
in  place  of  Handi,  who  had  been  attending  to  them  for  me.  In 
the  evening  Ndona-nyare  with  people  and  goods,  on  his  way  up- 
river,  stopped  in  my  convenient  boat-shed  over  night. 

Next  day,  Sunday,  all  of  his  people  were  at  morning  prayers ; 
but,  afterward  they  were  noisy;  and,  himself  attempted  to  go 
hunting  on  my  premises.  I  had  to  order  away  some  of  Xyare's 
people,  who,  with  their  baskets,  wished  to  make  a  short  cut 
across  my  grounds  to  their  gardens.  Many  persons  at  services. 
Gave  Mamba  a  class  of  two  little  lx>ys  at  Sabbath  school  to 
teach  them  the  alphabet.  Ndona-nyare  left ;  but,  on  his  way, 
was  followed  by  Nyare,  with  a  quarrel  on  the  river.  Nyare 
had  learned  his  lesson  not  to  attack  on  my  premises.  I  loosened 
the  two  pigs;  they  were  tame:  and  were  satisfied  to  remain  near 
the  cottage.  Awora  came  to  confess  some  evils  in  his  life,  and 
his  desire  to  return  to  the  christian  path.  After  all  my  favors 
to  Ankombie's  people.  Simbuve  reported  to  me  that  one  of  them 
had  stolen  a  tin  of  paint.  I  was  weary  of  investigations,  and 
did  nothing  to  the  man  but  order  him  off  the  premises,  and 
closed  one  of  the  two  huts  I  had  been  allowing  his  master  to 
use.     Then,  the  offender  threatened  revenge  on   Simbuve. 

In  my  duty  to  my  babe,  I  had  given  up  entirely  the  important 
work  of  itineration.  Glad  of  Mamba's  presence,  though,  useful 
as  he  was  in  carpentering  the  last  jobs  on  the  house.  T  arranged 
a  four  days'  tour  for  him  to  the  villages  on  both  banks  of  the 
river,  down  as  far  as  Erere-volo.  And.  that  I  might  be  still 
farther  relieved  (as  Mrs.  Ogden  had  declined  to  come  to  my 
aid)  I  wrote  to  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya,  the  native  pastor  on  Corisco 
Island,  to  seek  for  me,  another  educated  christian  woman  like 
Handi,   to   be   her  companion,   and   to  assist  me   in   the   house. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  24th.  my  friend,  Mr. 
Gebauer.  of  the  German  house,  at  Lembarene,  called,  in  sym- 
pathy. It  was  he  who  had  given  Mrs.  Nassau  the  name,  "  The 
Lady  of  the  River.'' 

Alundo's  batch  of  bread  would  not  rise,  and  was  spoiled. 
The  pigs  had  a  feast  on  it.  Handi  often  got  angry  with  her 
little  Fiti,  and  quarreled  with  her  in  an   unseemly  manner.      I 


A  MOTHER-TASK  479 

did  not  pretend  to  decide  whether  the  child  was  right  or  wrong; 
but,  I  insisted  with  Handi  that,  in  her  control  of  the  little  girl, 
there  should  be  no  angry  tones  in  the  presence  of  or  hearing  of 
my  babe.     I  dreaded  the  moral  influence  of  such  tones. 

Thursday,  December  25.  I  took  no  notice  of  the  Christmas. 
It  meant  nothing  to  me  in  the  isolation  of  that  African  forest. 
The  Fanwe  had  not  heard  of  the  day.  In  the  more  civilized 
portions  of  the  river,  it  was  known  to  some  of  the  natives, 
from  the  example  of  foreigners,  as  a  time  for  revelry,  and  the 
one  occasion  on  which  white  men  distributed  liquor  free.  My 
few  employees  did  not  seem  to  remember  the  anniversary;  and, 
we  kept  on  at  our  daily  works.  I  relieved  Handi  all  morning, 
of  the  care  of  the  baby.     I  did  not  forget  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem. 

In  the  afternoon,  two  of  Mr.  Gallibert's  people  came  with 
two  letters,  addressed  to  laptot-soldiers  at  the  post.  They  said 
that  the  French  trading-steamer  Jeanne-Louise  had  brought 
them,  and  that  the  captain  had  sent  them  to  me  to  forward.  I 
did  not  believe  them,  and  declined.  I  had  not  gone  to  Njoli  or 
the  post  since  my  life  had  been  threatened  in  the  previous  May; 
I  needed  my  few  men  at  work  ;  and  the  two  men  who  had  brought 
the  letters  one  mile  to  me,  could  just  as  well  go  on  the  remain- 
ing five  miles  to  Asange. 

Mamba's  step-father  came  to  call  him  to  go  and  see  his  sick 
relative  Sambunaga,  a  former  Kangwe  employee,  and  a  church- 
member.  I  did  not  think  that  it  was  Mamba's  duty  to  go ;  for, 
Sambunaga  had  chosen  the  ways  of  earth :  I  thought  that  "  the 
dead  should  bury  their  dead."     But,  I  permitted  him  to  go. 

On  Sunday,  the  28th,  I  spoke  on  the  history  of  Jonah.  After 
meeting,  cook  Alundo  said  that  he  had  never  heard  of  that 
story,  and  wanted  to  read  it  himself.  I  was  gratified  with  even 
that  expression  of  interest.  And,  in  the  afternoon,  after  Sab- 
bath school,  lie  asked  about  an  illustration  I  had  given  in  prayer- 
meeting  two  weeks  previous.  I  had  spoken  of  christians  being 
known  by  their  ways,  and  not  simply  by  that  name:  and,  re- 
ferring to  the  common  fact  of  a  hen  hatching  a  brood  of  ducks, 
I  said  that  no  one  could  make  the  mistake  of  calling  that  brood 
"  chickens  " ;  that  they  were  ducks  would  be  shown  by  their 
ways.  e.  g.  going  into  water,  etc. 

In  the  evening  of  Wednesday,  the  31st.  my  household  enjoyed 
themselves  very  much  with  American  and  British  illustrated 
newspapers.  They  knew  nothing  of  "  Xew  Year's  Eve."  And, 
alone  by  myself,  I  had  nothing  to  meet  me  but  memories. 


480  MY  OGOWE 

Thursday,  January  I,  1885.  In  the  morning,  mending  my 
clothing-.  In  the  afternoon,  superintending  the  building  of  the 
new  outhouses.  But,  I  left  work  early,  to  pay  the  men  their 
month's  wages.  Discovered  that  Fiti  and  Ambaga  had  been 
stealing  butter.  These  two  little  thieves  were  my  baby's  play- 
mates !  Had  intended  to  give  a  little  fireworks  exhibition  in 
the  evening;  but,  because  of  the  offenses  of  the  day,  I  did  not. 
Simbuve  thought  it  was  because  I  suspected  him  of  liquor- 
drinking.  He  worked  for  himself  part  of  a  day,  making  chests. 
But,  he  said  he  could  not  find  time  to  prepare  a  lesson  in  Bible- 
reading  for  the  Friday  evening  inquiry  class.  From  this,  I 
thought  there  was  little  depth  in  his  profession  of  desire  for 
baptism. 

Servants,  the  world  over,  are  often  trying,  by  their  mistakes 
and  neglects.  And,  sometimes  the  tried  nerves  of  the  master 
or  mistress  aggravate  the  difficulties.  Monday,  the  5th,  was  an 
evil  day:  Little  Fiti  had  neglected  to  cook  Handi's  rice,  the 
evening  before,  so,  her  breakfast  not  being  ready,  Handi  was 
angry  at  her,  and  even  with  me ;  so,  I  fed  and  nursed  baby  my- 
self all  the  morning.  Leaving  the  babe,  in  the  afternoon,  I  went 
to  see  the  men's  work,  and  had  to  tear  down  the  imperfect  job 
that  Simbuve  had  done,  without  my  supervision,  in  which  he 
had  broken  one  of  the  window-latches.  And,  Ra-Wire  was 
dreadfully  slow  in  painting.  And,  even  good  Awora  was  very 
stupid.  And,  cook  Alundo  was  almost  disobediently  neglectful 
of  my  directions.  I  was  so  wearied  that  I  gave  up  in  despair; 
and,  leaving  the  men  to  their  own  devices,  I  returned  to  the 
cottage,  where  I  found  Handi  nursing  the  baby.  I  took  the 
child  in  my  own  arms;  and  then  had  a  kind  talk  with  Handi. 
She  made  explanations  and  apologies ;  and  the  rough  places 
were  smoothed  again. 

About  noon  of  Tuesday,  the  6th,  the  Oviro,-  belonging  to  the 
new  English  firm  of  J.  Holt  &  Co.,  came.  To  my  delighted  sur- 
prise, it  brought  Mamba ;  but  no  mail.  There  were  verbal  re- 
ports that  my  sister  was  still  at  Libreville.  Also,  that  Rev.  A. 
C.  Good  had  visited  Rev.  W.  H.  Robinson  (who  had  returned 
from  the  United  States  married)  at  Kangwe,  and  had  assisted 
him  in  the  church  communion;  and,  that  both  of  them  had  gone 
to  Libreville,  for  the  meetings  of  mission  and  presbytery  at 
Baraka.  Of  course,  I  did  not  even  think  of  leaving  my  five 
months'-old  babe,  to  go  to  those  meetings,  important  as  they 
were,  and  though  1  was  stated  clerk  of  presbytery.  For  more 
than  twentv  vears  I  had  never  failed  in  the  duty  of  attendance. 


A  MOTHER-TASK  481 

Next  day,  in  the  morning,  a  heavy  tornado  blew  down  several 
large  trees  near  the  cottage ;  and  flung  broken  limbs,  from  a 
very  large  tree,  over  the  roof  of  Mary's  house,  tearing  it  in  several 
places.  I  immediately  spent  the  day  in  repairing  the  roof ;  and 
set  three  men  to  cut  down  the  large  tree,  at  the  east  end  of  the 
house.  Baby  was  well  and  smiling,  and  trying  to  make  articu-  * 
late  sounds. 

In  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  8th,  I  had  to  wait  so  long 
for  my  breakfast  (cook  Alundo  having  gotten  up  late),  that, 
after  calling  several  times  for  the  food,  I  went  out  (all  our 
kitchens  are  detached,  in  Africa)  and  drove  him  from  the 
kitchen,  and  finished  the  cooking  myself.  I  had  been  so  patient 
with  him,  that  he  was  startled  at  his  punishment,  and  was  most 
diligent  in  getting  firewood  and  other  kitchen-works  all  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day.  On  weighing  baby,  she  did  not  measure 
up  to  quite  ten  pounds.  She  would  have  gained  more,  had  she 
not  been  worn  by  a  month's  irritation  of  boils  and  other  erup- 
tions. But,  these  were  over,  and  she  was  very  well,  slept  almost 
all  the  nights,  and  was  awake  most  of  the  days.  (But,  the  boils 
frequently  returned,  during  the  next  five  years.  In  my  own 
experience  also,  I  found  that  they  were  the  alternative  to  exemp- 
tion from  the  dangerous  African- fever.)  My  demonstration 
toward  Alundo  evidently  impressed  him ;  he  became  prompt, 
industrious,  and  respectful.  The  evening  inquiry  lesson  was 
on  the  building  of  Noah's  Ark ;  with  thoughts  on  the  church,  as 
God's  Ark  of  Safety.  After  the  meeting,  the  young  men  had 
their  own  prayer-meeting,  as  usual  ("Christian  Endeavor"?). 
I  was  becoming  hungry  for  a  mail.  I  had  had  nothing  since 
November  26 ;  and,  there  were  yet  to  come  many  responses  to 
my  letters  telling  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  death  five  months  previously. 

After  evening  prayers  of  Saturday,  the  10th,  Alundo  came  to 
ask  for  baptism.  He  really  seemed  to  understand  the  meaning 
of  the  ordinance.  I  began  to  think  that  his  acceptance  of  my 
recent  discipline  of  him  was  not  simply  fear,  but  a  good  recogni- 
tion of  his  failings,  and  repentance  therefor. 

On  Monday,  the  12th,  I  found  some  Fan  we  women  washing 
themselves  in  the  brook  at  the  water-side.  I  did  not  use  that 
portion  of  the  brook,  as  I  took  my  water  from  the  stream  higher 
up  in  its  course  (at  Mrs.  Nassau's  pool)  and  nearer  to  the  cot- 
tage. But,  my  workmen  took  their  drinking-water  from  that 
lower  portion.  While  I  had  no  objection  to  the  public  taking 
water  from  there,  I  did  object  to  its  being  used  also  as  a  bath. 
(Though,  that  was  a  common  practice  among  all  the  natives.) 


482  MY  OGOWE 

Mamba  came  respectfully  to  inquire  whether  there  was  not  an 
error  in  the  weekly  extra  I  gave  him.  At  first,  I  told  him  there 
was  not :  and  he  went  away  quietly.  Then.  I  looked  over  my 
accounts,  and  found  that  I  did  owe  him  two  francs  more  a  week 
for  the  previous  three  weeks.  It  was  a  rare  bit  of  respect  he 
had  given  me,  in  that  he  had  not  complained  or  been  sullen. 
After  evening-prayers.  I  paid  him  the  balance  due. 

In  my  longing  for  a  mail,  I  had  two  disappointments;  first, 
when  a  canoe  arrived  from  Ongamu  at  Njomtt;  and,  later,  when 
on  Tuesday,  the  13th,  Mr.  Gebauer  from  Lembarene,  stopped  to 
call  on  me.  But.  no  mail,  by  either.  (  Xo  one  at  Kangwe,  to 
attend  to  forwarding.) 

Simbuve  had  been  sick  for  several  days;  no  medicine  I  gave 
him  seemed  to  do  any  good.  I  consented  to  his  wish  to  go  to 
his  people.  Notwithstanding  his  occasional  temper,  he  had 
been  a  good  worker.  I  paid  him  his  monthly  wages  for  Janu- 
ary in  full;  and  his  year's  contract  (which  was  not  due  until 
February)  also  in  full,  and  presented  him  with  $5.  as  he  ex- 
pected to  return,  and  to  contract  for  another  year  (  when  he 
would  bring  his  wife  with  him),  and  loaned  him  a  canoe  and 
crew  (to  be  returned  in  two  months)  to  take  him  to  his  home. 

He  started  quietly,  in  the  morning  of  the  15th.  leaving  me 
very  short-handed,  only  two  workmen,  besides  the  house-serv- 
ants. Ankombie  finally  completed  and  launched  the  three  canoes 
on  which  he  had  been  working.  Four  canoes,  of  the  Bisa  clan 
of  Faiiwe  stopped  for  the  night  ;  they  were  quiet.  The  natives 
had  learned  that,  though  1  welcomed  them,  and  gave  them 
shelter  on  their  journeys.   I   could  not  allow  disorder. 

On  Friday,  the  1 6th.  1  finished  my  clothes-mending  that  had 
occupied  me  at  intervals  during  many  days. 

Nyare  came  to  pay  Ankombie  for  the  canoes;  and.  of  course, 
there  was  some  disputing.  Then.  Ankombie  and  his  people 
came  to  say  good-by  to  me.  in  the  evening.  But.  he  did  not 
even  thank  me  for  his  two  months'  use  of  my  huts.  (  Though  I 
had  paid  them  full  wage,  for  whatever  work  they  had  done  for 
me.)  The  only  remaining  member  of  the  inquiry  class  present 
was  Alundo;  and  he  was  not   very  attentive. 

On  Saturday,  the  17th,  1 1  audi  was  not  well,  and  I  offered  t<> 
take  care  of  baby  Mary.  But,  she  said  that  she  would  try  to 
keep  up.  The  premises  were  very  quiet,  Ankombie  and  his 
people  being  gone.  The  two  pigs  were  rooting  happily  tor 
worms  in  the  mud  at  the  water-side. 

All    the   afternoon,    I    kept    my   babe,    while    flandi    went,    as 


A  MOTHER-TASK  483 

usual  with  Maniba  to  the  village  visitations.  While  the  babe 
slept.  I  tried  to  read  George  Eliot's  "  Adam  Bede."  I  had  not 
liked  her  "Felix  Holt"  and  "Daniel  Deronda."  Nor,  was  T 
pleased  with  "Adam  Bede."  The  mastery  over  words,  and  the 
description  of  feeling  and  of  character  were  wonderful ;  but,  I  did 
not  like  its  religious  or  even  its  moral  influence. 

On  Monday,  the  19th,  Handi  was  really  sick,  and  could  not 
work  at  all,  except  to  wash  and  dress  Mary,  whom  I  attended 
all  day,  except  at  meals,  when  Piti  took  my  place.  I  did  not 
know  what  work,  if  any  was  going  on,  at  the  new  outhouses. 
I  was  becoming  so  hungry  for  a  mail ! 

Wednesday,  the  21st.  was  another  crooked  day:  Handi  still 
sick.  Cook  Alundo  began  late.  Did  not  wash  the  dining- 
room,  until  time  for  cooking,  which  made  dinner  late.  I  found 
that  he  had  left  eight  or  ten  tins  greasy  and  unwashed  for  a 
month,  and  was  using  new  utensils,  being  too  lazy  to  wash  the 
old.  When  I  told  him  to  clean  them,  and  brush  up  the  kitchen, 
he  spent  the  entire  afternoon  at  it:  which  made  supper  late. 
Fortunately,  baby  Mary  was  good,  except  that  she  was  restless. 
and  1  could  not  understand  her  wants.  I  did  not  believe  that  she 
was  hungry,  as  T  kept  her  regular  hours  for  food.  I  suspected 
the  irritation  of  gums   from  coming  teeth. 

Xext  day,  I  placed  a  bed-frame  in  the  kitchen,  for  Handi.  as 
she  wanted  to  lie  near  a  fire  (the  custom  o\  all  the  natives,  when 
they  were  ill).  Fanwe  were  coming  and  going  all  day.  Xyamba 
and  her  daughter  brought  yams  for  sale.  Young  traders  from 
Xjalele  came  to  buy  hatchets.  (The  natives  soon  saw  the 
superiority  of  the  American  over  the  British  tools.)  There 
came  a  canoe  of  people  from  Ndona-nyare,  opposite  Yeria. 
Akendenge,  a  former  employee,  now  a  trader,  came  to  visit  his 
brother  Maniba.  Akendenge's  breath  was  redolent  of  liquor. 
(Liquor  was  a  stumbling  block  for  our  church-members,  more 
than  their  own  native  polygamy.)  At  night,  there  was  a  beau- 
tiful moonlight.  m  T  sat  under  it.  alone,  with  many  varied 
thoughts:  of  my  wife  who  had  passed  away;  of  her  "  little  girl 
(as  she  had  called  her  with  her  dying  breath)  whom  she  had 
left  in  my  care:  of  the  almost  entirely  completed  houses  I  had 
begun  for  her:  and,  how  little  of  the  comforts  T  had  tried  to 
gather  for  her.  she  had  lived  to  see. 

A  notable  day,  Friday,  January  23.  Just  as  T  was  investi- 
gating a  theft  by  cook  Alundo,  of  some  oatmeal  (which  had 
made  me  late  at  dinner)  was  heard  the  whistle  of  the  Okoia. 
Putting  a  piece  of  batter-cake  in  my  mouth.  T  ran  down  hill,  to 


484  MY  OGOWE 

get  out  the  Swan.  Akendenge  helped  me ;  and  he  and  Mamba 
paddled  me  to  the  vessel's  side.  There  were  my  sister,  five  of 
her  young  men  pupils,  her  household  effects,  my  returned  em- 
ployee Ompwenge  with  three  new  ones,  mv  new  six  months' 
supply  of  provisions,  and  a  two  months'  mail !  I  was  over- 
whelmed with  the  arrival  of  so  many  blessings.  I  landed  all 
the  goods  and  furniture  at  Mary's  house,  at  once ;  and  my  sister 
immediately  occupied  the  room,  which,  in  my  plan  I  had  desig- 
nated "  the  spare-room."  She  was  the  first  to  enter  the  com- 
pleted house!  But,  for  the  night,  I  returned  to  my  babe  in  the 
little  bamboo  cottage  on  the  hill-side :  and  sat  up  late  reading 
my  mail.  They  were,  most  of  them,  letters  of  condolence;  from 
natives  in  other  parts  of  our  field,  fellow-missionaries,  and  rela- 
tives and  friends  in  the  United  States,  twenty-eight  in  all :  and 
eight  delayed  letters  for  Mrs.  Nassau.  In  my  twenty-eight,  the 
notes  of  sympathy  and  kindness  were  complete,  excepting  in 
two.  They  were  meant  to  be  kind,  and  really  were  so  in  words. 
But,  they  came  from  persons,  of  whom  I  had  such  painful  mem- 
ory, that  their  present  words  of  sympathy  ("without  any  words 
of  reparation  for  wrongs)  were  marred  by  the  memory  of  those 
wrongs.  I  wished  they  had  not  written.  I  had  tried  to  forget 
them. 

On  Saturday,  the  24th.  T  was  very  much  exhausted  by  my 
dav's  work  of  arranging  the  interior  of  the  new  house.  Almost 
fell  into  the  brook  from  one  of  the  log  bridges  at  the  little 
island,  as  I  returned  to  my  hill-side  cottage  at  night. 

On  Sunday,  the  25th,  held  the  morning  services  on  the  front 
porch  of  the  new  house  ("more  than  twice  as  much  space  as  on 
the  little  porch  of  the  cottage).  Many  Fanwe  were  present, 
having  come  to  see  the  new  "  white  woman." 

On  Monday,  the  26th,  began  to  remove  my  own  goods  and 
furniture  from  the  cottage  to  Mary's  house.  And,  my  little 
Mary  entered  into  possession  of  the  home  that  should  have  been 
her  mother's.  T  had  intended  to  use  my  stored  fireworks  as  a 
combined  celebration  of  her  entering  her  new  home  and  as  a 
welcome  for  my  sister's  arrival;  but,  the  night  was  too  stormy. 

It  was  an  immense  relief  to  me.  that  coming  of  my  sister. 
She  told  me  the  long  tale  of  events  at  the  annual  meetings  at 
Baraka;  Mr.  Reading  was  removed  from  Kangwe,  to  be  mission 
treasurer  at  Baraka;  Rev.  A.  C.  Good,  with  wife  and  infant 
Albert,  was  transferred  from  Baraka  to  Kangwe.  to  be  associated 
with  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Robinson.  And,  my  sister  was  transferred 
from  Kangwe  to  Talaguga    (for  reasons   T  have  already  men- 


A  MOTHER-TASK  485 

tioned,  irrespective  of  me  or  my  child).  It  was  inevitable  that 
she  should  leave  Kangwe.  Coming  to  me,  she  knew  that  I  had 
always  given  her  the  largest  liberty.  She  would  be  unhampered 
in  all  and  any  of  her  school  plans.  She  would  be  given  boat 
and  crew  whenever  she  chose  to  go  on  a  day's  itineration.  And, 
in  her  taking  charge  of  my  domestic  affairs,  a  great  burden  was 
removed  from  my  shoulders.  I  put  my  kitchen  servants  and 
my  provisions,  unqualifiedly  into  her  hands  and  control.  Her 
supervision  of  that  work  did  not  interfere  with  her  teaching 
hours.  Nor,  was  there  laid  on  her  any  greater  burden,  in  car- 
ing for  my  table,  than  she  had  had  at  Kangwe,  in  caring  for  her 
own.  I  would  be  free  to  attend  properly  to  the  station  and  the 
religious  services.  Only,  there  remained  with  me,  the  care  and 
control  of  my  little  Mary.  Of  this,  my  sister,  in  kindly  offer- 
ing to  relieve  me  of  the  housekeeping,  repeated  what  she  had 
told  Mrs.  Nassau  a  year  previously.  I  thought  that  she  was 
entirely  satisfied  that  it  should  be  so.  I  certainly  was.  For,  it 
was  true  that  she  knew  nothing  of  infants.  And,  I,  after  my 
six  months'  experience  of  mothering,  believed  that  I  did  know. 
Therefore,  she  understood  that  she  was  to  have  no  care  or  con- 
trol of  my  child.  Handi  also  understood  perfectly  that,  though 
we  were  in  the  new  house,  her  and  my  relation  to  duty,  care, 
and  control  of  the  babe  remained  unchanged,  viz.  ( 1 )  the  child 
was  under  my  sole  control  (2)  except,  in  the  event  of  my  ab- 
sence, when  she  was  to  be  in  Handi's  (3)  in  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  child,  Handi  was  to  take  orders  only  from  me.  With 
this  clear  understanding,  the  Talaguga  new  household  started 
out  on  its  career.  [Well  would  it  have  been,  if  my  sister  had 
abode  by  the  terms  she  herself  had  dictated.] 

The  evening  of  Wednesday,  the  28th,  was  clear,  and  the  de- 
ferred fireworks  celebration  was  held  with  crackers,  torpedoes, 
pin-wheels,  Roman  candles,  and  rockets.  In  the  afternoon  of 
Friday,  the  30th,  my  sister,  in  the  Nelly-Howard,  went  down- 
river, to  bring  the  last  of  her  effects  from  Kangwe. 

My  little  Mary  was  developing  in  activity  and  observation, 
but,  not  much  in  weight.  At  the  end  of  her  sixth  month,  she 
had  added  only  six  pounds  to  her  original  weight ;  eleven  pounds 
was  a  small  weight  for  a  six  months'  old  baby. 

On  Wednesday,  February  11th,  the  Okota  came,  bringing 
thirty  boxes  of  my  sister's  effects.  Herself,  in  the  Nelly-How- 
ard was  coming  more  slowly,  on  an  itineration  among  the  vil- 
lages.     She  returned  on  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  14th. 

On  Tuesday,  the  17th,  I  thought  it  desirable  to  make  a  cour- 


486  MY  OGOWE 

tesy  call  on  the  new  "  Governor  "  at  the  post.  Since  the  asser- 
tion of  the  former  commandant.  Mons.  Kerraoul,  that  the  Xjoli 
sentinel  was  set  only  against  trade-men,  and  the  decided  apolo- 
gies and  regrets  of  Dr.  Ballay  and  other  officials.  I  thought 
nothing  of  the  existence  of  that  sentinel,  lint,  again.  I  was 
stopped,  and  with  difficulty  was  allowed  to  pass.  It  was  a  long 
pull,  those  five  miles  to  Asange  Island.  I  was  anxious;  for,  I 
had  left  my  little  Mary  not  very  well.  And.  on  my  return,  she 
was  worse.      I  changed  her  food,  and  her  clothing. 

On  Saturday,  the  21st.  the  Okota  passed  up,  carrying  De 
Brazza,  his  people,  and  his  goods,  for  another  Interior  expedi- 
tion. 

On  Sunday,  the  22(1.  the  Okota  came  down  to  its  anchorage 
across  the  river  at  Xyare's ;  and.  its  captain  in  a  hoat  brought 
me  a  barrel  of  rice  from  the  French  in  payment  of  the  tins  of 
meat  they  had  bought  three  months  before.  Baby  was  in  good 
health  again.  For  the  first  time,  she  actually  laughed:  all  her 
previous  efforts  had  been  only  smiles. 

There  had  been  an  unpleasant  incident  about  Handi,  on  Mon- 
day, the  23d.  Notwithstanding  my  explicit  statement  to  her. 
when  my  sister  came,  that  the  latter  was  to  have  nothing  to  (}c> 
with  the  babe,  Handi  suspicioned  that  1  wished  to  get  rid  of 
her!  For  two  days  she  behaved  very  improperly.  After  an 
unsatisfactory  talk,  she  resumed  her  care  of  my  babe. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day.  a  French  Roman  Catholic 
priest  called,  bearing  a  friendly  message  from  I)e  Brazza.  Of 
course,  1  treated  the  man  politely,  though  I  had  no  confidence 
in  his  own  expressions  of  friendship.  At  his  request,  I  gave 
him  a  copy  of  my  Fail  we  primer. 

It  was  so  slow,  waiting  for  natives  to  cut  bamboo  for  build- 
ing, and  they  .asked  so  much  of  a  price,  as  if  they  were  doing  me 
a  great  favor,  that  I  ventured  to  leave  the  babe,  now  that  she 
was  six  months  old.  With  a  crew  of  seven,  I  went  on  the  26th 
down  as  far  as  Njomu,  to  N\lona-nyare's ;  and,  leaving  one  to 
guard  the  canoe,  I  went  with  the  other  six  into  the  forest  bam- 
boo-palm swamp,  and.  under  my  eye.  they  rapidly  cut  a  canoe- 
load  of  fronds.  That  night,  at  the  village,  though  I  had  given 
the  men  a  generous  supply  of  fish,  Piere  stole.  I  did  not  dis- 
cover the  lo<>  until  next  day.  when  loading  the  canoe.  Believ- 
ing that  all  were  guilty.  \  thought  to  punish  them  by  depriving 
them  of  meat  for  the  day,  and  threw  all  the  rations  into  the 
river.  I  was  much  depressed  about  the  very  little  conscience 
even  my  educated  people  had  about    stealing.      In   the  evening, 


A  MOTHER-TASK  487 

after  our  return  home,  on  investigating,  Piere  exonerated  all 
except  Ompwenge;  and  said  that  himself  had  intended  volun- 
tarily to  confess,  and  to  pay  a  fine.  . 

On  Thursday,  March  5,  just  as  I  was  starting  to  Njomu 
again,  I  met  the  Okoia,  I  turned ;  and,  boarding  the  vessel,  I 
found  Mr.  Schiff  quite  sick.  And,  about  noon,  came  the  Gam- 
bia, with  a  half-barrel  of  clothing  from  York,  Pa.,  and  tin  boxes 
of  provisions  for  me,  from  Mrs.  Nassau's  United  States  friends, 
and  a  box  for  my  sister  from  our  Lawrenceville,  N.  J.,  relatives. 
I  spent  the  afternoon  in  opening  and  examining  the  contents  of 
the  half-barrel.  It  was  from  a  missionary  society  in  York, 
Pa.,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Small  family,  a  gift  to  my  baby 
Mary.  Her  mother's  death  had  aroused  much  sympathy  in 
missionary  circles  in  the  United  States,  and  these  friends,  none 
of  them  personal  acquaintances,  had  generously  and  lovingly  sent 
their  presents  to  my  child.  I  wrote  them  a  special  acknowledg- 
ment, which  was  published  under  the  title,  "  That  Little  Half- 
barrel." 

Wearied  with  Alundo's  laziness  and  thefts,  I  sent  him  away 
on  the  Okota.  And,  then,  I  resumed  my  interrupted  journey 
of  the  day  before.  A  pleasant  young  Galwa  trader,  Sika,  had 
his  trading-house  not  far  from  Ndoiia-nyare's  deserted  village, 
and,  I  stayed  over-night  with  him,  after  the  men  with  me  in  the 
forest  had  done  a  good  day's  work.  I  had  sat  under  the  shade 
of  a  tree,  reading,  and  superintending  them.  While  sitting  there, 
an  antelope  suddenly  appeared,  quite  near  to  me.  I  returned 
successfully  the  next  day,  having  borrowed  Sika's  large  canoe 
(which  I  had  to  send  back  the  following  Monday,  to  recover  my 
own).  On  my  return  that  Saturday,  I  found  that  De  Brazza 
had  been  at  Talaguga  to  visit  me,  and  to  rest  from  his  plans  of 
travel,  he  being  not  very  well. 

On  Monday,  the  9th,  in  the  Swan,  I  went  to  the  post  on 
Asange  Island,  to  return  De  Brazza's  call.  There  was  no  sen- 
tinel on  Njoli !  (I  think  that  I  saw  the  effect  of  the  count's 
finger.)  I  spent  the  day  with  De  Brazza.  and  dined  with  him; 
there  being  present  also,  the  "  Governor,"'  four  priests,  and  five 
other  white  men.  It  made  me  very  restless  to  think  that,  after 
ten  years  in  the  Ogowe,  I  was  no  nearer  the  Interior  than  Tala- 
guga, and  that  Roman  Catholic  missionaries,  under  the  care  and 
the  expense  of  the  French  government,  that  hampered  our 
schools  and  our  preaching,  were  being  carried  past  me,  hundreds 
of  miles  interiorward.  On  Wednesday,  the  1  ith,  Mr.  Sinclair, 
passing  in  the  Gambia,  stopped,  and  stayed  to  dinner  with  us. 


488  MY  OGOWE 

The  removal  of  my  possessions  from  the  cottage  had  been  a 
slow  process.  Finally,  on  the  13th,  I  brought  Mrs.  Nassau's 
organ,  that  had  stood  untouched  for  so  many  months ;  and,  my 
sister  had  it  cleaned  for  use.  Sika's  wife,  Mbaga,  came  to  make 
Handi  a  visit ;  the  latter  at  once  interested  herself  in  her,  as 
Handi's  position  with  me  was  rather  lonely  and  without  compan- 
ionship.    She  at  once  set  herself  to  make  dresses  for  her  visitor. 

On  Monday,  the  16th,  my  sister,  in  the  Szvan  with  a  crew  of 
five,  went  on  an  itineration  down  to  Belambla.  (To  avoid  repe- 
tition, I  mention,  at  this  point,  that  similar  itinerations  were 
made  by  her,  in  my  place,  during  the  following  two  years.) 

Next  day,  my  baby  fretted  a  good  deal  in  the  afternoon,  I 
think  Handi  neglected  her,  being  much  occupied  in  the  dress- 
making for  Sika's  wife.  Fiti  had  attached  herself  to  my  sister, 
and  was  very  diligent  in  complying  with  her  orders  about  dust- 
ing her  room  and  the  sitting-room.  The  child  found  a  Goliath 
beetle,  larger  than  the  one  I  had  sent,  about  two  years  before, 
by  hand  of  Mr.  Reading,  to  Dr.  Lockwood  of  New  Jersey. 

On  the  1 8th,  many  Fan  we  came  from  a  village  down-river, 
below  Erere-volo.  Just  after  sunset,  Sika's  canoe  came  for  his 
wife,  and  she  left  immediately. 

Next  day,  in  the  morning,  came  the  Okota;  it  whistled, 
slowed ;  and,  I  went  alongside,  and  was  given  a  box  containing  a 
very  large  mail,  twenty-two  of  the  letters  coming  from  the 
United  States.  After  I  had  hastily  read  them  all,  I  left  my 
workmen,  and  sat  down  to  answer  by  the  Okota  expected  on  its 
return  from  the  post  next  morning.  It  was  difficult  to  fix  my 
thoughts,  after  such  a  confusion  of  messages  and  loving  words 
from  so  many  sources.  But,  if  I  did  not  write  just  then,  prob- 
ably there  would  be  no  other  opportunity  of  sending  to  Le- 
mbarene  for  two  weeks. 

The  next  day,  I  had  my  mail  all  ready  before  prayers,  and 
sent  it  by  one  of  my  men,  in  a  canoe  which  I  loaned  to  a  native 
trader,  who  was  going  down  near  to  Yefia,  where  the  Okota 
expected  to  stop.  For,  vessels  would  slow  for  me,  coming  up 
stream,  which  they  could  readily  do.  while  they  were  battling 
with  a  swift  current.  But,  on  their  way  down  stream,  they 
would  not  stop.  When  my  man  returned,  he  brought  back  the 
letters.  For  some  stupid  reason,  he  had  failed  to  go  to  the 
steamer.  I  was  so  indignant,  that,  fearing  lest  my  tongue 
should  go  amiss,  T  said  nothing  to  him  for  two  days.  My  sis- 
ter returned  in  the  evening,  with  an  account  of  the  difficulties  she 
had  experienced  at  Belambla. 


A  MOTHER-TASK  489 

On  Saturday,  the  21st,  I  had  to  tear  down  part  of  the  wall  of 
one  of  the  outhouses  that  had  been  badly  built  when  I  left  the 
men  to  themselves,  to  write  my  letters  on  the  19th.  It  would 
have  been  better  had  I  told  them  to  sit  down  and  do  nothing. 
In  the  afternoon,  Handi  accidentally  let  the  baby  slip  from  her 
lap,  and  the  child's  head  struck  against  the  hub  of  the  wheel  of 
her  carriage,  and  two  lumps  were  raised  on  the  forehead.  She 
cried  hard;  but,  soon  was  comforted.,  It  was  the  first  accident 
she  had  had. 

On  Sunday,  the  22d,  my  baby  was  well  and  happy.  In  the 
twilight  of  the  evening,  I  felt  very  lonely,  as  I  sat  humming  to 
myself  the  hymns  which  had  been  favorites  with  the  child's 
mother. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  the  24th,  came  Sika  with  his 
wife,  to  make  complaint  against  cook  Mbigino,  for  having  tried 
to  induce  her,  while  she  was  visiting  Handi,  to  abandon  her  hus- 
band. I  did  not  take  part  in  the  discussion.  Such  affairs  were 
common.     It  was  possible  that  Mbigino  was  guilty. 

JOURNEY  TO  KANGWE. 

My  mother-task  had  prevented  any  long  journey,  for  eight 
months.  I  felt  that  my  brain  needed  some  change  of  vision. 
I  decided  to  go  down  to  the  quarterly  communion  at  Kangwe 
(though  I  had  no  responsibility  in  the  charge  of  that  church). 
My  little  babe,  almost  eight  months  old,  I  would  not  take  with 
me ;  for,  the  latter  rainy  season  was  on,  a  season  of  storms. 
And,  Handi  promised  to  give  her  special  care.  I  had  made  all 
preparations  on  the  previous  day ;  and,  in  order  to  make  the  run 
in  one  day,  I  arose  at  3  a.  m.  of  Friday,  the  27th,  quietly  called 
the  crew,  dressed,  and  loaded  the  boxes,  etc.,  etc.,  into  the  boat, 
without  disturbing  either  my  sister  or  Handi.  Little  Mary  did 
not  wake,  until  just  as  I  was  ready  to  leave.  I  took  her,  fondled 
her,  handed  her  to  Handi  to  be  fed,  and  with  good-by  to  my 
sister,  started  at  4.30  a.  m.,  leaving  her  in  charge  of  the  house. 
I  went  out  into  the  darkness  with  lonely  thoughts.  'Would 
Handi  be  sure  to  take  care  of  my  little  one?  I  stopped  at  many 
places  on  the  way,  with  various  errands.  At  the  Benga  trader's, 
Uduma,  and  heard  that  a  young  Benga  man,  Imunga  (who 
subsequently  became  a  pupil  of  my  sister),  was  there.  Below 
Erere-volo,  met  the  Okota,  and  Mr.  Schiff  handed  me  a  few 
letters.  At  Laseni's  newT  place  near  Abange  by  9.30  a.  m.,  and 
rested  there  three  hours,  and  ate  breakfast.  On  to  Belambla, 
for  a  few  minutes,  and  heard  of  Bayio's  canoe  being  shot  at. 


4<>o  MY  OGOWE 

and  one  of  his  crew  killed,  and  that  Mburu,  brother  of  one  of 
my  crew,  Awora,  was  wounded.  By  5  p.  m.,  was  opposite  the 
Ngunye  mouth.  A  bright  6  p.  m.  sunset.  But  a  heavy  oppos- 
ing- wind  met  us  as  we  approached  Andende  at  7  p.  m.  Were 
welcomed  by  Mrs.  Good  with  her  infant  Albert,  and  Mrs.  Rob- 
inson. 

Xext  day,  Saturday,  there  was  session  meeting  in  the  morn- 
ing, at  which  Mr.  Go<xl  invited  me  to  be  present.  But,  in  pur- 
suance of  my  usual  custom  of  carefully  refraining  from  taking 
part  in  the  affairs  of  another's  station,  I  declined.  T  walked 
around  to  see  the  changes  of  the  preceding  months,  including 
the  handsome  new  houses  that  Mr.  Reading  had  built.  There 
was  preparatory  service  in  the  afternoon,  at  which  Mr.  Good 
preached.  After  which,  Mrs.  Robinson  kindly  played  for  me 
some  pieces  of  secular  music,  which  she  had  just  brought  from 
the   United  States,  but  which  were  entirely  new  to  me. 

On  Sunday,  the  29th,  the  church  services  were  late  in  l>egin- 
ning;  the  arrangements  for  the  orderly  distribution  of  the  ele- 
ments were  not  well  made,  which  detracted  from  the  solemnity 
of  the  communion.  Tn  accordance  with  my  view  of  ecclesi- 
astical courtesy,  which  T  had  held  toward  Rev.  Dr.  Bushnell  in 
the  organization  of  the  first  Ogowe  church.  T  regarded  myself 
as  in  Mr.  Good's  parish,  and  I  brought  the  Talaguga  converts 
to  Andende.  to  be  examined  by  the  session  there.  As  a  result. 
Ompwenge,  Simbuve.  and  Mbuvago  of  my  Galwa  people  were 
baptized.  1  hoped  for  a  church  at  Talaguga  when  Fanwe  hearts 
should  be  softened.  Awora  went  down  to  Igenia  with  his 
wounded  brother  Mburu.  At  evening  worship.  I  was  seized 
with   violent   pains  something  like   ptomaine   poisoning. 

On  Monday,  the  30th.  got  a  supply  of  goods  from  Mr.  Rob- 
inson, out  of  the  Andende  store:  took  from  the  Mill  my  few 
remaining  things,  and  settings  of  shaddock  trees,  which  I  had 
planted  near  the  spring,  years  before. 

The  next  day.  went  with  Mr.  Good  to  make  calls  on  the  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Lembarene  trading  houses;  stayed  for  dinner  at 
the  German  house,  where  also  were  several  other  traders,  by 
invitation.  It  was  a  streak  of  civilization,  with  which  T  was 
not  familiar  at  Talaguga!  Returning.  I  packed  my  boxes 
for  the  home  journey;  and  led  the  prayer-meeting  in  the  even- 
ing. 

Mrs.  Nassau's  death  having  made  necessary  a  change  in  my 
will,  though  there  was  no  legal  notary,  before  whom  to  subscribe 
the  document.   I   thought  best  to  make  one.  signed  by  Mr.  and 


A  MOTHER-TASK  491 

Mrs.  Good,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson,  which  might  possibly 
be  accepted  as  legal,  in  case  of  my  death. 

The  Okota  was  going  up  the  Ngunye,  and  Mr.  Good  wished 
to  make  an  excursion  there.  Rising  at  3.45  a.  m.  of  Thursday, 
April  2,  I  had  my  boat  laden,  and  was  off  with  him  by  6  a.  m.  ; 
and  around  the  island,  at  Lembarene  by  7  a.  m.  to  the  Okota. 
The  steamer  towed  me;  and,  at  9  a.  m.  T  cast  off,  as  the  vessel 
turned  into  the  Ngunye.  Proceeding  up  the  Ogowe,  I  stopped 
at  Mr.  Ermy's,  for  a  sheep  belonging  to  my  sister;  was  over- 
taken by  a  tornado;  and  reached  Belambla  by  7  p.  m.  I  felt  so 
lonely,  in  the  deserted  dwelling,  with  a  memory  of  the  desola- 
tions of  the  past,  that  T  left  the  house,  and  slept  in  the  boat. 
A  trader,  Azile,  was  living  near  by.  Xaturally,  T  was  unre- 
freshed  on  Friday  morning,  and  was  in  a  low  state  of  mind  and 
heart;  and,  the  crew  were  slow.  A  French  stern-wheel  steamer 
passed  us.  Stopped  to  eat  at  Xjagu-demba's  old  town.  Saw 
Laseni  at  a  villag'e,  and  went  to  his  house,  and  sent  my  people 
into  the  forest-gardens  to  buy  plantains.  Stayed  at  Laseni 's  for 
the  night;  in  the  evening  enjoying  the  singing  of  English  hymns 
with  him  and  his  wife. 

On  Saturday,  the  4th,  started  late.  Laseni  gave  me  a  quarter 
of  the  sheep  he  had  killed  for  my  arrival.  Ate  in  the  forest, 
near  Erere-volo.  Stopped  at  Sambunaga's.  to  debark  a  passen- 
ger. Passed  Vena  under  sail  (the  first  time  a  sail  had  appeared 
in  that  part  of  the  river).  And.  at  dusk,  there  being  signs  of 
storm,  unloaded  the  boat  at  Mavyan's  village.  And.  though  so 
near  to  my  home,  remained  there  over  Sunday,  holding  services. 
In  the  afternoon,  there  was  an  alarm  of  an  elephant  discovered 
in  the  gardens. 

Xext  day,  Monday,  the  6th,  re-loading  the  boat,  the  crew,  in 
good  humor,  took  to  the  oars  (they  had  been  using  paddles, 
with  which  they  were  more  familiar).  And,  were  at  Talaguga 
by  11  a.  m.  T  found  my  little  Mary  fatter  than  when  T  left  her. 
ten  days  previously,  and  well,  except  that  she  had  had  a  large 
boil  on  her  back,  and,  just  then,  a  cold  in  her  head  and  slight 
cough.  While  I  was  away,  two  of  my  sister's  own  men  had  left 
her  service.  In  the  afternoon,  a  canoe  from  the  Benga,  Uduma. 
stopped  to  see  Handi :  and  those  two  men,  with  two  more  whom 
sister  had  loaned  to  me  in  my  crew,  secretly  deserted  with 
Lduma's  people.  Tt  looked  as  if  there  was  a  conspiracy  on  his 
part.  Tt  was  just  another  illustration  of  the  great  difficulty 
there  was  in  obtaining  and  retaining  workmen  at  Talaguga. 
Tt  was  not  because  of  my  personality  that  employees  had   left 


492  MY  OGOWE 

me.  And  those  four  young  men  were  apparently  devoted  to 
my  sister  while  she  was  at  Kangwe.  But,  Kangwe's  market 
was  full  in  quantity  and  variety  of  food.  Talaguga's  food-sup- 
ply had  ever  been  with  me,  short,  and  was  still  difficult,  even 
after  more  than  three  years'  residence  there.  When  I  let  loose 
my  sister's  sheep  on  the  premises,  it  was  much  afraid  of  my  two 
pigs. 

On  Tuesday,  the  7th,  at  the  monthly  weighing  of  my  babe, 
I  was  glad  to  see  in  the  fourteen  pounds,  a  slight  increase  over 
the  previous  regular  one  pound  per  month.  I  set  out  the  little 
trees  I  had  brought  from  Kangwe. 

At  evening  prayer-meeting,  I  called  for  prayer  on  Ompwenge 
and  Simbuve,  the  newly-baptized  church-members.  I  had  always 
seen  natives  playing  with  kuda-nut  balls,  twirling  them,  as  tops 
by  a  curious  position  of  the  thumb  and  first  finger  of  each  hand, 
but  I  had  never  succeeded  in  the  trick,  until  that  evening. 

I  tried  to  buy  of  a  passing  canoe,  some  porcupine  meat  (deli- 
cate and  tender).  But,  the  owner  wanted  percussion-caps,  or 
brass-tacks,  or  brass-wire,  or  brass-jewelry,  none  of  which  I  had 
in  the  stock  of  goods  in  my  little  store-room. 

In  those  days,  at  all  our  stations,  all  purchases  and  payments 
were  made  only  in  goods.  It  was  a  cheap  system,  but  a  very 
troublesome  one.  The  article  most  commonly  desired  by  the 
natives,  and  with  which  food  could  always  be  obtained,  was 
tobacco-leaf.  It  was  dealt  in  by  most  missionaries  (though  none 
of  us  used  it).  At  Mrs.  Nassau's  wish  I  refrained  from  dealing 
in  it ;  localise  of  my  adhering  to  that  principle,  we  often  were 
in  want. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  the  10th,  the  Akele  came;  and, 
not  finding  their  house  ready  at  Nyare's,  it  came  over  to  my 
side,  and  asked  me  for  storage  room.  Its  officers  brought  their 
towed  cutter  alongside  my  landing,  and  the  white  trader  (for- 
merly on  the  Bata  coast  in  the  Benita  region)  and  the  captain 
took  supper  with  me,  and  the  former  remained  over-night  in  my 
new  house.  I  sat  up  late,  writing  letters  to  go  by  the  Akele; 
a  special  one  to  my  friend  lawyer  James  S.  Aitkin,  of  Trenton, 
N.  J.,  who  kindly  attended  to  my  legal  business.  For  several 
days,  I  had  had  an  undefined  dread  of  some  coming  evil.  It 
came,  after  evening-prayers  of  the  15th,  when  Simbuve,  who. 
twenty-four  hours  before  had  pleasantly  consented  to  remain, 
•  in  a  certain  increase  of  wages,  as  a  contract  for  a  year,  came 
and  demanded  more.  I  pointed  out  his  cupidity;  his  falseness, 
in  breaking  the  bargain  he  had  just  made;  his  small  return  for 


A  MOTHER-TASK  493 

the  favors  I  had  shown  him  at  the  close  of  his  previous  year; 
my  missionary  instruction  of  him ;  and  his  christian  profession. 
On  Saturday,  the  18th,  the  Okota  came,  bringing  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Good  and  their  infant  son,  on  a  visit. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  went  with  Mr.  Good,  on  a  tramp 
up  the  mountain,  to  the  source  of  the  brook,  whose  water  we 
drank  near  its  junction  with  the  Ogowe.  We  returned  very 
wet,  with  specimens  of  what  we  believed  to  be  iron,  sulphur, 
coal,  and  plumbago.  Of  the  iron  I  was  positive;  for,  its  red 
stain  was  deposited  on  the  banks  of  the  stream,  and  it  constantly 
was  seen  in  the  iron  cooking-vessels  of  my  kitchen.  The  plum- 
bago Mr.  Good  sent  to  a  friend  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  who  wrote 
back  that  it  was  real  (though  inferior). 

On  Wednesday,  the  22(1,  I  celebrated  the  arrival  of  my  guests, 
by  a  display  of  fire-crackers.  Next  day,  Mr.  Good  took  his 
wife  and  my  sister,  on  an  excursion  to  Njoli  Island.  And,  on 
Saturday,  the  25th,  he  kindly  made  himself  useful,  by  cleaning 
the  inside  works  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  organ ;  and,  it  again  pro- 
duced its  sounds  correctly.  On  Monday,  the  27th,  he  left,  on 
an  excursion  to  Belambla. 

On  Wednesday,  the  29th,  Ompwenge,  who  had  been  acting 
strangely,  came  and  made  a  confession ;  and  restored  himself 
to  my  confidence.  But,  next  day,  Simbuve,  who,  for  two  weeks 
had  been  conducting  himself  sullenly,  treated  me  so  insultingly, 
that  I  dismissed  him,  temporarily,  from  his  work.  It  was  fre- 
quent that  employees  were  neglectful,  sometimes  disobedient, 
occasionally  disrespectful.  But.  it  was  rare  that  they  were  in- 
sulting to  me.  It  was  pay  day,  for  the  entire  household ;  I  paid 
him  with  the  others.  As  I  had  given  him  time  to  reflect,  and 
he  came  with  no  apology,  in  the  evening  I  told  him  that  he 
should  no  longer  work  for  me.  He  was  defiant;  and  left  my 
premises. 

On  Friday.  May  1,  both  the  babes  were  sick;  and  Mr.  Good's 
servant-girl  refused  to  help  with  the  carrying  of  little  Albert. 
Simbuve  dared  to  attempt  to  use  my  carpenter-shop ;  and,  being 
refused,  took  little  Ambaga.  with  him,  and  went  to  Nvare's. 
Had  he  made  any  expression  of  regret,  I  would  have  forgiven 
him.  Mr.  Good  returned  from  Belambla  late  in  the  afternoon. 
And,  in  the  evening,  he  told  me  that  Simbuve  had  been  to  see 
him,  and  wished  to  have  a  conference  with  us  two.  I  declined. 
Simbuve  knew  well  that  I  was  always  merciful  to  the  repentant ; 
he  could  have  come  to  me  without  the  interference  of  any  one 
else.     And,  if  his  object  was  to  justify  himself,  I  refused  to  be 


494  MY  OGOWE 

judged  by  either  him  or  Mr.  Good.  My  little  Mary  had  quite 
a  high  fever,  which,  complicated  with  a  boil  on  her  spine,  kept 
her  sick  for  several  days. 

On  Monday,  the  4th,  Mr.  Good  wished  to  go  hunting;  but, 
at  my  suggestion,  he  was  contented  to  take  my  rifle,  and  shoot 
one  of  my  pigs.     So,  we  had  fresh  meat  for  several  days. 

One  of  my  standing  rules  was,  that,  however  much  my  people 
might  quarrel  among  themselves,  there  should  be  no  striking. 
(  That,  was  my  prerogative,  on  only  very  rare  occasions.)  On 
the  6th,  cook  Mbigino  struck  Fiti.  T  waited  for  him  to  come 
and  express  regret.  As  he  did  not,  in  the  evening  I  called  him ; 
and,  his  offense  being  aggravated  by  his  striking  a  female  and 
one  much  smaller  than  himself,  I  fined  him  $1.00  (trade).  He 
promptly  paid  it. 

On  Thursday,  the  7th,  was  up  at  3  A.  m.,  to  get  Mr.  Good's 
crew  and  boat  in  order,  so  that  he  and  his  family,  by  starting 
before  6  a.  m.  might  make  the  run  to  Andende  in  one  day. 
Sent  my  people  to  Yeiia  for  bamboo.  This  was  "  weighing- 
day  "  for  my  little  Mary;  9  months        i(>  pounds. 

Tn  the  morning  of  the  8th,  came  a  man  in  a  small  canoe, 
with  a  mail,  who  said  that  it  had  been  brought  by  the  Gambia, 
which  was  at  the  mulatto  trader.  Walker's,  about  a  mile  down- 
river (where  Laseni,  and  Mr.  Gallibert,  had  formerly  lived), 
and  that  there  were  boxes  there  for  me.  Nyare  and  several  of 
his  women  were  at  the  house  just  at  the  time,  asking  medicine 
for  his  little  boy.  my  namesake  "  Nasfi."  1  took  three  of  the 
women  to  paddle  for  me  in  a  small  canoe,  to  Walker's;  and 
returned  with  two  of  the  boxes.  Most  of  Walker's  people  were 
drunk.  Opening  the  boxes  immediately,  \  found  that  one  of 
them  was  from  the  United  States,  presents  of  little  garments, 
from  my  sisters  Mrs.  Gosman  and  Mrs.  Swan,  for  their  niece 
Mary.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  came  the  Akclc.  On  its  way.  it 
had  kindly  picked  up  and  towed  my  bamboo-laden  canoe.  As 
soon  as  the  bamboo  was  landed,  1  turned  the  crew  around,  and 
went  again  to  Walker's,  returning  with  a  church-bell,  and  two 
large  boxes  of  furniture.  Xot  until  night  came  bad  1  time  to 
read  my  large  mail  of  13  letters  from  the  I'nited  States,  besides 
others    from    fellow -missionaries  and   native    friends. 

Next  day,  Saturday,  in  the  morning,  the  .  Ikclc,  with  the 
schooner  she  had  been  towing,  came  to  my  landing,  and  loaded 
off  the  goods  that  had  been  left  with  me  in  storage  a  month  be- 
fore. I  Mere  and  his  wife  left  on  the  .Ikclc.  They  were  not 
in  friendly  relations  with  even  their  fellow-workmen.     The  two 


OGOWE    FIRST   CHURCH,  AXDENDE   (SIDE  VIEW) 

Facing  page  495 


A  MOTHER-TASK  495 

men  whom  I  directed  to  take  them  in  a  canoe  to  the  vessel,  did 
so  unwillingly.  I  had  always  appreciated  that  Talaguga  was  a 
lonely  place  for  my  employees.  They  wanted  company,  after 
their  day's  work.  And,  I  had  often  allowed  them  to  take  my 
canoes,  and  visit  the  adjacent  trading-houses.  But,  those 
houses  had  hecome  so  numerous,  and  the  liquor-drinking  so  ex- 
cessive, that,  on  Monday,  the  10th.  I  announced  to  my  house- 
hold, at  evening-prayers,  that,  while  I  could  not  forbid  them  to 
make  their  visits.  I  would  not  encourage  them  by  allowing  any 
longer  the  use  of  my  canoes. 

In  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  15th.  came  the  Okota.  It 
brought  me  nothing  but  an  insulting  letter  from  run-away  cook, 
Mbigino.  saying  that  he  would  not  return,  unless  I  refunded  him 
the  dollar  I  had  fined  him  for  striking  Fiti.  (Doubtless  some 
influence  from  Simbuve,  who  continued  his  annoyances,  from 
Nyare's. ) 

I  never  yielded  to  threats. 

Sunday,  the  17th,  was  a  day  of  confusion.  My  people  heard 
that  little  Ambaga  (who  had  been  taken  away  by  Simbuve, 
when  he  left  me,  to  live  at  Nyare's.  with  the  trader  Antyuwa) 
had  been  wounded  by  the  latter  with  a  paddle.  Tn  the  excit- 
able way  in  which  the  natives  rush  to  their  sick  friends,  they 
all  wanted  to  go  to  Nyare's.  As  the  wound  was  not  at  all  seri- 
ous, and  they  were  not  going  with  medicine,  but  only  out  of 
curiosity,  T  did  not  consider  it  was  a  case  of  "  necessity  or 
mercy."      (But.  T  gave  them  the  canoe,  next  day.) 

I  watched  and  noted  every  development  in  my  little  Mary. 
Up  to  Wednesday,  the  20th.  she  always  expected  to  go  to  her 
crib  immediately  after  the  evening  bath.  Bui,  now,  she  stayed 
awake,  to  see  and  hear  things  until  9  p.  vr.  And,  at  evening- 
prayers,  she  began  to  make  attempts  to  join  in  the  singing. 

Yambala.  the  chief  of  the  Okota  town  of  Tsangaladi,  twenty 
miles  u|>-river.  near  the  beginning  of  the  Rapids,  came  to  see  me. 
My  heart  always  fluttered  with  excitement  when  people  from 
the  Interior  visited  me.  Tsangaladi  was  the  spot  T  had  thought 
of.  in  T882.  as  the  real  first  Interior  station,  for  which  Talaguga 
was  to  be  only  a  way-station.  I  gave  the  old  man  gifts:  and 
T  hoped  that  he  would  be  able  to  supply  me  with  work-people 
more  reliable  than  the  touchy  Galwas. 

I  was  never  able  to  understand  how  Simbuve  and  Ompwenge. 
to  whom  I  had  given  go  much  instruction,  had  been  patient  with 
their  faults,  and  had  shown  them  favor,  and  had  been  the  means 
of  bringing  them  in  the  church,   should  so  suddenly  after  that 


496  MY  OGOWE 

tender  occasion,  have  turned  against  me  with  unusual  unkind- 
ness  and  disrespect. 

Handi  was  sick  and  had  been  able  to  do  nothing  at  all  for 
the  babe  all  day,  even  as  to  the  morning  and  evening  bath. 
I  too  attended  to  that,  the  first  time  in  the  babe's  life;  for,  how- 
ever sick  or  unwilling  Handi  may  have  been  at  times,  she  had 
at  least  attended  to  Mary's  bath.  Baby  did  not  cry  at  all  in  my 
hands  during  the  process,  nor  until  near  her  sleepy  hour  of  9 
p.  m.  I  washed  her  and  played  with  her  in  the  games  she  kept 
up  to  that  hour,  until  Handi  was  well  again  on  the  third  day. 
I  was  glad  to  take  it  as  a  sign  of  my  baby's  growth  and  vigor. 
On  the  25th,  the  little  wounded  Ambaga  (only  a  slight  wound) 
was  sent  to  me  to  care  for  and  medicate.  As  Simbuve  had 
taken  the  child  from  me,  I  declined,  until  Simbuve  himself  would 
bring  him  back. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  27th,  the  Gambia  came,  with  a  supply 
of  farinya  and  trade-cloth,  and  letters  from  Kangwe.  Mr. 
Robinson  was  seriously  ill.  Next  day,  Mary's  first  tooth  was 
beginning  to  appear.  In  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  the  29th,  Sika 
came,  bringing  his  wife  Mbaga,  on  another  visit  to  Handi. 
With  her  was  a  little  dog  that  very  much  attracted  Mary's  at- 
tention. Mbaga  had  also  a  little  Fanwe  boy.  whom  she  had  res- 
cued from  being  thrown  away  in  the  forest,  because  he  had  no 
relatives  to  take  care  of  him. 

Mary  no  longer  was  satisfied  with  indoors ;  she  enjoyed  being 
nut  of  doors,  now  that  the  rains  had  ended.  One  of  the  young 
citron  trees  I  had  planted  near  the  cottage,  was  already  fruiting. 

JOURNEY    TO    MR.    ROBINSON. 

On  Tuesday,  June  2,  at  ir  a.m.,  came  an  English  trader, 
Mr.  Seddons,  in  the  Gambia,  sent  by  Mr.  Good,  to  call  me  to 
Mr.  Robinson's  dangerous  condition.  The  fact  that  he  was 
still  alive,  after  a  week  of  African  fever,  gave  me  a  slight  hope. 
(One  of  the  two  "  African  fevers  "  is  sometimes  fatal  in  three 
days.)  Tn  half-an-hour,  I  had  given  directions  to  my  house- 
hold, taken  a  change  of  clothing,  and  was  on  the  Gambia,  hast- 
ing down-river  the  sixty-five  miles  to  my  sick  friend.  Reached 
Andende  at  5.30  p.  m.  The  good  little  launch  had  made  eleven 
miles  per  hour.  Fortunately,  the  water  in  the  river  was  yet 
high,  and  we  were  not  troubled  to  slow  in  the  shallow  channels, 
as  in  the  two  dry  seasons.  I  arranged  with  Mr.  Good  a  course 
of  medicine  for  Mr.  Robinson,  and  took  half  of  the  night  in 
watching. 


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OGOWE   FIRST  CHURCH,  ANDENDE  (REAR  VIEW) 

facing  page  497 


A  MOTHER-TASK  497 

The  next  day,  Wednesday,  the  3d,  Mr.  Robinson's  symptoms 
were  such  that  I  believed  his  life  was  in  danger.  Everything  in 
the  way  of  medicine  had  been  tried,  apparently  without  success. 
He  begged  earnestly  for  a  cold  bath,  his  skin  being  so  hot  and 
dry  (though  the  weather  was  pleasantly  cool).  As  a  last  re- 
sort, I  consented;  and  prepared  the  tub  of  water  at  his  bed- 
side, lifted  him  into  it,  hastily  bathed  him,  for  only  a  few  min- 
utes ;  and,  then,  without  drying  away  the  water,  covered  him 
with  blankets  in  the  bed.  In  half  an  hour  he  was  sleeping  nat- 
urally, and  lying  in  a  profuse  perspiration.  I  believe  that  it 
saved  him.     Mr.   Sinclair  kindly  called  to  see  him. 

Next  day,  the  4th,  the  Falaba  came  from  Gaboon ;  only  our 
letters  were  sent  around  from  Lembarene.  So,  on  Friday,  the 
5th,  I  went  there  for  the  newspapers,  the  remainder  of  our  mail, 
and  some  boxes  for  Mr.  Good. 

On  Saturday,  the  6th,  the  French  gun-boat.  Turquoise,  with 
its  officers,  came  on  a  visit  of  sympathy  to  Mr.  Robinson. 

The  bamboo-church,  which  I  had  begun  on  the  Kangwe  hill- 
side, had  fallen,  under  the  ravages  of  white  ants.  Mr.  Good 
had  just  completed  a  new  church  of  American  planks,  near 
Andende.     I  preached  in  it  on  Sunday,  the  7th. 

On  Tuesday,  the  9th,  Mr.  Good  went  around  to  Mr.  Stein's 
(of  a  second  German  house)  for  his  goods  that  had  come  by  the 
Falaba,  and  the  Fan.     And,  in  the  afternoon,  Messrs.  Stein  and 

Crossman  and  a  Capt.  F.  of  Kamerun,  called  at  Andende, 

in  the  Akelc,  and  offered  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson  passage  on  the 
Fa/7  to  Gaboon,  for  Mr.  Robinson  to  convalesce  at  the  sea-side. 
They  went.  [He  recovered,  but  not  sufficiently  to  remain  in 
Africa.]  Mr.  Sinclair  offered  me  passage  back  to  Talaguga,  on 
the  Gambia. 

RETURN    TO    TALAGUGA    OX    THE    Gambia. 

On  Wednesday,  the  10th,  went  around  to  Lembarene,  early, 
boarded  the  Gambia,  with  two  boxes  for  my  sister,  some  lug- 
gage of  my  own.  and  half  a  barrel  of  oranges  kindly  sent  by 
Rev.  G.  C.  Campbell  from  the  Baraka  trees.  The  launch  was 
towing  six  large  canoes  of  its  own  trades-peoples'  goods.  It 
slowed  for  me  at  Belambla.  that  I  might  give  a  letter  to  Aveya. 
who  was  again  in  charge  of  the  premises.  By  8  p.  m.  anchored 
at  Laseni's. 

Xext  day,  starting  early  at  5  A.  M.,  and  stopping  at  various 
places  to  set  off  the  canoes,  we  were  at  Talaguga  by  12  noon. 
The  Gambia  still  had  other  errands  of  its  own;  but,  it  kindlv 


498  MY  OGOWE 

waited  for  me.  Taking  only  a  little  while  to  fondle  my  baby, 
after  my  nine  days'  absence,  I  shot  the  pig,  dressed  it,  and  re- 
taining only  a  quarter,  sent  the  other  three  to  Mr.  Sinclair,  Mr. 
Good,  and  the  engineer ;  the  head,  for  the  Kru  crew ;  and  the 
viscera  and  remnants  for  my  own  people.  Discharged  some 
thatch  which  I  had  obtained  from  Mr.  Sinclair:  wrote  two  hasty 
letters.  And,  then  the  launch  was  off  and  away ;  and  I  sat  down 
to  my  dinner  at  2  p.  m. 

On  Saturday,  the  13th,  during  my  sister's  absence  in  the  vil- 
lage, Fiti,  whom  I  had  defended  against  Mbigino's  violence,  I 
had  to  punish  for  the  same  offense  against  the  little  boy  Evave. 

Baby,  though  in  tolerably  good  health,  still  often  had  boils. 
On  the  15th,  I  had  to  open  a  "  blind  "  one  on  her  left  shoulder- 
blade  that  had  been  troubling  her  for  a  week.  The  thought  was 
some  sort  of  a  comfort,  that  I  had  observed  that  boils  were  an 
apparent  substitute  for  the  more  dangerous  malarial  fever. 

But,  I  also  was  in  a  bad  condition.  The  dry  season  chigoes, 
though  I  extracted  them  from  my  feet,  left  ulcers  that  made  me 
lame.  Baby  slept  well  at  night,  generally.  I  would  have  con- 
sidered her  entirely  well,  but,  for  a  little  cough  that  had  hung 
on  to  her  for  several  weeks. 

On  Sunday,  the  21st,  the  Okota  came,  bringing,  to  my  great 
relief.  Mamba,  his  wife  and  child,  and  Awora  (returned),  and 
two  other  young  men.  Mamba  arrived  in  time  for  me  to  ar- 
range that  he  should  take  charge  of  the  station,  during  my  pro- 
posed absence  at  Kangwe. 

On  Tuesday,  the  23d,  T  packed  a  large  box  of  native  curiosi- 
ties to  be  sent  to  friends  in  the  United  States. 

JOURNEY  TO  KANGWE. 

On  Thursday,  the  25th,  in  the  Nclly-Hotvard.  with  my  sister, 
Handi  and  the  babe,  a  large  crew,  and  crowded  with  baggage. 
bedding,  etc.,  etc..  for  baby's  comfort  and  protection.  Tt  was 
her  first  boat-journey.  She  fretted  at  the  confinement,  and .  I 
stopped  ashore  at  various  places  to  rest  her:  staying  for  the 
night  at  Belambla.  Xe.xt  day.  had  a  comfortable  dinner  at  Mr. 
Smith's  island  "factory"  (formerly  Mr.  John  Ermy's).  Had 
the  usual  dread  of  hippos  near  the  Xgunye  mouth  (that  always 
was  infested  by  them,  in  the  two  dry  seasons),  and  reached 
Andende  house  safely  at  4  p.  m.,  just  as  the  congregation  were 
emerging  from  the  church  preparatory  service. 

On  the  27th,  another  afternoon  service;  and.  a  mail  came  in 
the  evening. 


A  MOTHER-TASK  499 

Sunday,  the  28th,  my  little  girl  was  baptized  by  Rev.  A.  C. 
Good,  under  her  mother's  full  name,  Mary  Brunette  Foster 
Nassau.  It  was  a  tender  service.  Standing  by  me,  in  the  com- 
pany who  had  brought  their  infants  for  baptism,  was  the  man 
Mentyua-yongwe ;  later,  a  ruling  elder.  [Now  an  efficient 
and  faithful  evangelist.]  The  joy  of  the  day,  in  the  baptism 
of  my  daughter,  was  increased  by  the  good  news  that  had 
come  in  the  mail,  of  my  son  William's  profession  of  his  faith 
in  Christ. 

Dreading  the  four  days'  pull  up-river,  for  the  comfort  of  my 
babe  I  went,  on  July  1st,  around  to  Lembarene,  to  inquire  as  to 
the  possibility  of  some  steamer  soon  going  up.  Mr.  Crossman 
offered  me  passage  on  the  Akclc.  Mr.  Good  and  I  dined  at 
Mr.  SchifFs.  And  I  won  his  clerk's,  Mr.  Gebauer's,  gratitude 
(that  continued  years  later,  when  he  had  risen  from  a  clerkship 
to  an  agency)  by  lancing  for  him  a  very  painful  boil  that  was 
too  dangerously  near  to  the  blood-vessels  of  his  axilla,  for  him 
to  do  it  himself. 

The  next  day,  I  sent  around  my  boat  that  was  to  be  towed, 
to  lie  ready  by  the  Akclc.  And  early  in  the  morning  of  Friday, 
the  3d,  Mr.  Good  took  me  in  his  Montclair,  to  the  Akclc  that 
was  awaiting  us  near  the  Roman  Catholic  mission  at  the  head 
of  the  island.  My  sister  remained  at  Andende,  to  complete  her 
visit  with  Mrs.  Good.  Baby  was  very  good  all  day.  And. 
stopping  several  times  for  the  vessel  to  discharge  goods  at  its 
trading-houses,  we  anchored  for  the  night  at  Laseni's,  where  I 
took  her  ashore  to  sleep  in  his  house. 

But.  next  morning,  we  were  early  off  to  the  Akclc,  so  as  not 
to  delay  the  captain  when  he  should  l>e  ready  to  start.  We 
were  at  our  home,  early  in  the  afternoon.  The  captain  was 
very  obliging,  and  would  have  drawn  in  to  my  beach ;  but,  I  had 
him  go  on  to  his  own  "  factory  "  at  Xyare's ;  whence,  it  was 
very  easy  for  me  to  drop  with  my  boat  down  the  few  hundred 
yards  to  my  own  Talaguga. 

My  feet  were  in  a  very  bad  state:  and.  at  night,  a  fever-chill 
seized  me.  In  getting  up.  as  usual,  to  attend  to  my  Mary,  dur- 
ing the  night.  I  could  not  stand,  but  crept  on  my  hands  and 
knees.  It  was  the  worst  night  I  had  with  her  since  her  birth. 
For  two  weeks  I  was  not  able  to  wear  a  shoe. 

On  Wednesday,  the  22d,  I  allowed  Mamba.  to  take  Awora, 
and  go  down-river,  to  settle  some  quarrel  about  his  dead  brother 
Sambunaga  and  a  mulatto  trader  "  Harry,"  of  Mr.  Schiff's 
house.     And,  in  the  evening,  came  Mr.   Schiff  with  the  Okota 


500  MY  OGOWE 

and  his  Mpongwe  trader,  Mwalele,  asking  for  storage  of  his 
goods  and  a  house  for  Mwalele  and  wife,  until  their  own  house 
should  be  prepared  in  one  of  the  villages.  I  was  up,  until  1 1 
p.  m..  at  the  landing  and  stowing  of  the  goods.  How  the  river 
had  changed  in  four  years!  Then,  I  was  alone,  and  in  the  ad- 
vance!    Now,  traders  were  in  the  Interior  and  all  around  me! 

In  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  23d,  came  Mr.  Good,  bring- 
ing my  sister,  in  the  Montclair;  and  he  returned  to  Kangwe. 
On  Wednesday,  the  29th,  I  gave  a  holiday  to  my  household. 
Sent  the  Swan  and  two  canoes  and  most  of  my  people,  with  my 
sister,  to  enjoy  themselves  fishing,  up-river,  with  net  and  hooks. 
They  returned  in  the  afternoon  with  a  large  turtle  and  a  few 
fish.  Again,  I  sent  the  company,  on  Saturday,  August  1,  (but, 
this  time,  down-river)  to  try  their  fishing  chances  near  Sanjala. 
That  night,  came  the  Okota  with  Mrs.  Good  and  her  infant,  and 
Mr.  Good  who  was  sick  with  fever.  Hastily  made  some  changes 
into  my  study,  and  put  him  in  my  room,  as  he  was  too  weak  to 
go  up-stairs  to  "  the  stranger's  room  "  in  the  attic.  There  came 
also,  to  work  with  me,  a  stout  man,  Mburu,  from  Wombalya, 
and  his  wife  Azize,  whom  I  remembered,  from  Kangwe  days,  as 
the  wife  of  one  of  Re-Nkombe's  men,  Oguma. 

Monday,  the  3d.  A  busy  day.  In  the  afternoon,  Mwalele 
came  with  Okota  workmen,  and  removed  the  goods  Mr.  Schiff 
had  stored  with  me  for  him.  In  the  evening,  Mbamba  returned, 
having  been  away  longer  than  I  or  he  had  expected.  I  feared 
also  that  he  had  been  drinking;  his  breath  was  suspicious.  Mr. 
Good  was  better.  There  was  noisy  dancing  at  the  trading- 
houses  across  the  river.  Next  day,  I  talked  with  Mamba;  and, 
he  acknowledged  that  he  had  been  drinking.  He  seemed 
ashamed  and  repentant. 

Wages  having  been  paid  on  the  previous  Saturday,  Ompwenge 
and  three  others  left,  orderly,  on  Wednesday,  the  5th,  and  a 
fifth  deserted.  Rather  a  doleful  day:  neither  my  sister  nor  I 
nor  Handi  were  well.  Things  were  still  slow  on  the  6th.  and 
almost  everybody  sick.     Mr.   Good  only  slowly  improving. 

Friday,  the  7th.  The  monthly  "  weighing  days  "  were  ended, 
and  we  kept  Mary's  birthday  first  anniversary.  Handi  was  still 
lying  down,  and  I  took  care  of  Mary  all  day;  and.  my  sister 
made  a  little  dinner  and  cake  for  the  day.  But,  the  next  day, 
the  anniversary  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  death.  I  kept,  by  myself 
quietly,  and  did  not  obtrude  my  thoughts  on  others  of  the  house- 
hold, who  had  their  own  burdens. 

On  Monday,  the  10th.  Akendenge  came  on  a  visit;  I  engaged 


A  MOTHER-TASK  501 

him  as  steward  (a  new  office)  to  relieve  my  sister  in  some  of 
her  superintendence  of  the  younger  and  incompetent  house- 
servants.  Handi  continued  sick.  A  canoe  came  on  the  13th, 
from  her  Benga  trade-friend,  Uduma  (to  whom  she  had  se- 
cretly sent  word),  and  she  went  away  with  him,  taking  with  her 
Fiti,  and  making  no  explanations.  It  looked  like  desertion.  I 
was  hurt;  and  did  not  know  what  to  say.  For,  she  had  come 
to  me  in  a  fearful  time  of  need  only  a  year  before;  and,  had 
given  me  aid,  that  however  sometimes  imperfect,  was  invalu- 
able, considering  that  no  other  living  soul  had  offered  to  assist 
me  with  my  child.  During  one  of  these  nights,  the  whole  house 
was  invaded  by  an  army  of  driver  ants. 

The  next  day,  Friday,  the  14th,  my  sister  finally  gave  up,  and 
went  to  bed,  sick  with  neuralgia  in  her  face. 

On  Saturday,  the  15th,  Mr.  Good,  after  his  two  weeks'  rest 
and  medication,  was  recovered,  and  left  with  his  family,  early 
in  the  morning.  A  few  hours  later,  I  was  rejoiced  by  the  ar- 
rival of  a  young  man,  Etendi,  with  two  lads,  to  enter  my  service. 
He  remained  with  me  several  years,  generally  faithful,  and  most 
of  the  time  a  good  cook. 

In  Handi's  absence,  I  had  hired  Mburu's  wife,  Azize,  to  wait 
on  Mary;  but,  baby  would  not  "take  to"  her.  She  missed 
Handi. 

The  employees,  though  few,  began  their  Monday  work  with  a 
good  will,  and  in  harmonious  action.  Little  Mary  was  chang- 
ing her  "  fashions,"  and  now  took  only  two  naps  in  the  day- 
time. 

Wednesday,  the  19th.  Mary  still  persisted  in  refusing  to 
accept  Azize  as  nurse.  In  the  afternoon,  in  going  all  around 
the  premises-line,  to  put  it  in  distinct  order,  I  found  that  a  citron 
had  ripened  on  the  tree  at  the  cottage.  The  tree  bearing  that 
ripened  fruit  grew  from  a  seed  I  had  taken  from  a  fruit  gath- 
ered at  Old  Calabar,  in  Mrs.  Sutherland's  garden,  about  Decem- 
ber 1,  1 88 1.  Less  than  four  years!  The  most  rapid  growing 
of  any  fruit  tree  I  had  planted  in  Africa.  Little  Mary's  teeth 
still  troubled  her.  And  my  sister's  neuralgia  proved  to  be  a 
hollow  tooth. 

On  Friday,  the  21st,  the  Okota  came  with  a  few  letters  from 
fellow-missionaries,- and  (most  valuable!)  a  box  of  milk.  Mr. 
SchifT,  who,  for  years  had  been  kind  and  helpful  to  me,  was 
displeased  because  of  a  letter  I  had  written  to  the  French  com- 
mandant defending  Mamba  in  his  difficulty  with  Mr.  Schiff's 
man  "  Harry."      (I  had  said  nothing  against  Mr.   SchifT.)      I 


5o2  MY  OGOWE 

believed  that  Mamba  was  being-  unjustly  treated,  and  Mr.  Schiff 
was  equally  sure  that  his  man  was  in  the  right.  He  retained 
the  grudge  long  afterwards. 

On  Wednesday,  the  26th,  a  canoe  came  from  the  Gambia 
lying  at  Walker's,  with  a  few  things  from  Kangwe,  and  a  box 
from  my  brother-in-law,  Rev.  A.  Gosman,  D.D..  which  had 
l>een  brought  to  Libreville  by  an  American  vessel,  Cardenas,  and 
which  Air.  Sinclair  had  kindly  forwarded.  In  the  evening  there 
were  some  native  visitors ;  and  I  gave  out  firecrackers  for  the 
company  to  amuse  themselves. 

By  September,  baby  Mary  was  becoming  less  unwilling  to  go 
with  Azize.  I  began  to  make  a  change  in  her  bed ;  her  cradle- 
crib  had  become  too  small. 

On  Saturday,  September  5,  sent  Mamba  and  two  others  in  a 
small  canoe,  down-river,  for  a  ten  days'  absence,  on  several 
errands ;  among  others,  to  go  to  Wambalva,  to  try  to  get  me 
a  cook. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  6th,  the  very  large 
Erench  steamer  Pionnier  passed  up.  And  shortly  afterward,  a 
messenger  from  Mr.  Sinclair  on  the  Gambia  at  Walker's,  came 
with  a  present  of  fruit,  and  vegetables  from  his  own  garden  at 
Lembarene,  tomatoes,  lettuce,  etc. 

In  the  evening  of  the  8th.  heard  from  a  passing  canoe,  which 
was  saluting  and  announcing  items  of  news,  that  Handi  was 
soon  coming  back.     I  could  scarcely  believe  it. 

Xext  day,  my  sister  was  busy  cutting  out  garments  for  little 
Joseph,  son  of  Xtinosam,  wife  of  Mamba.  At  night.  Mary  was 
put  into  a  new  bed,  the  third  since  her  birth.  I  had  taken  a 
single  iron  bedstead,  and  built  wooden  sides  on  to  it,  to  prevent 
the  child  from  falling  out.  She  was  well  and  happy;  she  slept 
better  in  her  new  bed. 

On  Sunday,  the  13th,  quite  a  company  at  services;  Xjalele 
and  his  people ;  Antyuwa  and  his ;  Xyare  and  his  retinue.  He 
left  with  my  sister,  a  little  girl,  Bilaga.  This  was  the  first  Ea- 
nwe  (excepting  the  lad  Mveli  of  three  years  before)  who  had 
been  given  to  reside  at  the  station,  for  instruction.  It  made  me 
\w(\  glad,  after  all  the  hard  unimpressionability  of  the  Fanwe.  I 
hoped  that  it  was  the  beginning  of  God's  good  things  for  Tala- 
guga.  Heard  from  Antyuwa  that  Handi  was  certainly  coming 
in  two  days.     That  was  another  thing  for  which  to  give  thanks. 

On  the  15th,  there  came  another  present  of  vegetables  from 
Mr.  Sinclair,  cabbage,  carrots,  beets,  eggplant,  lettuce,  ruta- 
baga, etc. 


A  MOTHER-TASK  503 

And,  at  night,  by  Uduma's  canoe,  Handi  returned !  Glad  as 
I  was  to  have  her,  I  purposely  did  not  show  any  enthusiasm,  be- 
yond ordinary  politeness.  When  she  retired  at  night,  I  told  her 
that  I  wished  to  have  a  talk  with  her  in  the  morning,  before  she 
resumed  her  place  with  my  child.  (I  did  not  think  it  right  to 
ignore  the  manner  in  which  she  had  deserted  me,  almost  on  the 
anniversary  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  death.) 

Next  day,  I  had  my  talk  with  her.  It  was  not  as  satisfactory 
as  I  could  have  wished.  But,  I  placed  her  again  in  entire  charge 
of  Mary,  with  some  alteration  as  to  hours  and  places.  Mary 
was  very  good  again  with  Handi ;  and,  I  had  time  to  write  a 
long  letter  to  Mrs.  Nassau's  friends  of  the  Barnegat  New  Jer- 
sey W.  M.  F.  Society.  And,  on  the  18th,  I  planted  two  coco- 
nut trees,  one  each  at  the  head  and  foot  of  the  grave.  I  said 
for  her : 

"  And  when  I  come,  to  stretch  me,  for  the  last, 
In  unattended  agony,  beneath  the  coco's  shade, 
It  will  be  sweet  that  I  have  toiled 
For  other  worlds  than  this," 

On  Saturday,  the  19th,  Mr.  Schiff  came  on  his  Akclc,  on  his 
way  to  Okota,  having  been  ordered  to  remove  his  trader  Mwalele, 
whom  he  had  placed  there  in  the  latter  part  of  July.  The  for- 
bidden line  of  trade  had  been  removed  from  Njoli  Island  to 
the  post  at  Asange,  three  miles  farther  up-river. 

People  from  the  Interior  were  to  bring  their  products  to  that 
post  as  a  market,  and  would  meet  and  do  their  bargaining  with 
the  trader,  there.  The  vessel  brought  me  a  mail  of  ten  letters 
from  the  United  States,  and  five  from  fellow-missionaries ;  a 
wreath  of  artificial  flowers  for  Mrs.  Nassau's  grave  from  Mrs. 
Bushnell,  and  presents  from  her  and  Mrs.  Marling  for  Mary;  a 
box  of  milk ;  and  notice  that  my  semi-annual  order  of  supplies 
had  arrived  at  Mr.  Sinclair's  new  Aguma  house,  Lembarene. 
And,  in  the  evening,  returned  Mamba.  What  an  abundance  of 
blessings  in  one  day! 

I  did  not  go  to  Kangwe,  for  the  regular  quarterly  commu- 
nion. I  would  not  go  without  my  little  Mary,  who  was  not 
well  (her  new  milk  did  not  agree  with  her),  and,  in  the  opening 
of  the  rainy  season,  there  would  have  been  daily  rains  on  the 
journey. 

Monday,  the  28th.  The  woman  Azize,  for  several  clays,  had 
been  mourning  for  the  death  of  a  sister.  Heard  that  the  man 
Amvam.  at  Nvare's.   was  riving,  and  was  "  out  of  his  mind." 


504  MY  OGOWE 

The  people  were  mourning  for  him  as  dead.  And,  yet,  I  was 
told  that  they  intended  to  cast  the  still  living  body  into  the  for- 
est. I  understood  all  that  better,  later.  Of  the  four  entities 
which  the  Africans  believed  constituted  a  human  personality, 
viz.,  Soul,  Dream-soul,  Heart-life,  and  Body,  only  the  Soul  was 
immortal.  When  it  left  the  body,  the  person  was  dead,  even 
though  certain  activities  of  the  other  three  entities,  for  a  few 
hours,  or  even  days,  gave  the  semblance  of  life.  Under  similar 
circumstances,  once  on  Corisco,  a  man  had  come  to  me  for 
medicine  "  to  quiet  "  his  mother,  as  she  "  was  dead,"  and  it  was 
time  to  bury  her!  Evidently,  Amvam  was  unconscious,  but 
still  his  b(xly  was  making  some  motions.  At  that  time,  burial 
in  a  grave  was  not  common.  The  usual  mode,  after  death,  was 
for  the  corpse  to  be  laid  on  the  ground  in  some  dense  thicket 
of  the  forest.  And  the  birds,  and  wild  beasts,  and  driver  ants 
did  their  duty  as  scavengers. 

On  the  30th,  heard  that  the  French  steamer  Pionnier  had  gone 
to  Okota,  to  burn  some  of  the  villages  that  had  resisted  the  re- 
moval of  Mwalele's  trading-house.  The  next  day,  October  1, 
heard  that  Amvam,  though  thrown  into  the  forest,  was  still 
living. 

The  man  Mamba  had  been  most  reliable  during  my  Kangwe 
days.  After  that,  he  was  equally  Mr.  Reading's  right-hand 
man  at  the  Andende  house.  Mr.  Reading  having  removed  to 
Libreville,  Mamba  had  again  entered  my  employ.  A  very  great 
help  to  me.  Barred  as  I  was  from  travel,  and  deprived  of  the 
thoughtful  assistance  Mr.  Reading  had  always  been,  in  doing 
errands  for  me,  and  forwarding  from  Lembarene,  I  depended 
on  Mamba.  (Mr.  Good,  on  coming  to  the  Ogowe,  possessed  by 
his  tremendous  energy  in  his  own  work,  had  said  to  me,  "  Don't 
depend  on  me;  look  out  for  yourself.")  I  sent  Mamba  in  my 
place.  I  relied  on  his  truth,  honesty,  and  efficiency.  On  Fri- 
day, October  2,  I  had  to  send  him,  with  a  crew  of  live  on  an 
errand  down-river.  With  them  went  M burn's  wife,  mourning 
for  her  dead  sister. 

The  kind  of  milk  I  had  that  did  not  suit  little  Mary,  was 
slightly  improved  by  change  with  "  Mellen's  Food."  I  sat  down 
to  arrange  the  papers  and  documents  in  my  writing-desk,  which, 
in  the  close  mother-task,  had  scarcely  been  touched,  for  a  year. 
I  spent  four  days  in  answering  letters,  a  pile  of  which  had  accu- 
mulated in  the  preceding  six  months.  T  had  one  very  favorable 
day,  when  I  stopped  other  work,  and  sent  the  men  on  a  visita- 
tion with  my  sister  to  Sanjala. 


A  MOTHER-TASK  505 

Friday,  the  gth.  A  second  Fan  we  child,  a  little  boy,  had 
been  sent  to  me.  But,  his  father,  Mokumi,  came  to  take  him 
away,  professedly,  for  "two  days."  But,  the  child  begged  so 
to  be  allowed  to  remain,  that  the  father  yielded.  I  was  de- 
lighted with  the  hope  of  a  Fanwe  school. 

For  the  first  time  in  her  life,  Mary  went,  on  Saturday,  the 
10th,  jaunting  in  her  mother's  boat,  the  Swan,  with  Handi.  The 
day  also  was  an  anniversary  of  her  mother's  marriage.  Handi 
wished  to  visit  the  wives  of  the  traders  living  across  the  river. 
Nyamba  was  at  services  on  Sunday,  the  nth,  fully  dressed  in 
a  frock  made  by  a  wife  of  one  of  the  coast-traders.  What  an 
advance  in  civilization,  from  her  almost  nakedness  of   1882 ! 

On  Wednesday,  the  14th,  there  passed  up  the  river,  a  strange 
French  craft,  an  iron  raft-steamboat,  whose  deck  lay  scarcely 
above  the  level  of  the  water;  and  therefore  was  called  by  the 
Galwas,  Anigo-arcvo  (water-only).  It  was  built  of  exceedingly 
light  draft,  in  order  to  slide  over  the  shallows,  in  the  dry  season. 
The  rains  drove  the  chigoes  into  the  house;  and,  temporarily, 
they  were  worse  than  they  had  been  in  the  dry.  The  trader, 
Antyuwa,  had  loaned  to  my  sister  a  little  dog.  "  Carlotta,"  and 
Mary  was  delighted  with  it.  I  would  have  bought  it;  but,  it 
was  not  his  to  sell,  and  sister  preferred  not  to  keep  it  on  loan. 

On  Saturday,  the  17th,  under  a  heavy  rain,  the  Gambia 
passed,  to  locate  a  Mr.  Quayle  at  Asange,  for  the  firm  of  H.  & 
C.  It  was  a  new  departure  in  the  trade.  I  felt  disappointed 
that  the  vessel  had  not  brought  my  supplies  (among  the  rest, 
much-needed  milk  for  Mary)  which  were  lying  at  Mr.  Schiff's 
German  house  at  Lembarene.  (Had  Mr.  Reading  been  at 
Andende,  he  would  have  interested  himself  to  have  them  for- 
warded.) The  next  day,  the  18th,  when  the  Gambia  came  down, 
it  stopped  voluntarily  (a  most  unusual,  and,  because  of  the  cur- 
rent, a  difficult  favor)  offering  to  take  mail,  and  giving  me 
news,  that  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Robinson  had  finally  left  Libreville 
for  the  United  States;  and  that  Mr.  Good  (himself  needing 
some  recuperation)  had  escorted  them  as  far  as  Madeira;  that 
Rev.  G.  C.  Campbell  of  Gaboon,  had  been  at  the  Kangwe  com- 
munion in  September;  that  the  French  government  had  punished 
the  Fanwe  who  had  made  an  assault  on  the  Andende  premises. 
(Of  this  assault  I  had  heard  nothing.) 

Mamba  returned  on  Thursday,  the  22(1,  bringing  with  him 
five  recruits.  One  of  them  was  a  little  boy,  Ombagho.  [He 
remained  long  in  my  service ;  continued  with  my  successors,  the 
Paris  Evangelical  Society,  and  is  to-day,  one  of  their  best  edu- 


506  MY  OGOWE 

cated  and  most  efficient  evangelists].  I  was  intensely  disap- 
pointed that  Mamba  had  not  brought  any  of  the  goods  (espe- 
cially the  milk)  that  were  lying  at  Mr.  Schiff's,  down  the  river. 
He  told  me  that  he  had  gone  to  Mr.  Schiff's,  to  take  a  load  in 
the  canoe.  (His  thoughtfulness  in  voluntarily  doing  that  was 
most  commendable.)  But,  Mr.  Schiff  had  refused  to  send  the 
goods  without  an  order  from  me.  I  am  sure  that  this  was  only 
an  excuse.  He  knew  that  Mamba  was  my  employee.  Goods 
constantly  had  been  sent  to  me  without  my  request,  and  without 
authority  to  the  party  carrying  them.  Mr.  Schiff  had  allowed 
his  anger  at  Mamba's  quarrel  with  his  man  Harry  to  mar  his 
justice  to  me. 

The  Akelc  came  on  Saturday,  the  24th.  Again  T  was  disap- 
pointed ;  it  had  nothing  for  me.  It  brought  word  that  the  Okota 
was  off  at  Elobi,  Corisco  Bay;  that  the  Gambia  was  up  the 
Xgunye.  Xo  prospect  of  any  vessel  coming  soon.  So,  I  de- 
cided to  go  myself  down-river  for  the  needed  milk.  Little 
Mary's  poor  food  was  causing  her  a  constant  diarrhoea.  I 
needed  also  rice  for  my  employees. 

JOURNEY    TO    LEMBARENE. 

Starting  at  6  a.  m.  of  Monday,  the  26th,  it  was  some  com- 
fort to  me  that  my  little  one  was  at  least  temporarily  better  in 
her  symptoms.  In  the  empty  kongongo  (that  could  hold  many 
boxes  on  return)  and  with  a  strong  crew  of  eight  paddles,  for 
the  return  trip,  I  went  down  the  current,  rapidly.  I  stopped 
nowhere,  except  at  Mbomi,  to  eat.  To  avoid  the  intricacies 
of  the  island  channels  opposite  Old  Aguma,  which  had  become 
obstructed  by  deposits.  I  kept  on  toward  Inenga,  fleeing  before 
a  storm,  as  I  passed  Holt's  house,  and  reached  Mr.  Sinclair's 
new  Aguma,  at  Lembarene  at  6  r.  m.,  soaking  wet;  sixty-five 
miles  in  less  than  twelve  hours  of  continuous  paddling.  Air. 
Sinclair  was  everything  that  was  kind  and  hospitable.  I  re- 
mained there  that  night.  And  he  told  me  that  he  would  send 
the  Gambia  on  the  28th.  to  take  me  and  my  goods  to  Talaguga. 

Xext  day.  I  went  around  to  Andende  to  see  Mrs.  Good ;  heard 
the  story  of  the  Fan  we  assault;  got  some  supplies  from  the 
Andende  store;  remained  for  dinner.  And,  on  my  return  to 
Lembarene,  stopped  at  the  German  house,  to  get  my  provisions, 
etc.  Mr.  Schiff  made  some  lame  excuse  for  not  having  sent 
them  by  Mamba.  There  was  an  interesting  sight  of  over  forty 
canoes  (each  having  from  fifteen  to  twenty  men)  of  Aduma 
people  from  the  Interior,  just  arrived  under  employ  of  the  l)e 


w 

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A  MOTHER-TASK  507 

Brazza  French  exploring  expedition,  having  come  for  supplies. 
It  was  an  exciting  regatta-like  scene.  The  men  were  hastily 
building  for  themselves,  with  tree  branches,  shelter  for  the  night. 

By  9  a.  m.  of  Wednesday,  the  28th,  with  all  my  goods  in  the 
Gambia,  and  my  kongongo  towed  by  it  with  nine  other  canoes, 
I  started  on  a  miserable  day  of  noise  and  heat.  Stopping  for 
the  night  at  Osamu-'kita :  and  the  next  day  at  Laseni's,  for  fire- 
wood, reached  Walker's  place  by  7  p.  m.  So  near  my  home,  I 
left  the  Gambia,  making  the  rest  of  the  way  in  my  kongongo, 
to  Talaguga  an  hour  later.  My  little  Mary  heard  the  boat- 
songs,  and  awoke  to  meet  me.  The  following  morning,  the  ves- 
sel came,  discharged  my  freight,  and  went  on  to  Mr.  Ouayle, 
at  Asange  Post,  with  its  load  of  thatch.  The  day  was  a  grand 
"  opening  day  "  of  boxes  and  barrels  of  trade-goods,  and  pro- 
visions, and  other  supplies. 

The  continuous  heavy  rains  had  flooded  the  river.  Its  rush- 
ing current  was  a  grand  sight.  It  had  crept  up  over  the  top  of 
the  bank,  over  the  terrace  in  front  of  the  house,  and  up  to  the 
foundation-posts.  In  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  Sunday,  Novem- 
ber 1,  the  fleet  of  Aduma  canoes  of  the  French  expedition  passed 
up  river. 

On  Tuesday,  the  3d,  the  Okota  came,  bringing  my  sister's 
young  Benga  man,  Imunga,  who  had  been  absent  some  time; 
and  1  dismissed  one  of  mine,  wearied  with  his  disobedience. 

Next  day,  in  the  Nelly-Howard,  I  took  the  entire  household 
an  excursion  to  Sanjala.  Leaving  my  sister,  Handi  and  my 
Mary  (who  was  quiet  in  the  cool  morning  air)  there  on  the 
shaded  sands  with  four  of  the  employees,  with  the  other  seven 
I  went  on  down  to  Ndona-nyare's,  opposite  Yena.  He  made  a 
demonstrative  welcome,  wanting  a  talk,  and  went  through  an 
amusing  pantomime  of  his  "  friendship  "  for  me.  I  settled  my 
accounts  with  Ongamu  for  his  supplying  of  thatch.  On  the 
way  back  to  Sanjala,  I  gave  some  of  the  crew,  who  knew  only 
paddles,  instruction  how  to  use  an  oar.  My  little  Mary  was 
glad  to  see  me ;  she  drank  her  new  milk,  which  was  quite  a  sight 
to  the  villagers  (who  looked  with  disgust  on  the  idea  of  a 
human  being  drinking  the  milk  of  a  beast)  ;  and,  she  accepted 
some  ngwese  (one  form  of  preparing  cassava)  from  a  little 
Fanwe  girl.  On  the  wav  home,  Mary  noticed  the  flowers  hang- 
ing  on  the  vines  from  the  trees  of  the  banks ;  watched  the 
rippling  water;  wanted  to  dabble  in  it  over  the  gunwale;  was 
excited  at  the  sight  of  monkeys  hopping  in  the  forest.  But,  the 
sun  was  warm;  she  became  thirsty  and  sleepy;  was  kept  awake 


508  MY  OGOW.E 

only  by  the  boat-songs,  as  I  held  her  in  my  arms.  We  shot 
quickly  (the  boat  having  no  load)  around  the  rocky  points,  and 
arrived  home  before  5  p.m.  But,  the  songs  had  ceased  to  keep 
baby  awake.  She  was  asleep  as  I  carried  her  ashore,  and  slept 
long,  even  after  her  milk  had  been  made  ready,  and  I  had  taken 
time  to  give  the  men  their  weekly  ration  of  fish. 

The  Faiiwe  child,  Bilage,  returned  to  school.  I  enjoyed  my 
supper;  romped  with  Mary,  after  having  watched  her  waken, 
and  fed  her.  At  evening-prayers,  I  read  Psalm  106.  After 
the  others  had  gone,  Akendenge  and  Imunga  remained  to  read 
and  to  look  at  pictures. 

Some  ten  days  later,  I  made  another  excursion,  up-river,  to 
one  of  the  farther  Bikul  clan,  taking  little  Mary  and  the  entire 
household.  As  we  returned,  in  the  afternoon,  we  met  the  Gam- 
bia going  to  Asange.  And  the  next  day,  on  its  down-coming, 
it  stopped;  and,  the  engineer  told  me  that  my  kind  friend,  Mr. 
Sinclair,  had  gone  to  Libreville,  sick.  Whatever  .else  I  was 
occupied  with,  there  was  the  constant  station-work  of  repairs 
and  of  erecting  proper  out-houses  for  the  various  employees. 

By  Monday,  the  23d,  my  Mary  was  very  well  indeed,  by  her 
change  in  food.  I  gave  her  daily,  one  ration  of  Mellen's  Food, 
one  of  Neave's  Farinaceous  food,  and  two  rations  of  milk. 
Her  sleep  at  night  was  now  no  longer  broken. 

On  Monday,  November  30,  I  paid  the  employees  their  month's 
wages.  They  were  very  eager  for  it ;  and,  the  whole  fourteen 
were  paid  very  quickly.  But,  the  next  day,  December  1,  after 
most  of  them  had  spent  their  "  money,"  there  was  some  dissat- 
isfaction, and  three  of  them  wanted  to  leave  with  Mamba,  whom 
I  was  allowing  to  take  his  wife  and  child  to  their  home. 

By  Monday,  December  21,  Mary's  house  was  perfectly  com- 
pleted, to  the  very  last  addition  of  shelf  or  hook  that  could  be 
suggested  for  my  sister's  comfort  and  convenience.  The  work- 
men were  satisfactorily  located  in  their  out-houses.  An  ample 
supply  of  provisions  was  on  hand,  especially  for  my  little  Mary. 
For  two  years,  though  I  was  stated  clerk,  I  had  not  gone  to  the 
sea-coast,  to  attend  the  meetings  of  presbytery  and  mission. 
But,  now  as  my  child  was  so  well,  and  was  seventeen  months 
old,  T  thought  that  I  might  risk  leaving  her.  For  how  long.  I 
did  not  know;  certainly  for  a  month.  But,  the  number  of  trade- 
steamers  had  so  increased  in  the  river,  that  I  no  longer  depended 
on  my  boat  or  the  Hudson,  for  the  long  and  often  dangerous 
275  miles  to  Gaboon.     There  was  now  a  probability  that  some- 


A  MOTHER-TASK  509 

where  on  the  route,  I  would  be  picked  up  by  some  one  of  those 
steamers ;  for,  the  traders  were  very  generous  in  giving  such 
assistance;  and  (at  that  time),  made  no  charge  for  our  passage 
or  for  transportation. 

As  I  heard  at  noon,  that  the  Okota  had  been  at  Yena ;  that 
the  Falaba  had  arrived  at  Lembarene,  and  that  the  Elobi  was 
daily  expected,  I  decided  to  start  on  the  22A. 

JOURNEY    FOR    THE    SEA-SIDE. 

Leaving  the  house  and  premises  in  my  sister's  charge,  and 
little  Mary  in  Handi's  care,  to  whom  I  gave  minute  directions 
about  food  and  medicine,  I  bade  good-by  at  8  a.  m.  in  my  boat, 
with  a  crew  of  five.  Near  Yefia,  I  met  Uduma,  coming  to  see 
Handi.  He  confirmed  the  preceding  day's  reports.  At  Yena, 
Ongamu  added  that  the  Falaba  had  not  yet  gone.  (This  proved 
to  be  incorrect.)  Passing  Sika's,  he  confirmed  about  the  Elobi. 
(But,  it  proved  to  be  the  Mpongwe.)  While  stopping  near 
Abange,  to  take  dinner  with  Laseni,  the  Gambia  passed  up,  and 
Mr.  Sinclair  called  to  me  to  hasten,  lest  the  steamer  should  be 
gone.  My  crew  pulled  well.  Was  favored  with  clouds  to  les- 
sen the  heat,  but  no  rain,  and  no  wind  strong  enough  to  be  a 
hindrance.  Passed  the  Ngunye  mouth  at  dusk,  and  Inenga  at 
moon-rise.  Stopped  at  the  head  of  the  island,  Eyenano  village, 
to  inquire.  And,  leaving  the  boat  there  with  four  of  the  crew, 
walked  rapidly  on  the  good  path  past  the  Roman  Catholic  mis- 
sion, to  Mr.  Schiff's  Otanga  by  8.30  p.  m.  A  good  twelve-hour 
run !  And  both  the  Okota  and  the  Mpongwe  were  lying  there 
at  anchor!  I  was  very  tired,  but,  I  was  excited  with  my  suc- 
cess. Mr.  Schiff  gave  me  passage  for  the  27th.  I  left  soon, 
for.  he  was  making  great  preparations  for  a  "  Christmas  "  dance 
with  Galwa  women.  Going  back  to  my  boat,  I  was  told  that 
Mr.  Good  had  returned  from  Madeira  on  the  17th;  and,  that 
Mamba,  on  his  way  back  to  Talaguga,  had  stopped  at  Andende, 
on  the  19th.  I  was  welcomed  at  Andende  under  a  very  damp 
moonlight,  at  9.30  p.  m.,  and  had  a  rapid  chat  over  news  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good,  until  11  p.m.  When  they  retired,  I  sat 
up  much  later,  to  read  a  large  mail  that  had  been  lying  at 
Andende.     All  this  excited  me ;  and,  I  lay  awake  a  long  while. 

The  next  day,  Wednesday,  I  awoke  unrefreshed.  At  break- 
fast, I  had  no  fever.  But,  as  I  was  possessed  of  such  brilliant 
thoughts  (a  common  premonition  of  on-coming  fever)  I  pre- 
pared pen  and  paper  to  write  the  news  to  my  sister.     Suddenly, 


510  MY  OGOWE 

a  heavy  chill  came.  I  disrobed  and  went  to  bed,  and  lay  there 
in  great  pain,  for  two  days.  Mr.  Schiff  had  invited  me  for 
dinner,  for  the  25th,  and  I  had  accepted. 

On  Thursday  I  sent  him  word,  excusing-  myself  as  too  sick 
to  come.  And,  in  the  afternoon,  he  sent  me  word  that  the  cap- 
tain of  the  Mpongzvc  had  changed  his  sailing  date  to  8  A,  m.  of 
the  25th.  Sick  as  I  was,  I  determined  not  to  lose  the  oppor- 
tunity of  the  steamer.  Mr.  Good  was  not  going  to  the  meet- 
ings, as  he  had  already  been  away  three  months.  I  tried  to  do 
a  little  business,  with  him  sitting  at  my  bedside;  and,  Mamba 
and  my  other  men  did  the  necessary  packing  of  my  own  bag- 
gage, and  of  other  things  that  had  come  for  me,  and  which  he 
was  to  take,  on  his  return  to  Talaguga.  abundance  of  new  milk 
for  baby,  a  chair  for  her,  and  a  new  bed-crib,  made  by  Agaia 
(whom  I  had  taught  the  use  of  tools,  in  Kangwe  days),  who. 
living  at  Libreville,  had  copied  one  belonging  to  Mrs.  Campbell 
of  Baraka. 

On  Friday,  the  25th.  I  had  no  Christmas  thoughts.  Early. 
I  rose  painfully,  and  dressed  slowly.  I  had  eaten  nothing  for 
two  days.  Mr.  Good  took  me  around  to  the  Mpongzvc.  Doubt- 
less, my  two  years'  mother-task  confinement  had  aged  me;  and. 
the  two  days'  sickness  had  very  much  weakened  me.  As  T 
started  to  climb  the  ladder  at  the  vessel's  side,  I  was  amused  to 
hear  the  captain  call  to  one  of  the  sailors.  "  Here!  help  up  this 
old  gentleman!"  Old!  Was  it  true  that  I  was  growing  old? 
And  I  only  fifty  years  of  age.  in  what  should  be  manhood's 
prime!  The  steamer  was  off  by  9  a.  m.  As  I  lay  on  a  lounge 
on  the  deck.  T  had  many  thoughts  about  my  coming  up  that  river. 
on  that  same  Mpongzvc  with  Mrs.  Nassau,  on  Christmas.  18X1. 
And.  in  the  preceding  two  years  there  had  been  so  many  changes 
in  the  villages,  so  many  new  ones  built,  that  T  was  unable  to 
recognize  some  of  them.  Anchored,  for  the  night,  opposite  my 
old  Nkami  village  Rango.  I  slept  miserably;  I  think  that  prob- 
ably T  was   faint  with  hunger. 

On  Saturday,  the  26th.  the  captain  stopped  a  good  while  at 
Angala.  to  close  a  sub-trader's  house,  and  to  remove  him  and 
his  goods.  That  would  have  been  impossible  three  years  before. 
The  presence  of  French  power  had  now  made  it  possible:  and. 
white  traders  would  no  longer  give  a  sop  to  Orungu  and  Nkami 
for  the  privilege  of  passing  on  to  Galwa  and  Fanwe,  since  France 
allowed  them  to  go  as  far  as  Asange  Post. 

At  the  river's  mouth  was  lying  the  Akclc,  waiting  for  the 
native  pilot  whom  we  were  bringing  to  her.     On  the  M  ponyzvc 


A  MOTHER-TASK  511 

I  was  pleased  to  find  a  Benga  lad,  Behali,  a  relative  of  Handi, 
employed  in  the  cook's  galley. 

As  I  am  writing  of  only  my  Ogowe  days,  I  will  omit  descrip- 
tion of  the  events  of  the  next  three  weeks,  at  Libreville  and 
Benita,  except  to  indicate  some  dates. 

The  Mpongu'c  anchored  awhile  at  the  Gaboon  mouth,  at  night. 
On  Sunday,  the  27th,  before  daylight,  we  entered  the  estuary, 
and  came  to  anchor  at  Libreville.  Steamers  are  visible  from 
Baraka  Hill  more  than  an  hour  before  they  anchor,  and  boats 
are  sent  off,  for  the  possibility  of  a  visitor  being  on  board.  Mr. 
Campbell  sent  a  pleasant  Sierra  Leone  man,  Joaque,  a  photog- 
rapher, to  bring  me  ashore.  And,  I  was  at  Baraka,  by  7.30 
a.  m.  There  were  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  and  their  two  little 
boys,  and  Miss  Lydia  Jones.  I  waited  there  a  whole  week,  as 
Mr.  Campbell  had  engaged  passage  for  us  all  on  the  Mpongwe 
which  would  take  us  to  Benita,  where  our  meetings  were  to  be 
held.  Thence,  the  vessel  would  go  on  errands  of  its  own  at 
Batanga  (thus  giving  time  for  our  sessions  of  several  days)  and 
would  return  to  Benita  to  bring  us  back  to  Gaboon.  That  pro- 
gram was  carried  out.  I  preached  an  English  sermon  in  the 
Gaboon  church  on  Sunday,  January  3,  1886. 

On  Monday,  the  4th.  at  4  p.  m.,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  G.  C.  Camp- 
bell and  their  two  little  boys,  Rev.  A.  W.  Marling,  and  the  native 
minister  Rev.  Ntaka  Truman,  joined  me  on  the  Mpongzve  for 
Benita.  We  safely  got  over  the  Benita  river's  bar,  early  in  the 
morning  of  the  5th ;  and  were  welcomed  at  Bolondo  by  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  C.  De  Heer  and  Mrs.  Reutlinger,  and  former  Kombe 
friends ;  among  them,  my  good  carpenter,  Metyeba.  Presbytery 
began  its  sessions  in  the  evening,  with  a  sermon  by  Rev.  \Y.  C. 
Gault,  who  was  living  at  my  old  Mbade  home;  Rev.  Mr.  Marl- 
ing being  elected  moderator,  and  my  offered  resignation  of 
stated  clerk  being  kindly  refused. 

On  Wednesday,  the  6th,  mission  began  its  session.  I  was 
chosen  chairman.  Our  sessions  of  both  bodies  were  closed,  and 
meetings  adjourned  by  9  p.  m.  of  Saturday,  the  9th.  On  Sun- 
day, the  10th.  I  preached  an  English  sermon  in  the  church  at 
Bolondo.  After  dinner,  I  went  with  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Gault  to 
their  Mbade  home ;  and,  together,  we  went  to  the  cemetery : 
they,  to  stand  by  the  grave  of  their  little  Willie;  and,  I,  by  the 
graves  of  my  little  Paull  and  his  mother. 

On  Wednesday,  the  13th,  the  Mpongwe  returned.  And.  the 
next  dav,  we  all  went  on  board;  and,  at  sunset,  the  steamer 


512  MY  OGOWE 

started.  The  course  was  a  plain  one,  ninety  miles  south  to  the 
Gaboon  River,  where  we  should  have  been  by  the  next  morning. 
But,  the  captain  was  so  drunk,  that  he  could  neither  walk 
straight  nor  see  straight.  Under  his  directions,  the  Kru-man 
at  the  wheel,  steered  literally  toward  all  points  of  the  compass, 
but  principally  westward.  So,  that,  by  dawn  of  the  15th,  when 
the  captain  yielded  to  the  mate's  plea  that  we  should  turn  east- 
ward, it  was  three  hours'  rapid  steaming  before  we  sighted  land, 
which  proved  to  be  Cape  St.  John.  And,  then,  the  captain  as- 
serted that  it  was  Cape  Esterias,  and  that  the  bay  was  the 
Gaboon  mouth,  and  insisted  on  entering  it ;  from  which  we  did 
not  emerge  at  Cape  Esterias  until  sunset.  And  then,  again,  him- 
self taking  the  wheel,  he  directed  the  vessel  straight  ashore  to- 
ward the  rocks  of  Point  Clara.  Our  native  passengers  looked  in 
terror,  and  Mr.  Truman  came  to  me,  saying,  "  Doctor,  do  you 
not  know  the  rocks  of  Point  Clara,  and  that  the  steamer  is  going 
to  destruction?"  I  did  know  them.  I  had  often,  in  Corisco 
days,  sailed  in  the  boat  safely  from  them.  Mr.  Marling  and  T 
went  to  the  mate,  and  begged  him  to  take  the  wheel.  He  said 
that  that  would  be  mutiny,  and  that  he  would  lose  his  place. 
We  told  him  that  he  and  we  were  all  in  danger  of  losing  our 
lives;  and  that,  if  he  would  interfere,  we  would  defend  him  to 
Agent  Schultze.  So,  in  the  captain's  presence,  he  flung  aside 
the  Kru-man  from  the  wheel,  turned  the  steamer  square  around, 
and,  by  only  a  few  minutes,  saved  us  and  the  vessel  from  de- 
struction. The  captain  swore  at  him  and  at  us ;  but  did  nothing 
more,  and  lay  down  in  a  drunken  sleep.  That  night,  we 
anchored  safely  by  the  guard-ship.  And.  all  went  ashore,  next 
day,  the  16th.  On  Monday,  the  T8th.  T  went  shopping  with 
Mrs.  Marling.  And  I  told  Mr.  Schultze  of  his  captain's  doings. 
He  justified  the  mate;  and  thanked  Mr.  Marling  and  myself  for 
saving  his  vessel. 

On  Thursday,  the  21st,  Agent  Schultze  notified  me  for  passage 
by  the  Elobi,  for  the  afternoon  of  the  22d.  T  got  ready  all  my 
boxes,  etc.,  including  my  sister's  boat  Evangeline. 

RETURN    TO    THE    OGOWE    BY    Elob'l. 

On  Friday,  the  22(1,  I  boarded  the  Elobi;  and  found  that  its 
captain  was  the  gentlemanly  and  efficient  Ludovici,  who  had 
taken  Mrs.  Nassau  to  Talaguga  in  July  of  1884.  Agent  Schultze 
also  came  on  board.  We  ran  at  sea  all  night;  sea  smooth,  and 
sky  clear.  I  stayed  on  deck  all  night.  Next  day,  we  entered 
the    Ogowe ;    and,    on    up-river,    touching    ground    occasionally 


K  A  NGW  E   SC 1 1 OOL-G1  RLS 


Facing  jiagc   513 


A  MOTHER-TASK  513 

among  the  Nenge-saka  islands;  especially  opposite  Kamaranga 
village.  But,  the  captain  skilfully  got  off,  and  anchored  for  the 
night  at  Ngumbe. 

The  next  day  (Sunday)  he  successfully  crossed  the  low  chan- 
nels at  Ashuka  (where  I  recognized  evangelist  Mentyuwa- 
Yongwe,  ashore).  And,  reached  the  German  house  at  Lemba- 
rene  by  5  p.  m.  Ashore  there,  I  was  told  that  the  Gambia  was 
about  to  go  up-river  in  a  day  or  two.  I  got  a  crew  at  night  to 
take  me  around  to  Andende  in  the  Evangeline.  I  found  Mr. 
Sinclair  there,  sick.  Heard,  through  Mr.  Good,  by  a  letter, 
which  had  just  arrived,  from  my  sister,  that  all  was  well  at 
Talaguga.  What  a  blessed  Sunday  evening,  to  obtain  that 
knowledge!  On  Monday,  I  went  around  to  the  German  house: 
transferred  my  goods  to  the  Gambia,  and  was  directed  to  be  in 
readiness  the  next  day,  at  old  Aguma,  to  be  taken  in  tow  by  that 
vessel.  In  the  afternoon,  Mr.  Good  had  an  ecclesiastical  dis- 
cussion at  Eyenano  with  the  Roman  Catholic  priests,  who  had 
become  outrageous  in  destroying  the  books  of  our  Andende 
school-children. 

BACK    TO    TALAGUGA. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  the  26th,  I  loaded  up  both 
the  Nelly-Hoivard  and  Evangeline,  and  also  Piere's  canoe ;  and, 
with  them  was  taken  in  tow  by  the  Gambia  at  the  appointed  place. 
The  day  was  hot ;  but.  because  of  draughts  of  air.  I  caught  a 
severe  cold.     Reached  Laseni's,  for  the  night. 

Early  again,  next  morning,  the  Gambia  proceeded.  I  had 
the  headache  and  nausea  of  fever.  But,  was  better  on  reaching 
my  home  just  before  noon.  Joy!  my  little  girl,  in  the  arms  of 
Handi,  at  the  top  of  the  veranda  steps,  had  not  forg'otten  me. 
but  held  out  her  hands.  The  Gambia  went  on  to  Asange.  In 
the  afternoon,  I  opened  all  the  boxes :  and  set  out  the  plants. 
After  evening-prayers,  I  recounted  the  journey:  and  gave  thanks 
for  the  many  protections.  A  most  rapid  journey,  and  return 
from  almost  six  weeks'  absence!  The  travel  did  me  good  in 
many  respects.  I  felt  enlarged  and  widened.  I  became  conscious 
that  the  previous  two  years'  mother-task  had  limited  my  range  of 
vision.  Perhaps  some  of  the  difficulties  with  my  employees 
might  be  explained  in  that  way.  Naturally,  there  was  some  re- 
action after  my  month  of  excitement,  and,  on  Thursday,  the 
28th.  I  was  feverish  for  several  days,  and  my  cough  remained. 
Otherwise  I  would  have  gone  to  Xyare's  people  on  Saturday, 
the  30th ;    for,   he  had  died   in  his  heathenism,   during  my  ab- 


514  MY  OGOWE 

sence.  Fafiwe,  from  different  parts  of  the  river,  were  at  the 
mourning.  Though  my  sister  had  the  use  of  Mrs.  Nassau's 
Szvan,  the  associations  of  Benita  days  made  her  feel  more  at 
home  in  her  own  Evangeline.  On  Thursday,  February  4,  she 
went  in  it  on  a  little  trip. 

I  increased  my  cold  on  the  7th,  by  preaching  out  in  the  wind 
on  the  veranda.  By  Wednesday,  the  10th,  I  was  suffering  so 
from  pain  of  the  cough,  had  no  appetite,  and  was  so  dispirited, 
thinking  that  my  lungs  were  affected,  that  I  started  in  the  Swan 
in  the  afternoon,  to  consult  the  doctor  on  the  Pionnier,  which 
I  supposed  was  at  the  post.  I  knew  that  the  return  would  be 
at  night,  and  I  dreaded  the  possible  chill  of  the  night  air.  But, 
fortunately,  I  found  the  vessel  lying  at  Njoli  Island.  The  doc- 
tor examined  my  chest,  said  that  my  lungs  were  not  affected ; 
and  gave  me  a  prescription  to  relieve  the  cough. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Saturday  came  the  Akele,  with  a  visitor, 
a  new  trader,  a  Mr.  Wichula.  He  gave  us  news  of  the  move- 
ments of  several  of  the  steamers ;  and  the  probability  of  Miss 
Jones  of  Baraka  being  on  the  Okota,  on  her  way  for  a  visit  at 
Talaguga. 

On  Sunday,  the  14th.  came  the  Okota,  with  Miss  Jones:  some 
freight  from  Gaboon,  which  I  had  been  unable  to  take  on  board 
the  Elobi;  a  new  workman ;  and  a  small  mail,  which  bore  the 
sad  news  of  the  death  of  my  brother-in-law,  Mr.  J.  R.  Lowrie, 
of  Warrior's  Mark,  Pa. 

The  Gambia  slowed,  in  passing  up,  on  the  16th,  and  let  off 
Mr.  Good,  on  an  excursion,  and  two  new  workmen  for  me.  But. 
when  the  vessel  came  down  on  the  17th.  and  Mr.  Good  left,  the 
two  also  left;  they  were  dissatisfied  with  the  wages  I  offered 
them. 

On  Friday,  the  TQth,  sent  Mamba  for  a  day's  itinerating  in 
the  villages,  as  far  down  as  Yena.  With  my  sister,  and  the  baby, 
I  escorted  Miss  Jones,  to  show  her  the  former  cottage  home  on 
the  hill-side:  and  went  to  Mary's  mother's  pool  (which  was 
called  "the  spring")  in  the  brook  in  the  rear  of  that  house. 
Fafiwe  came  on  Sunday,  the  21st.  to  sell  iguma,  not  knowing 
that  the  day  was  Sabbath.  The  girl  Bilaga  ran  away  with  some 
of  Nyamba's  company.  In  the  Evangeline  with  most  of  the 
household,  I  escorted  Miss  Jones  down  to  Sanjala.  and  picnicked 
in  the  forest.  My  little  Mary  enjoyed  the  day.  both  in  the  boat, 
and  on  the  sands,  and  in  the  forest.  On  our  return.  I  found 
that  Mons.  Kerraoul,  former  administrator  at  the  Asange  Post, 
had  called,  in  my  absence,  to  see  me. 


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■ra^KS 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE    MOTHER-TASK    CONTINUED, 
FEBRUARY,    1 886- JULY,    1 888 

HANDI  had  left  me.  I  felt  the  desertion  as  so  cruel, 
coming  from  one  who  had  been  so  kind,  that,  in  my 
revulsion  of  feeling.  I  tried  to  forget  her,  and  made  no 
record  of  the  exact  day  of  her  going.  I  could  not  understand, 
at  first,  her  reasons  for  going.  But,  as  I  recalled  events  during 
the  previous  year,  I  began  to  feel  that  she  was  partially  justi- 
fiable :  She  had  come  to  my  aid,  in  a  case  of  need  greater  than 
ever  before  known  in  the  mission,  with  devotion  to  me,  and  had 
loved  my  infant  placed  in  her  care. 

When  my  sister  came  to  me  in  1885,  Handi  naturally  assumed 
that  the  aunt  would  displace  her  in  the  charge  of  the  niece. 
But.  when  I  told  Handi  of  my  sister's  repeated  statement  that 
her  other  works  would  prevent  her  doing  anything  for  the  child. 
Handi  remained.  It  would  have  been  well  had  my  sister  carried 
out  entirely  the  spirit  of  that  statement.  But,  with  her  strong 
habit  of  control,  she  was  unable  to  omit  Handi  from  the  sphere 
of  her  authority.  This  Handi  resented.  And  she  complained 
to  me.  She  was  right.  For,  I  had  indeed  told  her,  in  my  bar- 
gain with  her.  that  my  child  was  solely  under  my  control  and 
her  care.  But  I  did  not  like  to  criticize  or  judge  my  sister  be- 
fore a  native.  I  compromised.  \\  nile  I  told  Handi  that  she 
was  in  the  right.  I  wished  that  she  would  make  some  concession 
to  my  sister.  Compromises  are  generally  unfortunate.  With 
Handi,  they  rankled.  Difficulties  grew  worse ;  they  grew  to  dis- 
harmony. And,  one  day.  after  an  angry  altercation  with  my 
sister.  Handi,  provoked  that  I  did  not  publicly  take  her  part, 
turned  her  displeasure  on  me,  and  left  in  a  passing  canoe. 

My  sister  said  to  me.  "Let  her  go:  I  will  take  care  of  the 
child  for  you."  (The  child  was  no  longer  a  helpless  infant.) 
I  did  not  stop  to  consider  that  that  was  as  impossible  physically 
for  her.  as  morally  for  me.  And,  had  I  known  what  I  was  to 
endure  in  the  next  two  years,  I  would  have  begged  Handi  to 
remain,  on  whatever  terms  she  should  choose  to  demand.  After 
all  these  years,  I  now  blame  myself  tor  not  having  sustained  her. 

I  still  had  the  entire  night  care  of  the  child ;  no  one  else  ever 

515 


516  MY  OGOWE 

lost  a  night  in  watching  over  her.  I  hired  Awora's  young  wife,  • 
Keva,  to  follow  Mary's  toddling  steps  during  the  days.  And, 
my  sister  attempted  the  task  of  the  evening  bath.  But,  the 
child,  missing  Handi's  skilled  fingers  and  persuasive  voice, 
utterly  refused  to  be  manipulated  by  her.  It  was  most  remark- 
able. I  never  before  or  afterwards  saw  such  exercise  of  will  in 
the  child.  As  if  it  was  possible  for  her  to  have  had  an  inherited 
memory  of  her  mother's  tears,  her  little  hands  and  feet  fought. 
Though  I  was  present,  she  would  not  yield.  And,  my  sister, 
exhausted  in  an  actual  conflict,  gave  up ;  and  never  attempted  it 
again.  Keva  successfully  took  her  place  at  the  daily  baths. 
And  the  "  care  "  that  my  sister  had  promised  was  limited  to  the 
mending  of  the  little  garments.  Of  the  eight  successive  young 
Galwa  women  who  occupied  Handi's  office  during  the  next  two 
years,  though  all  of  them  were  kind,  none  of  them  were  educated 
(beyond  reading),  barely  civilized,  not  all  of  them  Christians, 
one  or  two  not  even  moral,  and  all  serving  for  a  purely  com- 
mercial reason,  without  any  of  Handi's  love. 

Mamba,  on  his  village  itinerations,  was  away  all  day  of  the 
26th.  up  and  down  the  river.  It  was  thus  that  T  relieved  my 
sense  of  duty  in  that  branch  of  my  mission-work.  It  was  a 
work  that  I  enjoyed,  but  could  not  do  both  it  and  my  duty  to 
my  child.  For.  unable  to  trust  the  unskilled  young  Galwa 
woman,  I  did  not  dare  to  leave  the  station.  Late  in  the  after- 
noon, some  Fanwe  tried  to  break  into  the  workmen's  new  hut. 
Tt  was  the  first  attempt  at  burglary  since  I  came  to  Talaguga. 
On  Saturday,  the  27th,  I  sent  Mamba  to  the  Sanjala  lagoon  to 
fish  for  kondo.  He  returned  in  the  evening  with  a  comfort- 
able supply.  That  assured  a  satisfactorv  Sunday  for  my  peo- 
ple! 

Though  there  were  not  many  strangers  present  at  services  on 
the  28th,  it  was  noticeable  how  mixed  the  population  of  the 
river  was  becoming;  there  were  Mpongwe,  Galwa,  Inenga,  Ba- 
kota.  and  Fanwe. 

Mary's  new  crib  was  al  the  side  of  my  own  bedstead,  so  near, 
that,  if  need  were.  I  could  put  out  my  hand  and  touch  her. 
However  asleep  I  might  be.  T  had  learned  to  wake  at  her  call. 
About  1.30  a.  m.  of  Monday.  March  t.  she  spoke,  asking  for  a 
drink  of  water.  She  was  only  partially  awake.  As  T  left  her. 
to  go  into  the  adjoining  bathroom  for  the  water,  she  was  lying 
down.  T  was  not  absent  two  minutes.  But,  during  that  time, 
she  must  have  arisen,  and.  in  her  dazed  state,  fell  over  the  side 
of  the  crib.      For,   I  heard  a  heavy  thud,  and  a  cry.      Rushing 


o 
o 
o 

< 
o 

D 
O 
< 

< 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  517 

to  her,  I  found  her  lying  on  the  floor,  in  the  narrow  space  be- 
tween her  crib  and  my  bedstead.  I  was  frightened  lest  there 
were  broken  bones.  But,  as  she  eagerly  drank  the  water,  and 
soon  ceased  crying,  I  felt  assured  that  she  was  not  in  much  pain; 
and.  she  soon  fell  asleep  again.  But,  after  daylight  (for,  she 
slept  late  that  morning),  I  saw  a  large  raised  lump  on  her  fore- 
head, bruises,  and  a  dark  line,  almost  like  a  cut,  that  had  evi- 
dently been  made  by  her  falling  against  some  sharp  edge  of  my 
bedstead.  I  feared  brain-concussion.  But,  she  showed  no  signs 
of  pain;  and  had  apparently  no  memory  of  how  she  fell. 

At  night,  I  gave  out  to  the  employees,  fire-crackers  and  tor- 
pedoes, and  I  handled  Roman-candles,  and  Chinese-lanterns,  as 
(a  late)  welcome  to  Miss  Jones.  (All  previous  nights  had  been 
barred  either  by  too  bright  moonlight,  or  meetings,  or  rain,  or 
sickness.) 

On  Tuesday,  the  2d,  I  began  to  feel  some  returning  energy, 
and  resumed  my  letter-writing. 

Just  as  we  sat  down  to  dinner,  on  Wednesday,  the  3d,  the 
Akcle  signaled.  I  went  off,  and  brought  ashore  Mr.  Wichula, 
who  joined  us  at  the  table.  He  had  come  to  buy  carpenter  tools. 
From  the  first,  in  my  mission-life,  I  had  been  impressed  with 
the  importance  of  mechanical  industrial  training  for  the  natives. 
I  kept  on  hand,  and,  yearly  enlarged  the  stock  of  tools  (saws, 
planes,  chisels,  etc.,  etc.).  When  paying  my  employees,  nothing 
pleased  me  more,  in  their  choice  of  articles,  than  when  they  asked 
for  some  form  of  iron,  the  great  civilizer.  The  employees  of 
the  traders  saw  their  mission-acquaintances  with  their  handsome 
tools :  and  they  also  wanted  them.  For,  the  American  tools  were 
finer  in  finish  than  the  European  make.  [That  interest  of  mine 
grew,  until  I  longed  for  an  industrial  school.  I  wrote,  and 
begged,  and  prayed  for  it,  during  thirty  years,  under  Secretaries 
Lowrie,  Gillespie,  and  Brown ;  and,  finally,  it  was  obtained,  for 
other  hands,  in  another  part  of  the  mission.] 

On  Thursday,  the  4th,  prepared  to  go  on  an  excursion.  Just 
as  we  were  ready,  Mr.  Wichula  and  Mons.  Kerraoul  came  to 
make  a  call.  I  talked  with  the  latter  about  news  from  the 
Kongo.  After  they  had  left  on  the  Akele,  started  up-river  in 
the  Evangeline.  The  hour  being  mid-day,  we  stopped  to  eat  our 
lunch  at  a  camp-ground  on  Njoli  Island.  Proceeding  again,  I  dis- 
embarked on  a  dry  sand-bank,  with  my  Mary  and  Keva  and  her 
husband,  near  a  large  Fanwe  village,  Alariga ;  my  sister  and  Miss 
Jones  went  on  farther,  to  hold  a  meeting  in  that  village.  Mary 
enjoyed  the  sand,  and  ran  about  for  a  long  while.     When  the 


518  MY  OGOWE 

crew  returned,  she  was  much  amused  with  their  "  leap-frog " 
plays. 

At  different  times,  I  had  tried  to  keep  goats,  for  the  sake  of 
their  milk.  But,  there  were  difficulties :  the  young  men  were 
rough  or  careless  in  their  milking;  leopards;  or  complaints  of 
my  neighbors  about  depredations  on  their  gardens.  True,  there 
were  depredations ;  but  complaints  were  not  made  when  the 
owner  of  the  goats  was  a  Fan  we.  Now,  that  there  was  no 
village  near  on  my  side  of  the  river,  I  built  a  strong  goat-house, 
where  the  animals  would  be  safe  from  leopards.  I  hoped  that 
my  Mary's  health  and  vigor  would  become  even  stronger  with 
their  excellent  milk.  The  household  servants  were  usually  de- 
sirous to  go  to  a  weekly  prayer-meeting  held  by  Mamba  in  the 
hill-side  cottage.  But,  on  that  Saturday,  the  6th,  they  all  came 
to  my  evening-prayers.  Evidently,  there  was  some  hidden 
reason;  for,  when  I  asked  them,  they  gave  me  reasons  too  slight 
and  too  unreasonable  to  be  believed. 

Besides  my  own  people,  there  was  an  unusual  number  of 
Fail  we  at  service,  on  Sunday,  the  7th,  about  forty-five  in  all. 
They  came  with  the  Mpongwe  trader  Antyuwa,  from  Nyare's, 
where  they  had  been  making  Ukuku  all  night,  for  the  closing  of 
his   funeral  ceremonies. 

I  was  comforted  by  the  growth  of  the  inquiry  class.  On 
Wednesday,  the  10th,  came  the  Gambia,  bringing  Akendenge 
and  his  newly-married  wife.  One  of  my  sister's  pupils,  the 
Benga  young  man,  Imunga,  in  his  going  alongside  in  a  canoe, 
fell,  and  his  foot  being  held  fast  in  the  canoe  by  a  cleat,  and  his 
head  in  the  water,  he  was  in  danger  of  drowning.  I  hasted  to 
his  rescue,  and  found  his  ankle  badly  injured;  but  was  not  sure 
whether  it  was  a  dislocation,  or  a  fracture,  or  only  a  strain.  I 
went  onto  the  hill  with  Miss  Jones  to  gather  ferns  at  Mrs. 
Xassau's  pool. 

On  Thursday,  the  nth,  I  took  Imunga  to  the  French  steamer 
lying  at  Njoli,  to  have  the  doctor  examine  his  ankle.  The  doc- 
tor was  away  at  the  Post.  After  waiting  two  hours,  T  returned 
home.  But,  the  next  day,  T  sent  the  Swan  to  bring  the  doctor. 
He  came,  and  decided  that  the  case  was  a  partial  fracture  of  the 
fibula. 

The  surroundings  of  Mary's  house  had  so  grown  in  im- 
provement that  I  had  come  to  have  a  flower-bed,  and  a  lawn  at 
the  east  end.  Had  the  grass  on  the  latter  cut.  Its  odor  brought 
back  memories  of  hay-fields  in  the  United  States.  I  engaged 
Akendenge's  wife  to  do  the  washing  (thus  far  done  by  Keva), 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  519 

in  order  that  the  latter  might  devote  herself  more  to  the  watch- 
ing of  Mary's  steps. 

Mary  had  so  grown  in  her  own  playfulness,  that  I  was  not 
needed  to  constantly  attend  to  her,  as  formerly,  and  could  have 
some  recreation  of  my  own  in  the  evenings.  With  my  sister 
and  Miss  Jones,  I  resumed  an  old  alphabet  game,  Logomachy 
(word-taking  and  word-making). 

On  Thursday,  the  18th,  in  the  Evangeline,  we  all  went  on  an 
excursion.  We  picnicked  on  Njoli  Island ;  and  then  went  on 
to  Alariga,  "  Mary's  sand-bank,"  where  I  debarked  with  her  to 
play  with  Keva  and  Ombagho,  while  my  sister  went  with  the 
boat  to  hold  meetings  in  the  Asange  villages.  While  we  were 
on  the  sand-bank,  the  Pionnier  passed  up,  making  an  attractive 
show,  as  it  plowed  against  the  swift  current.  We  all  enjoyed 
the  day. 

On  Saturday,  the  20th,  late  in  the  afternoon,  came  the  Gam- 
bia with  the  Gaboon  photographer,  Mr.  Joaque,  a  box  of  gifts 
from  my  Lawrenceville,  N.  J.,  relatives,  a  cask  of  dried  fish,  a 
large  foreign  mail,  and  letters  from  Mr.  Good  and  Mr.  Sinclair 
urging  that  we  use  the  Gambia  instead  of  my  boat,  in  which  to 
come  down  to  Kangwe  for  the  quarterly  communion.  As  the 
launch  was  to  return  from  Asange  on  Monday,  I  had  to  haste 
in  making  preparations,  and  only  at  night  found  time  to  read 
my  large  mail. 

Many  Fan  we  were  present  at  services  on  Sunday,  the  21st. 
There  came  to  me  the  first  two  instances,  in  my  four  years  at 
Talaguga,  of  profession  of  personal  interest  in  the  Gospel,  by 
any  Fafiwe.  After  the  usual  sermon  in  Mpongwe,  they  asked 
me  why  I  did  not  speak  also  in  their  dialect  for  them.  (Most 
of  the  Fafiwe  who  came  to  me  could  understand  somewhat  of 
Mpongwe ;  the  majority  of  my  audience  were  always  Mpongwe- 
speaking;  and,  although  I  used  Faiiwe  for  conversation,  I  had 
not  yet  felt  free  to  preach  in  it.)  In  the  afternoon,  some  of  the 
Bindubi  clan  came  to  say  that  they  wanted  to  hear  God's  Word. 

On  Monday,  the  22d,  the  Gambia  returned  from  Asange,  by 
8  a.  m.  ;  but  I  detained  it  until  noon,  that  Mr.  Joaque  could 
take  some  photographs.  He  did  so,  very  successfully:  of  Tala- 
guga station ;  Mary  in  my  arms ;  Mary  writh  Keva,  myself  and 
my  sister;  the  east  end  of  the  house;  and  of  the  lower  end  of 
the  ravine.  Then,  the  Gambia  left,  taking  with  it  Mary  and 
Keva,  and  two  playmate  boys,  and  Miss  Jones  and  my  sister. 
Mr.  Joaque  remained  with  me,  to  take  more  photographs.  That 
evening  was  very  lonely  to  me.     I  missed  my  baby.     At  night, 


520  MY  OGOWE 

for  a  long  time,  I  could  not  go  to  sleep.  I  was  listening  for 
the  sound  of  her  breathing  in  her  cot  by  my  bedside.  The  next 
day,  Mr.  Joaque  and  I  went  to  Mrs.  Nassau's  Pool;  but,  he  did 
not  succeed  in  photographing  it.     He  took  several  other  views. 

On  Wednesday,  the  24th,  with  my  boat  and  crew,  Mr.  Joaque 
and  I  made  an  early  start  down-river;  stopping  only  to  eat,  in 
the  forest.  Opposite  the  Ngunye  mouth,  the  Gambia,  which 
had  been  on  an  errand  to  one  of  the  adjacent  trader's  houses 
overtook  us,  and  towed  us  to  Andende  by  6  p.  m.,  where  Mary 
was  on  the  lookout  for  me.  Mr.  Sinclair  was  there  sick.  Next 
day,  I  wanted  a  photo  of  Mary  by  herself;  and  Mr.  Joaque  had 
promised  me  one.  But,  his  films  were  almost  exhausted ;  and, 
other  promises  were  demanding  his  attention.  However,  in  the 
afternoon,  he  offered  a  sitting.  But,  the  child  was  willful,  and 
was  so  enjoying  racing  with  her  new  playmate,  Bertie  Good, 
that  she  would  not  stand  alone  before  the  camera.  After  a  hot 
chase,  I  caught  and  held  her.  But,  I  had  not  wished  to  appear 
in  the  picture,  least  of  all,  heated  as  I  was,  in  my  working 
clothes,  and  with  no  time  even  to  arrange  my  hair. 

At  the  Friday  afternoon  service  in  the  church,  I  preached; 
and,  then,  a  congregational  meeting  was  held,  at  which,  Yongwe 
was  elected  a  ruling  elder.  The  ordination  and  installation  were 
held  in  the  evening.  And,  a  preparatory  service  on  Saturday 
afternoon. 

On  Sunday,  the  28th,  three  natives  were  baptized  at  the  com- 
munion; at  which  I  preached,  and  administered  the  bread,  and 
Mr.  Good  the  wine.  Air.  Smith  (Mr.  Sinclair's  successor)  and 
a  Mr.  Bramwell  of  the  island  "factory,"  were  present;  and  (a 
very  unusual  act  among  traders)  they  communed.  In  the  even- 
ing, there  was  an  open  meeting,  with  addresses,  prayers,  and 
hymns,  conducted  by  the  native  church-members.  It  was  a 
pleasant,  bright,  happy  day.  The  two  children,  Mary  and 
Bertie,  had  a  happy  romp  in  the  evening. 

I  remained  at  Andende  a  week,  waiting  for  the  Gambia  to 
tow  me  back  to  Talaguga.  I  still  hoped  for  a  photo  of  Mary 
by  herself;  but,  Air.  Joaque  failed  me.  He  was  using  all  his 
films  for  views  which  he  expected  to  sell  to  the  public.  Mean- 
while, I  wished  to  occupy  myself  in  copying  a  manuscript  trans- 
lation of  an  Infant  Catechism  made  by  Mr.  Good  into  Fanwe. 
he  having  obtained  a  very  competent  translator  to  assist  him. 
He  had  adopted  an  orthography  of  his  own,  which  he  required 
me  to  follow,  as  a  condition  of  my  being  allowed  t<>  use  the  copy. 
This.    I   could  not   promise  to  do,  as   I   did  not  approve  of  his 


CAUGHT! 


Facing  page  530 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  521 

spelling;  and  therefore  I  never  saw  or  used  his  translation.  I 
had  been  helpless  to  get  any  aid  of  that  kind  at  Talagnga ;  for, 
there  was  then  not  a  single  Fafiwe  who  had  any  education  or 
training  whatever.  So,  I  applied  to  Rev.  Mr.  Marling,  of  Ga- 
boon, the  best  Fanwe  scholar  in  the  mission;  and  he  sent  me 
some  material. 

I  bought  of  Air.  Joaque,  and  mailed,  with  short  description 
lists,  ninety  of  his  photographs,  which  I  sent  to  different  relatives 
in  the  United  States.  I  took  my  people  to  the  Lembarene  trad- 
ing-houses, to  give  them,  for  their  monthly  pay,  their  choice 
from  the  very  large  stock  of  the  houses.  In  my  little  store  at 
Talaguga,  1  had  American  goods,  which  were  of  better  quality 
than  most  of  the  slazy  and  ill-finished  English  and  German 
cloths.  My  people  were  disappointed  in  the  quality ;  would  not 
take  their  pay;  and  then  murmured,  as  if  /  was  the  cause  of  their 
disappointment! 

RETURN    TO    TALAGUGA    WITH    THE    Gambia. 

On  Tuesday,  April  6,  the  Gambia  came  for  us  at  Andende. 
Leaving  Miss  Jones  there,  we  were  taken  in  tow,  my  sister, 
Keva  and  Mary,  Ombagho  and  myself  sitting  in  the  stern  of 
the  Nelly-Hozwd,  under  a  thatch  roof  I  had  built  over  it.  I 
had  a  supply  of  two  hundred  bunches  of  plantains,  bought  from 
the  ample  Andende  market.  Some,  doubtless,  would  not  have 
done  so;  but,  for  once,  I  wished  to  justify  myself  with  the  com- 
plaining Galwas,  and  have  even  a  superabundance  of  rations. 
Messrs.  Smith  and  Bramwell  were  on  the  deck  of  the  Gambia. 
And.  I  had  four  new  employees.  We  reached  Laseni's  that 
evening. 

The  next  morning,  after  a  hasty  breakfast,  we  started  again, 
reaching  Talaguga  early  in  the  afternoon.  A  comfortable  day- 
and-a-half,  instead  of  the  unsafe  and  uncomfortable  boat- 
journey  of  three  and  a  half  days!  Of  course,  in  either  case, 
there  was  to  be  a  prompt  drying  of  the  contents  of  our  boxes. 
Everybody  was  happy  at  our  arrival.  Alary  was  lively  and 
strong;  but,  she  had  not  increased  in  weight  over  the  twenty- 
four  pounds  of  the  preceding  month. 

By  Tuesday,  the  13th,  all  the  various  jobs  of  out-house  build- 
ing were  going  on  successfully.  Nyamba  came  bringing  Bilaga 
back  to  school.  She  begged  for  a  present  of  a  cloth,  for  a 
mosquito-net.     I  gave  it. 

The  old  first  hut,  hastily  built  at  the  brookside,  four  years 
before,  had  fallen  down.     I  felt  a  tender  sentiment  for  that  rem- 


522  MY  OGOWE 

nant  of  my  pioneer  days.  Instead  of  ruthlessly  burning-  it,  I 
selected  the  portions,  especially  the  thatch,  that  were  still  avail- 
able, and  placed  them  on  the  goat-house  I  was  building.  The 
old  door  became  the  goat-shed  door.  Baby  was  well ;  but,  freed 
from  Handi's  good  control,  she  was  developing  querulous 
habits,  especially  as  she  did  not  like  her  Galwa  nurse,  Keva. 

Another  Fan  we  child  Bakala  was  brought,  on  the  14th,  to 
live  at  the  station.  Changed  Mary  from  the  use  of  her  feeding- 
bottle  to  drinking  from  a  tumbler.  But,  she  did  not  accept  the 
change,  refused  her  food;  and,  therefore,  at  night  was  restless. 
The  hundreds  of  bunches  of  plantains  I  had  brought  from 
Kangwe,  were,  of  course,  all  gradually  ripening.  Naturally,  I 
gave  out  the  rations  from  the  riper  ones,  to  save  out  the  supply 
longer.  Then,  some  of  my  people  complained !  I  knew  indeed 
that  natives  preferred  the  unripe.  But,  I  thought  I  was  pleas- 
ing them  in  providing  any  kind  of  plantains  rather  than  the 
objectionable  farinya.  I  was  not  tired  of  sickness,  or  danger, 
or  work;  but,  I  was  becoming  tired  of  workmen's  complaints. 
On  Tuesday,  the  20th,  the  two  children,  Bilaga  and  Bakala,  ran 
away;  I  did  not  know  for  what  reason. 

On  Wednesday,  the  21st,  I  prepared  a  journey  to  the  forest, 
back  of  Njomu,  for  bamboo  building-materials.  Near  Yena, 
met  the  Akele,  which  informed  me  that  the  Okota  was  on  its 
way  up,  with  goods  for  me.  At  Sika's  little  trading-house,  we 
left  our  belongings,  and  went  into  the  forest  to  the  bamboo 
swamp.  There,  I  set  the  crew  to  work,  in  orderly  three  gangs 
of  three  each :  one  to  cut  the  fronds,  one  to  strip  off  the  leaves, 
and  the  third  to  carry  to  me.  A  little  boy  had  followed  us,  out 
of  curiosity.  He  sat  by  me.  I  was  interested  to  notice,  that 
though  he  had  never  been  at  school,  nor  (as  far  as  I  knew)  at 
my  house,  he  had  picked  up  the  alphabet,  and  was  pointing 
them  out  on  a  piece  of  wrapping-paper.  I  heard  the  whistle  of 
the  Okota;  and,  Sika's  little  boy  came  to  call  me.  I  left  the 
men  with  directions  to  return  with  their  bamboo  load  next  day. 
At  Sika's,  the  Okota  was  at  anchor.  Mr.  SchifT  told  me  that  the 
stones  for  Mrs.  Nassau's  grave  were  on  board.  I  took  passage 
with  him,  reaching  Talaguga  that  night.  The  precious  stones 
made  the  little  steamer's  deck  seem  sacred. 

Next  day,  Captain  Lindt,  with  his  large  canoe  and  stout  Kru- 
men,  kindly  superintended  their  landing.  Even  if  my  men  had 
been  present,  no  three  of  them  could  equal  the  strength  of  one 
Kru-man  in  handling  the  stones,  and  my  small  canoe  would  prob- 
ably have  been  swamped  by  their  weight.     Until  my  people  re- 


C 

w 

c 

< 
< 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  523 

turned,  I  could  do  no  work  at  placing  the  stones.  I  played  with 
Mary;  and  went  to  the  cottage  with  thoughts  of  her  mother. 
Two  days  were  required,  slowly  and  carefully  to  push  the  three 
large  heavy  stones  up  the  steep  slope,  to  the  grave,  and  to  put 
them  in  position.  And,  then  there  was  the  slow  unskilled  work 
of  chiseling  into  four  corner-stones,  cavities  for  inserting  the 
posts  of  the  iron-fence  around  the  grave ;  the  posts  to  be  kept 
in  place  by  melted  lead.  Two  of  the  stones,  at  the  base,  were 
each  4  ft.  x  3  ft.  x  1  ft. ;  and,  on  them,  the  third,  was  4  ft.  x 
3  ft.  x  il/2  ft.,  Mrs.  Nassau's  name  deeply  carved  on  one  side; 
the  date  of  birth  and  death,  at  the  ends ;  without  any  other  in- 
scription. 

On  the  28th,  the  Gambia  came  bringing  Mrs.  Good  and  her 
Bertie,  on  a  visit  from  Kangwe.  Mary  was  so  occupied  with 
her  little  visitor  that  she  did  not  fret,  all  the  afternoon.  On  May 
1,  Mrs.  Good,  with  the  two  children  and  their  attendants  went 
to  the  Hill,  to  Mary's  mother's  pool.  I  followed  them;  and 
found  an  enormous  citron  on  the  tree  I  had  planted  four  years 
previously. 

At  night  of  the  5th,  in  a  heavy  storm,  came  Mr.  Good  in  his 
Montclair,  from  Kangwe.  With  him  came  Charity,  the  widow 
of  Sambunaga,  to  work  for  me,  in  the  care  of  Mary,  in  place 
of  Keva.  (Sambunaga,  on  his  marriage,  had  called  her  by  a 
very  long  name ;  for  which,  my  sister  had  substituted,  "  Char- 
ity," in  memory  of  her  devoted  Liberian  assistant,  Charity  Sneed, 
in  1869,  who  subsequently  had  become  the  first  wife  of  Mr. 
Menkel.)  By  Saturday,  the  8th,  the  work  of  the  erection  of 
the  iron-fence  around  the  grave  was  completed,  including  the 
sodding  of  the  bank,  and  cutting  of  paths  for  approach  to  the 
spot.  The  fence  was  of  ornamental  castings,  in  size  about  10 
ft.  x  6  ft.  x  4  ft. 

On  Sunday,  the  9th,  Re-Ndiva  reported  to  me  that  the  big 
canoe  had  floated  away  under  the  heavy  rise  of  water  during  the 
night.  I  held  him  responsible ;  the  key  for  locking  the  chain 
was  in  his  charge.  I  sent  him  with  three  others,  to  search  for 
the  lost  canoe.  Mr.  Good  preached  for  me;  people  coming  to 
service,  from  across  the  river.  Re-Xdiva  returned,  not  having 
found  the  canoe.  I  sent  him,  the  next  clay,  with  direction  to 
spend  even  two  days  in  the  search.  The  river  continued  to  rise, 
unprecedently.  It  flooded  under  the  house,  and  into  the  out- 
kitchen  ;  so  that  I  removed  the  stove  onto  the  rear  porch  of  the 
dwelling-house. 

In  the  evening  of  Tuesdav,  the  nth,  Re-Ndiva  returned,  hav- 


5-4  MY  OGOWE 

ing  found  the  canoe  at  Mavyane's  village;  but,  reported  that  the 
villagers  there  refused  to  release  it. 

Had  Mavyane's  people,  on  finding  the  floating  canoe,  brought 
it  to  me,  or  sent  me  word,  I  would  have  paid  them,  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  civilized  "  salvage."  Or,  had  they  1>een  ignorant  as  to 
who  was  the  owner,  I  would  not  have  blamed  them  for  holding 
possession  of  it.  But,  the  canoe  was  so  distinctly  marked,  that 
I  was  sure  that  all  adjacent  villages  knew  to  whom  it  belonged. 
I  knew  that  it  was  the  old  native  idea  to  appropriate  all  strays. 
But,  at  the  point  of  civilization  and  professed  personal  friend- 
ship that  Talaguga  region  had  even  then  reached,  I  determined 
not  to  submit  to  (what  I  considered)  stealing.  In  company 
with  Mr.  Good,  on  the  12th,  I  visited  Asange  Post,  and  in- 
quired whether  the  French  would  endorse  me  in  my  proposed 
attempt  to  retake  the  canoe  by  force.  They  replied  that  they 
would  be  pleased  to  do  so. 

Next  day,  with  ten  of  my  men,  I  went  to  Mavyane's ;  and, 
after  a  short  talk,  the  villagers  yielded  the  canoe,  not  even 
demanding  any  "  ransom  "  for  it.  As  they  yielded  without  dif- 
ficulty, I  voluntarily  promised  to  send  them  a  few  gifts;  held 
prayers  with  them;  and  returned  safely.  On  Friday,  the  14th, 
under  a  sharp  rain,  Mr.  Good  and  his  family  returned  to  Kangwe. 
I  sent  messengers  to  Asange  Post,  with  a  note  of  thanks  to 
Mons.  Kerraoul  for  his  offer  of  aid,  and  informed  him  that  the 
canoe  was  recovered. 

Our  orders  to  England  and  the  United  States  had  to  be  made 
six  months  in  advance.  YVe  anxiously  looked  for  their  coming. 
we  gladly  landed  them  from  the  little  river  steamers;  but,  with 
some  anxiety  we  opened  the  boxes.  For,  the  contents  were 
often  damaged  or  broken,  because  of  insufficient  packing  and 
rough  handling,  or  exposure  to  rain.  The  Gambia  came  on 
Friday,  the  21st,  with  a  mail,  and  some  boxes.  In  one  box, 
were  six  dozen  bottles  of  an  English  health-drink.  "  Zoedone  " ; 
exactly  one-half  of  them  were  broken.  A  clinical  thermometer 
came  from  England ;  but.  on  opening  its  case  it  was  found 
broken.  My  watch,  sent  to  England  for  repair,  was  so  poorly 
packed,  that  it  needed  at  once  to  be  sent  back  again,  for  repair. 
On  Monday,  the  24th,  for  the  first  time,  I  found  a  Fail  we, 
Ngemi,  bright  enough  in  understanding  his  own  language,  and 
with  enough  of  a  smattering  of  English,  to  help  me  in  my 
Faiiwe  translations. 

Mary's  love  for  water  was  becoming  almost  a  passion.  She 
was  always  happy  when  allowed  to  wade  in  the  brook.      1  would 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  525 

sit  with  her  a  long  time  in  a  canoe,  watching  her  dabble  over 
the  gunwale  with  her  hands  in  the  stream. 

On  Monday,  the  31st,  Nyamba  came,  with  a  present  of  a  bunch 
of  plantains  and  two  very  small  chickens;  perhaps,  as  atone- 
ment for  some  of  her  people  having  attempted  on  Sunday  to 
cross  my  premises,  on  the  way  to  their  gardens.  My  men, 
while  dragging  a  log,  for  a  bridge  over  one  of  the  two  brooks 
around  the  little  island,  found  a  mygale  spider's  nest.  It  was 
quite  a  prize.  I  had  found  mygales ;  but  never  a  nest.  For 
certain  entomological  specimens  I  had  offered  my  workmen  a 
standing  reward.  I  was  collecting  for  scientific  friends  in  Eng- 
land.    This  nest  had  four  young  ones. 

On  Saturday.  June  5,  the  Gambia  came,  with  news  from  Mr. 
Good,  that  his  Bertie  had  been  seriously  ill,  and,  that  though  the 
child  was  better,  Mrs.  Good  expected  to  take  him  away  from 
Africa.  Re-Ndiva,  whom,  for  great  disrespect,  I  had  ordered 
to  leave  my  service,  at  once  by  the  Gambia,  said  that  he  did  not 
wish  to  go,  and  asked  to  stay.  So,  I  forgave  him,  and  allowed 
him  to  remain. 

On  Sunday,  the  6th.  at  service,  were  several  Galwa  traders, 
from  Antyuwa's  and  Walker's,  and  also  several  Galwa  women. 
Among  the  Fanwe  was  Nyamba  dressed  in  her  frock,  and 
little  "  Nassau  "  in  his  pantaloons  (a  child  of  Nyare,  whom  his 
mother,  against  my  objection,  had  insisted  on  calling  by  my 
name). 

The  veranda  was  no  longer  convenient  for  holding  the  daily 
and  Sunday  religious  services.  I  altered  one  of  the  bark-built 
out-houses  (by  the  flower-garden  at  the  west  end  of  the  house) 
into  a  prayer-room,  until  such  time  as  it  might  seem  right  to 
erect  a  church-building. 

On  Thursday,  the  10th,  some  of  the  Bise  clan,  in  two  canoes. 
stopped  at  the  landing.  One  resumed  its  journey  up-river,  and 
was  attacked  and  captured  by  Ntula's  people ;  the  other  retreated 
to  Vena.  That  man  Ntula  had  been  one  of  the  dozen  who  had  ac- 
companied Nyare.  at  the  time  of  my  fight  with  the  latter  in 
1883.  Since  Nvare's  death.  Ntula  had  set  himself  up  as  his 
successor.  But,  he  had  learned  well  the  lesson  of  that  fight,  and 
had  not  approached  the  Bise  on  my  premises. 

The  dry  season  was,  of  all  the  year,  the  time  when  employees 
became  restless  and  unsatisfactory.  It  was  the  season  in  which 
plantations  were  to  be  cut.  Some  of  my  young  men  really 
were  needed  by  their  parents,  to  assist  in  that  work.  Others 
wished  to  go  and  participate  in  the  picnicking  and  fishing  which 


526  MY  OGOWE 

always  were  associated  with  the  garden-work.  So,  my  men 
always  became  uneasy,  wanting  to  go  away  on  a  "  vacation,"  even 
to  the  point  of  breaking  time-contracts,  and  sometimes  resulting  in 
conduct  so  disobedient  that  I  was  relieved  by  dismissing  them 
in  disgrace.  And,  this  too,  in  the  case  of  some,  who,  in  other 
parts  of  the  year,  had  been  good  workmen. 

My  sister  shared  in  my  desire  to  extend  our  work  interiorward. 
But,  I  was  barred  from  all  such  itinerations  by  my  duty  to  my 
little  girl,  especially  since  the  loss  of  the  reliable  Handi.  So, 
on  the  15th,  my  sister  was  pleased  to  go  in  my  place.  I  gave, 
her  all  my  men,  in  a  large  canoe,  to  stem  the  rapids  on  the  20- 
mile  course  to  the  Bakota  of  Isangaladi,  at  the  foot  of  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Elembe  Cataracts.  With  no  work  on  the 
premises,  and  with  only  my  child  to  care  for,  I  wrote  while  she 
slept;  and  prepared  two  boxes  of  curios  I  was  sending  to  rela- 
tives in  the  United  States. 

Xext  day,  the  Akclc  came,  with  Messrs.  Wichula  and  Letz, 
bringing  a  small  mail.  On  the  following  day  the  two  gentle- 
men left;  and,  in  the  afternoon,  my  sister  returned,  delighted  with 
her  excursion. 

With  the  very  incompetent  nurse,  Charity.  T  did  not  feel  it 
duty  to  go  to  the  quarterly  communion,  at  Kangwe.  But,  T 
equipped  my  sister,  in  her  Evangeline  with  a  very  large  crew  of 
10.  And,  on  Monday,  the  21st,  she  started  down-river,  there 
remaining  with  me  8  male  and  female  assistants  for  the  cook- 
ing, washing,  ironing,  nursing,  and  guarding.  On  the  24th.  the 
river's  flood  had  all  receded,  and  I  put  the  stove,  from  the  rear 
veranda,  back  into  the  kitchen. 

On  Saturday,  the  26th,  I  sent  two  of  the  men  down  as  far  as 
Sanjala  to  fish.  They  returned  early  in  the  evening,  successful. 
Mary  was  exceedingly  interested  in  watching  the  counting  and 
division.  She  was  given  one  to  handle,  and  became  so  attached 
to  it  that  she  was  distressed  when  she  had  to  give  it  up  to  the 
cook. 

Mr.  Letz  came  on  Tuesday,  the  29th,  with  letters  from  Kangwe, 
Gaboon,  and  Benita,  and  with  a  tin  of  eggs  for  Mary.  I  had 
had  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  this  food  so  needed  by  her. 
For,  the  Fanwe  kept  but  few  chickens,  and  sold  mostly  only  eggs 
that  were  rotten.  For  the  few  good  eggs  that  were  brought, 
they  almost  always  wanted  tobacco.  Still  following  Mrs. 
Nassau's  principles  on  that  subject,  I  declined  to  keep  it  on 
hand. 

On  Wednesday.  June  30,  the  Gambia  came,  towing  the  Ezwu- 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  527 

geline  with  its  crew.  Usually,  I  expected  desertions  on  those 
quarterly  journeys  to  Kangwe.  But,  they  had  all  kept  their 
promise,  except  one  Ra-Vungu.  He  deserted  at  Andende.  I 
was  glad  to  welcome  back  cook  Etendi  after  his  three  months' 
absence,  and  two  new  young  men  seeking  work.  There  were 
general  welcomes  and  rejoicings. 

By  Thursday,  July  1,  the  prayer-room,  which  I  had  been 
slowly  building,  was  completed ;  and.  for  the  first  time  I  used  it 
in  the  evening  for  that  purpose.  And,  on  Sunday,  the  4th,  I 
began  to  use  it  as  a  chapel,  instead  of  the  veranda  of  all  the  pre- 
vious years. 

On  Wednesday,  the  7th,  Mr.  Letz  called,  took  dinner,  and 
bought  tools.  He  had  musical  skill,  and  kindly  put  in  order 
some  keys  of  my  sister's  little  harmonium.  He  wished  to  buy 
Mrs.  Nassau's  organ ;  but,  I  would  not  think  of  parting  with  it ; 
everything  that  wras  her  mother's  that  could  be  preserved  must 
be  kept  for  little  Mary.  But,  he  promised  to  come  again  to  put 
in  order  some  of  its  keys.  Because  of  his  presence,  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  twenty-third  monthly-return  of  her  birth,  was  de- 
ferred until  next  day.  She  weighed  twenty-six  pounds.  An 
excursion  was  made  up-river  to  her  sand-bank,  cooking  and  eat- 
ing our  dinner  there.  Then,  we  went  on  to  Asange  Island,  and 
called  on  Messrs.  Letz  and  Quayle,  representatives  of  the  Ger- 
man and  English  houses.  On  our  return,  I  found  Laseni's 
people  from  down-river,  awaiting  me.  On  Sunday,  the  nth, 
there  was  a  sudden  wailing  at  Nyamba's.  Next  day,  I  was  told 
that  it  was  for  the  death  of  two  aged  visitors,  a  man  and  a 
woman,  who  had  been  drowned  in  crossing  Lebo  Creek,  a  small 
affluent  of  the  Ogowe  near  Xjoli,  on  the  right  bank. 

Our  friend,  the  Okota,  had  been  wrecked;  and,  in  its  place, 
came,  on  the  13th,  a  new  steamer,  the  Duala. 

Next  day.  in  the  kongongo,  I  went  down  river  for  thatch, 
going  to  both  the  Akele  Yefia  (left)  bank,  and  then  to  the  Fan  we 
Njomu  (right)  bank.  At  the  former,  the  people  were  few,  and 
thin  and  hungry-looking.  On  the  other  side,  I  went  to  Sika's 
trading-house.  There,  I  was  told  that  a  manatee  had  been 
killed  in  the  Bitaga  lagoon  several  miles  lower  down.  It  is  such 
a  delicious  meat  that  I  wanted  some;  and  we  pulled  down  to 
Bitaga.  Guided  by  one  of  Sika's  boys,  we  entered  the  lagoon 
for  a  long  distance.  We  found  the  prey;  and  I  bought  forty- 
five  pounds  for  $15  (trade).  We  made  a  camp  and  ate.  On 
the  way  back,  we  passed  the  floating  corpse  of  the  woman 
drowned   in   Lebo.     Stopping  at   Mavyane's,   we   heard   of  the 


528.  MY  OGOWE 

drowning  of  another  woman.  At  nightfall,  we  were  in  terror, 
being  actually  pursued  by  a  hippopotamus.  It  was  the  first  time 
T  had  been  so  pursued.  Most  of  my  travels  were  by  day.  Per- 
haps the  animal  felt  more  duty  in  guarding  his  household  at 
night.  We  carried  to  Nyamba  the  report  about  her  dead  friend's 
corpse;  and  were  home  by  9  p.  m. 

To  satisfy  the  longings  of  some  of  my  people  for  a  "  vaca- 
tion," to  furnish  an  itineration  for  my  sister,  and  an  outing  for 
Mary  near  the  close  of  her  second  year,  I  planned  a  four  days' 
picnic  in  the  Bitaga  Lagoon.  On  Tuesday,  the  20th,  leaving 
only  a  few  to  guard  the  house,  with  my  sister,  Charity  and  Mary, 
in  the  boat,  and  with  two  canoes  and  a  force  of  ten  men,  we  went 
down  to  a  trading-house  at  the  mouth  of  the  lagoon,  formerly 
occupied  by  Uduma,  and  at  that  time  by  a  Portuguese,  Manoel. 
one  of  Mr.  Stein's  men.  We,  of  the  boat,  were  in  advance  of 
the  canoes.  Manoel  put  his  house  at  our  service,  and  we  were 
busy  in  setting  up  our  bedding  and  arranging  our  boxes  in  two 
of  his  rooms.  The  Fail  we  watched  us  with  keen  eyes.  When 
the  canoes  arrived,  they  at  once  entered  the  lagoon,  and  fished ; 
and,  early  in  evening  returned,  successful.  I  arranged  with  the 
men  that  T  would  exact  of  them  no  work  except  to  take  me  in 
the  boat ;  that  they  might  fish  when  and  as  they  pleased,  bring- 
ing me  only  enough  for  my  family;  all  the  remainder  that 
they  could  catch  and  dry  should  be  theirs.  Tt  was  a  happy  ar- 
rangement. They  were  free  from  work ;  and  I  was  free  from 
superintendence. 

Next  day,  Wednesday,  the  21st,  after  a  hasty  breakfast  we 
followed  in  the  boat  the  two  canoes  which  had  preceded  us  by 
two  hours,  into  the  lagoon,  to  an  island,  where  I  put  up  the  tent. 
Tt  being  dry  season,  there  was  no  probability  of  rain.  The  men 
soon  brought  in  fish.  All  day.  there  was  only  cooking,  eating, 
fishing,  reading,  singing,  resting,  sleeping,  playing,  and  talking 
with  canoe-loads  of  Fanwe  visitors.  At  5  p.  m.  we  of  the  boat 
left  for  Manoel's  house,  taking  enough  fish  for  our  supper,  and 
leaving  the  other  men  to  their  own  devices  for  night-fishing. 
As  the  Fanwe  had  no  plantains  for  sale,  T  sent  Imunga  to  an 
adjacent  Mpongwe  trader,  to  enlist  his  aid.  Xext  day.  Thurs- 
day, the  22d.  plantains  came  early.  And,  the  occupations  and 
amusements  of  the  previous  day  were  repeated.  Tn  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon,  we  of  the  boat  started  tn  return  to  Manoel's, 
the  canoes  to  follow  later  after  some  more  fishing.  Mary  had 
enjoyed  the  playing:  and.  T  was  agreeably  surprised  that  she  had 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  529 

endured  so  well  the  irregular  hours,  and  the  being  out  at  night 
without  apparent  harm. 

On  Friday,  the  23d,  after  breakfast  we  started  homeward, 
stopping  at  Sika's  to  buy  thatch.  There  was  lying  the  French 
gunboat  Turquoise,  where  it  had  arrested  some  trader.  I  had 
so  given  myself  to  play  with  Mary  at  the  camp,  that  she  missed 
me  while  I  was  busy  ashore  with  the  thatch.  I  found  a  com- 
panion for  her  in  the  person  of  a  little  Mpongwe  girl,  Ngwanji. 
Mary,  in  her  own  civilization,  seemed  to  recognize  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Mpongwe  as  superior  (as  it  really  was)  to  that  of 
the  Fan  we.  Nevertheless,  with  the  latter,  she  was  pleased  to 
gratify  their  curiosity  with  her  doll  and  little  picture-book.  We 
were  at  Talaguga  comfortably  before  sun-down.  A  notably 
pleasant  picnic.  That  function  so  successful,  I  repeated  every 
year  of  the  remainder  of  my  stay  at  Talaguga. 

On  Tuesday,  the  27th,  I  resumed  the  work  of  revision  of  Mr. 
Mackey's  Benga  grammar,  for  which  I  had  been  appointed  by 
the  mission,  but  on  which  I  had  done  nothing  during  the  previous 
two  years. 

With  Mary,  Charity  and  Ombagho,  went  the  next  day,  to  play 
on  the  little  sand-bank  in  the  cove  in  front  of  Nyare's  former 
village.  She  enjoyed  it.  But,  on  the  following  day,  I  had  to 
distress  her  by  ordering  her  sheep  to  be  killed.  Its  constant 
ba-a-ing  became  an  unendurable  rasp  on  my  nerves. 

On  Monday.  August  2d,  Mr.  Quayle  passed  up  in  a  canoe,  and 
his  crew  shouted  word  that  Agonjo-amwenge.  a  former  employee 
was  dead.  So,  when  the  canoe  returned,  Akendenge  and  his 
wife  went  down  in  it  to  attend  the  mourning.  And,  on  the  5th, 
as  the  Turquoise  passed  up,  its  crew  left  word  that  Akambie,  one 
of  the  first  two  volunteers  at  Talaguga  in  1882,  was  dead  at 
Inenga.  1  made  these  deaths  the  subject  of  my  remarks  on  Sun- 
day, the  8th,  the  second  anniversary  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  death. 

On  Friday,  the  13th,  in  the  Evangeline,  with  my  sister  and 
baby  Mary,  started  for  an  excursion,  intending  to  go  as  far  as 
Asange ;  but  on  reaching  Alariga,  Mary's  sand-bank,  I  found 
that  her  food  had  been  forgotten  by  Charity.  And.  the  excur- 
sion had  to  be  abandoned.  Unless  /  attended  to  everything  for 
her,  things  would  be  forgotten.  How  I  missed  good  Handi. 
even  with  her  occasional  fits  of  sulking!  The  annoyance  and 
the  warm  sun  gave  me  a  bad  headache.  In  the  evening  inquiry 
class,  Charity  recited  with  us. 

The  next  day,  I  went  to  the  French  Post,  to  try  to  buy  milk 


53Q  MY  OGOWE 

and  tea,  of  which  I  was  almost  out.  Moiis.  Kerraoul  happened 
to  have  an  abundance ;  and  he  loaned  me  tea,  milk,  coffee,  and 
chocolate.  He  was  making  a  treaty  with  the  Fafiwe.  At  the 
Post.  I  was  interested  in  seeing-  a  little  boy,  of  the  far-inland 
Bateke  tribe.  After  eating-  my  lunch  on  a  forest  path,  I  went 
to  call  on  Mr.  Letz  at  his  house.  I  took  Mary  a  little  ride  in 
the  Swan.  I  thought  that  she  was  already  beginning  to  recog- 
nize its  name  as  her  "  mother's  boat." 

The  passage  of  steamers  was  frequent.  They  generally  had 
either  a  mail  or  a  message.  I  valued  their  favors.  But,  on 
Sunday,  the  22d,  while  I  was  conducting  morning-prayers,  a  boat 
was  sent  ashore  from  a  gunboat.  The  messenger  bore  a  letter 
to  me  from  Mr.  Wichula.  So  little  did  the  man  seem  to  know 
about  religion,  that  he  stalked  into  the  room  and  thrust  the  letter 
at  me  while  I  was  reading  the  Scripture.  I  waved  him  aside 
for  the  few  minutes  until  my  service  closed.  As  a  soldier,  he 
thought  of  nothing  else  but  the  discharge  of  his  errand ;  probably 
also,  dreading  any  delay  of  the  vessel. 

On  Tuesday,  the  24th,  on  our  way  down  to  Yena  for  thatch, 
we  captured  a  young  antelope  swimming  across  the  river.  And, 
at  an  Akele  village,  saw  a  fresh  gorilla  skull.  On  our  return 
we  stopped  in  the  forest,  to  skin  our  antelope,  which  took  a  long 
time;  for,  I  wished  the  skin  to  be  carefully  preserved.  Fafiwe, 
from  passing  canoes,  stopped,  and  anxiously  watched  the  proc- 
ess. (In  butchering,  the  natives  did  not  flay  their  prey;  they 
ate  skin  and  all.)  We  were  back  to  Talaguga  so  late,  that  I 
had  to  defer  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  until  next  evening;  for, 
I  was  only  just  in  time  to  give  a  late  attendance  to  Mary's  food, 
and  then  to  put  her  to  sleep. 

Next  day,  with  the  Gambia,  came  a  great  blessing,  in  the 
form  of  two  carpenters,  Benita  men,  the  good  Metyeba  of  1884, 
and  the  faithful  Ingumu  of  1874.  On  the  30th,  the  Gambia 
came  again,  and  left  a  letter  from  the  doctor  of  the  Pionnicr, 
with  a  bill  of  $11  for  surgical  attendance  on  Imunga,  in  Febru- 
ary. I  was  surprised,  at  a  charge  being  made ;  for,  I  had  at  the 
time  offered  payment,  and  understood  him  to  decline.  I  prob- 
ably had  not  understood  that  the  bill  must  first  go  through  some 
red-tape  department. 

On  Wednesday,  September  8,  to  my  great  relief,  there  came 
Galwa  canoes  with  plantains  for  sale.  It  was  strange  that  the 
Galwas  would  come  more  than  seventy  miles  for  a  market,  the 
while  that  Fafiwe  at  my  side  were  not  willing  to  grow  plantations 
large  enough  to  create  a  market.     My  Galwa  employees  had  for 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  531 

several  days  been  sullenly  uncomfortable  with  their  farinya  ra- 
tions, I  reserving  my  few  plantains  and  cassava  for  the  two  car- 
penters. The  Galwas  seemed  to  resent  what  they  called  my 
favoritism  of  the  superior  Kombe  tribe.  But,  that  was  not  true. 
In  my  contract  with  the  carpenters,  I  was  bound  to  provide  them 
a  certain  food.  And,  their  work  was,  to  me,  so  important  and 
more  needed  than  that  of  ordinary  boat-rowing  and  grass-cut- 
ting. With  this,  I  will  dismiss  further  reference  to  the  food 
question  at  Talaguga;  the  difficulty  continued  more  or  less  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  my  life  there.  Sometimes  it  was  "  a  feast," 
at  others,  "  a  famine."  On  her  return  from  a  village  visitation, 
my  sister  told  me  that  the  curiosity  of  one  man  was  so  great 
that,  without  her  permission,  he  began  to  handle  her  hair.  In  my 
company,  Mrs.  Nassau  had  sometimes  allowed  them  to  gratify 
their  curiosity  in  that  way.  On  the  return  of  the  Swan  from 
those  visitations,  Mary  usually  expected  a  little  special  ride  for 
herself.  She  was  in  good  health ;  but,  still  weighing  only  twenty- 
six  pounds. 

At  noon  of  Friday,  the  10th,  one  of  my  men,  Agonjo 
("  Paul  ")  seized  a  Fan  we  canoe  as  hostage  for  his  chest  and 
goods  stolen  some  weeks  before.  I  permitted  the  seizure,  as 
( 1)  it  was  made  on  the  public  highway,  (2)  the  man  and  canoe 
belonged  to  the  village  of  the  offender.  In  African  law  that  is 
sufficient  ground  for  arrest.  During  the  afternoon,  a  leopard's 
tracks  were  seen  near  one  of  the  bridges  over  the  brook.  In 
the  evening,  Ntula  came  with  Agonjo's  goods  that  Aboga  had 
stolen ;  and  the  canoe  was  released.  There  were  signs  of  the 
coming  rainy  season ;  among  others,  the  enormous  flights  of  but- 
terflies. 

On  Sunday,  the  12th,  made  another  change  of  hours  with 
Mary.  I  gave  her  food,  as  heretofore,  at  11.30  a.  m.  ;  but,  in- 
stead of  her  then  going  to  sleep,  she  sat  at  the  table  with  us. 
And  I  did  not  lay  her  down,  until  12.30  p.  m.  by  which  time,  she 
herself  was  ready  to  go  to  sleep. 

For  my  Sunday  evening  lecture,  I  gave  some  thoughts  on  the 
completion  of  twenty-five  years  of  my  mission-life:  the  day 
being  the  anniversary  of  my  landing  at  Corisco. 

My  canoe,  sent  only  as  far  as  Laseni's.  on  a  plantain  search, 
returned  successful,  on  the  16th.  And.  a  Galwa  canoe  came  with 
over  2,000  dried  kondo  fish  (prepared  only  in  the  dry  season), 
all  of  which  I  bought.  And.  my  employees  were  happy.  The 
Mpongwe  parents  of  the  little  girl  Ngwanji  from  Vena,  came 
to  get  worm-medicine  for  her.      (The  natives  were  all  afflicted 


532  MY  OGOWE 

with  intestinal  worms.  Santonin  was  constantly  asked  for.) 
T  had  Metyeba  make  an  important  chancre  in  Mary's  bath- 
room. While  it  opened  conveniently  for  me,  into  my  bed-room, 
the  nurse,  in  coming  from  her  room  up-stairs,  had  to  descend 
into  the  sitting-room,  and  thence  through  the  dining-room,  to 
reach  that  bath-room.  I  had  him  cut  through  the  up-stairs  floor, 
and  make  a  stairway  directly  down  into  the  bath-room;  a  very 
much  shorter  route  for  the  nurse,  and  a  greater  convenience  for 
me.  if  I  should  need  to  call  for  her  assistance. 

My  hen-coop  had  several  times  been  invaded,  and  fowls 
killed.  As  the  door  was  safely  locked,  I  knew  that  the  invader 
was  not  a  human  being.  Xor.  were  there  openings  large  enough 
to  admit  a  civet  ("bush  "-cat).  I  suspected  a  snake.  Just  as 
T  had  begun  the  evening  inquiry  class  meeting,  on  the  20th, 
there  was  an  outcry  in  the  yard,  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  where 
were  the  nests  of  the  setting  hens.  Hastening  out,  we  saw  the 
snake  gliding  away;  and  lost  it  in  the  darkness. 

JOURNEY  TO   KANGWE. 

On  Tuesday.  September  2r,  we  were  going  to  the  Kangwe 
communion.  I  made  special  preparations  for  my  little  Mary's 
protection  from  rain,  in  the  Nelly-Howard.  T  took  a  selected 
crew,  with  my  sister.  Charity  and  Mary,  and  the  boy  Ombagho. 
Hoping  to  make  the  sixty-five  mile  run  in  one  day.  T  was  up  by 
4  a.  m.  to  load  the  boat;  and  off  by  6  a.  m.  It  was  interesting 
to  watch  our  progress,  hour  by  hour,  as  we  passed  well-known 
points;  and,  at  the  fifth  hour,  stopped  in  the  forest  near  Xgwilaka 
for  lunch,  and  rest  of  two  hours.  Then,  in  the  afternoon,  other 
familiar  points.  At  the  Island  "  factory."  we  met  the  Gambia 
with  Messrs.  Quayle  and  Bramwell.  But.  the  sun  set  at  the 
twelfth  hour  near  the  Xgunye ;  and.  we  stopped  for  the  night  in 
a  village  near  its  mouth.  Mary  was  a  great  curiosity  to  the 
villagers.  And.  I  was  interested  in  a  little  boy.  whom  Mrs. 
Nassau  had  noticed,  as  a  babe,  more  than  two  years  before. 
Mary  had  been  restless  all  day,  with  confinement  in  the  boat. 
Xow.  she  was  keen  to  watch  the  goats,  and  dogs,  and  babies. 

We  reached  Andcnde  house,  the  next  day.  the  22d,  by  ro  a.  m. 
Mr.  (rood  was  absent  at  Lembarene  trading-houses.  There  was 
an  afternoon  church-service.  After  which,  came  a  messenger 
from  Lembarene  with  a  mail,  just  brought  by  the  F alalia,  and 
word  that  that  vessel  had  on  board  fifty  boxes  and  packages  of 
my   English  and  American  orders.      Also,  that  my  dear   friend 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  533 

Njivo,  wife  of  Candidate  Mbora,  was  there,  awaiting  transporta- 
tion to  Kangwe.  I  went  at  once,  to  see  about  my  goods;  and 
brought  Njivo. 

On  Friday,  the  24th,  it  was  thrilling  to  witness,  all  day,  the 
arrivals  of  the  native  Christians,  and  to  listen  to  their  welcomes. 
I  preached,  in  the  afternoon. 

Next  day,  I  went  to  Lembarene  with  my  crew,  to  assist  them 
in  their  "shopping."'  Those  quarterly  journeys  were  great 
occasions  for  my  people  to  spend  their  month's  wages.  The 
supply  of  goods  at  Lembarene  was  so  much  greater  in  quantity 
and  variety,  in  the  thousands  of  dollars  laden  shelves  of  the 
English,  German,  and  French  houses,  than  I  had  at  Talaguga  in 
my  few  hundreds. 

At  the  communion  service  on  Sunday,  the  26th,  there  were 
four  baptisms ;  and,  large  accessions  reported,  to  the  catechumen 
class. 

On  the  Monday,  went  with  Mr.  Good  to  call  on  the  French 
commandant,  in  a  conference  about  our  mission  affairs.  En- 
gaged new  employees,  and  crew  for  the  kongongo  of  Mr.  Good, 
in  which  I  was  to  take  some  of  my  new  supplies. 

RETURN    TO    TALAGUGA. 

On  Tuesday,  the  28th,  heavily  laden,  in  the  boat,  so  crowded 
that  the  six  oars  could  not  be  used ;  instead,  paddles  for  a  crew 
of  nine,  and  the  kongongo,  also  laden,  with  seven  paddles,  we 
started  homeward.  Pulling-  was  slow  among  the  channels  to 
the  point  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ngunye  mouth  by  n  a.  m. 
Resting  there  for  two  hours,  we  reached  the  Island  "  factory  " 
after  dark,  for  the  night.  The  next  morning,  with  the  loan  of 
a  rain-coat  from  Mr.  Bramwell,  we  started  early,  hoping  to 
reach  Laseni's  by  night;  for,  I  was  taking  his  niece  Njivo  to 
visit  him.  But,  we  failed  to  reach  Laseni's ;  and  stopped  for  the 
night  in  the  miserable  huts  of  a  Bivum  clan.  The  people  were 
very  rude  and  thievish.  Ombagho  and  Njivo's  little  servant, 
Davis,  had  their  sleeping  mats  and  nets  stolen.  I  complained  to 
the  chief;  and,  he  restored  a  portion  of  them.  It  was  a  very 
trying  night  to  Mary  and  to  us  all. 

The  next  day,  Thursday,  we  stopped  at  Laseni's,  for  Njivo 
to  debark.  Her  uncle  was  absent,  having  gone  down-river  to 
meet  her,  not  knowing  that  she  was  coming  with  me.  For  the 
night,  we  stopped  at  Bitaga,  at  our  picnic  hut,  Manoel's  com- 
fortable house.  But,  the  kongongo,  under  Akendenge,  went  on 
to  Sika's,  below  Njomu.  and  was  caught  in  a  heavy  rain.     The 


534  MY  OGOWE 

next  day,  Friday,  October  I,  a  rudder-pin  broke.  I  stopped  at 
Xdona-nyare's  Njomu,  for  rq>airs.  He  was  very  helpful;  he 
found  in  his  hut,  a  meat-hook,  which  T  was  able  to  fasten  into 
temporary  service.  On  our  farther  way,  near  Walker's,  I  saw 
three  of  my  people,  whom  I  had  left  in  charge,  burying  one  of 
their  relatives,  who  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  trader 
Antyuvva.  As  Ombagho  included  the  dead  man  among  his  rela- 
tives, he  at  once  lifted  his  voice  in  wailing.  We  were  home 
again  before  sun-down. 

The  next  day,  was  a  bright  hot  day,  and  the  wet  boxes  and 
goods  were  dried.  A  church-bell  had  arrived.  Carpenter 
Metyeba  was  gone ;  but  Tngumu  erected  the  bell  in  good  ringing 
order. 

On  Monday,  the  4th,  Mr.  Good's  kongongo  was  sent  back  to 
him,  with  Mr.  Bramwell's  coat  to  be  returned  fin  the  way. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  9th,  with  Mary  in  her 
mother's  Swan,  I  went  up-river  to  the  Bindube  clan  villages. 
The  first  Saturday  village-itineration  I  had  made  for  a  year! 
During  that  time  I  had  been  depending  on  my  sister  for  that 
service.  But,  now,  with  my  two-year-old  little  girl's  increasing 
strength,  I  felt  safe  to  go  myself  and  take  her  with  me. 

Monday,  the  nth,  was  my  fifty-first  anniversary  birthday. 
In  the  afternoon,  came  the  Gambia  with  my  forty-nine  cases, 
etc.,  of  tools,  provisions,  and  other  supplies.  Then,  for  several 
days,  I  was  very  busy  unpacking,  listing,  labeling-  prices,  and 
storing  on  shelves  these  treasures.  To  prevent  the  flooding  of 
the  kitchen,  as  in  a  year  before,  I  had  earth  carried  to  fill  in  and 
raise  the  clay  floor. 

On  Tuesday,  the  19th,  I  was  arranging  to  go  down  as  far  as 
Laseni's,  for  plantains,  and  to  invite  Njivo  to  come  and  visit  us. 
Just  then,  some  canoes  came  with  plantains;  and  I  doubted 
whether  I  needed  to  go.  But,  the  next  day,  while  I  was  deciding 
to  go,  there  came  to  me  such  strong  premonitions  not  to  do  so, 
that,  had  I  been  superstitious,  I  would  have  l>een  afraid.  Not  be- 
lieving in  premonitions,  I  went.  We  had  only  rounded  the  point 
at  Sika's.  when  1  saw  a  steamer  at  anchor  at  Bitaga.  As  I  pro- 
ceeded, the  vessel  lifted  anchor,  and  came  to  meet  me.  It  was 
the  Akele;  and  Njivo,  with  her  two  children.  Abidi  and  Onyenge 
(by  her  first  husband)  were  on  board,  coming  to  visit  me.  The 
Akele  took  me  in  tow;  and  we  were  home  early  in  the  afternoon. 
(My  premonition  was  a  good  one ;  I  need  not  have  gone.)  Mary 
was   glad   to   see  two   new   civilized   playmates.     And,    Njivo's 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  535 

presence,  during  her  week's  visit,  was  a  great  aid  and  comfort, 
in  her  devotion  to  myself,  and  in  the  motherly  tact  and  love  that 
she  showed  to  my  child. 

One  day,  I  took  my  visitor  and  her  children  to  the  hill,  with 
my  Mary,  to  show  them  her  mother's  cottage,  and  the  Pool  of 
the  brook. 

On  Monday,  the  25th,  my  friend  announced  that  she  would 
finish  her  visit,  if  1  could  send  her  down  to  Kangwe;  which  I 
did  with  her  children  on  the  27th,  in  the  kongongo,  and  a  crew 
of  six.  Mary  missed  very  much  her  motherly  love,  and  the 
happy  games  with  her  well-trained  little  girl  and  boy.  For  my- 
self, though  I  had  known  Njivo  since  she  was  a  little  child,  and 
had  had  much  intimate  acquaintance  with  her  during  her  girl- 
hood and  young  womanhood,  that  week's  association  revealed 
to  me  her  good  traits  more  than  ever  before.  She  had  a 
womanly  character  quite  above  all  native  women  I  had  met. 
In  her  confidences  with  me,  and  the  revelation  of  trials  she  had 
endured,  I  saw  a  secret  heroism  which  I  had  not  before  known. 
She  was  the  loveliest  native  Christian  woman  I  met  in  Africa. 

While  we  were  at  evening-prayers  of  November  3,  my  ko- 
ngongo which  I  had  sent  on  October  21,  down-river  for  plantains, 
was  heard  with  its  boat-songs.  On  the  crew  landing,  I  found 
that  they  were  accompanied  by  some  of  my  former  employees, 
Re-Mondo,  Abumba  and  wife,  Mamba  and  wife  and  baby,  and 
two  new  little  boys.  There  was  great  rejoicing  among  my  peo- 
ple. The  presence  of  the  two  women  would  make  Talaguga 
more  home-like;  and,  I  hoped  that  my  employees  would  be  less 
restless.  The  kongongo  had  brought  also,  besides  its  supply  of 
plantains,  a  mail,  and  a  long-expected  box  from  my  Lawrence- 
ville,  N.  J.,  relatives,  containing  among  other  good  things,  a 
photograph  of  Mary's  mother,  and  a  copy  of  Stanley's  "  Kongo 
Free-State."  I  spent  most  of  the  4th  in  paying  the  crew,  re- 
reading the  mail,  and  arranging  the  papers  and  articles  that  had 
come  in  the  box. 

On  Wednesday,  the  10th,  I  sent  the  Swan,  with  my  sister,  to 
take  the  little  Faiiwe  boy  Biye  to  visit  his  village.  I  sent 
Mamba  or  Akendenge,  on  alternate  Saturdays,  to  do  the  work 
of  itineration  in  my  stead.  I  had  now  twenty-five  natives,  men, 
women,  and  children,  being  fed  on  the  premises.  As  some  of 
the  workmen  were  skilled,  and  did  not  need  my  constant  super- 
vision, and,  as  Charity  affiliated  with  the  three  other  women, 
taking  Mary  with  her,  I  had  time  to  resume  my  revision  of  the 
Benga  grammar. 


536  MY  OGOWE 

Nyamba  had  not  come  for  a  long  time.  I  felt  that  it  was  a 
neglect;  for,  I  had  been  kind  to  her.  One  day,  she  came,  bring- 
ing a  woman  who  wanted  medicine.  I  gave  it ;  but,  I  upbraided 
Nyamba,  for  coming  to  me  only  when  she  was  in  need.  During 
those  days,  some  Fanwe,  from  down-river,  stayed  over  night 
and  all  of  the  next  day,  fearing  to  go  on,  because  of  enemies  at 
a  certain  village  beyond.  They  were  safe  while  they  remained 
with  me.  With  the  large  number  of  employees,  I  had  the 
grounds,  all  around  the  house,  put  in  cleaner  and  neater  order 
than  they  had  been,  for  months. 

On  Thursday,  the  18th,  the  Akclc  came,  with  Mr.  Good  as 
passenger,  a  supply  of  plantains,  and  a  mail.  He  came  to  con- 
sult about  our  future  expected  troubles  from  the  French  au- 
thorities, in  regard  to  schools  and  other  topics.  He  left  early 
the  next  morning.  The  Akcle  had  brought  also  a  precious  box 
from  my  dear  brother  William  and  his  wife,  of  Burlington,  Iowa, 
with  gifts  of  food,  and  other  luxuries,  and  shoes  and  stockings 
for  my  little  Alary. 

To  the  services  of  Sunday,  the  21st,  came  the  trader  Antyuwa 
and  many  Fanwe.  They  had  had  a  quarrel  about  stealing, 
which  he  had  reported  to  me  on  the  Saturday  night.  But,  they 
had  settled  it ;  and,  to  prove  that,  came  together  to  the  "  peace- 
house." 

Early  in  the  evening  of  Monday,  the  22d,  a  steamer's  whistle 
was  heard.  And,  after  prayers,  I  went  down  to  Walker's  and 
found  both  the  Falaba  and  Gambia.  I  chatted  on  the  deck  of 
the  latter  for  an  hour.  And,  then  came  away  with  gifts,  a 
basket  of  potatoes  and  onions,  and  a  package  from  kind  Airs, 
(iood.  I  sat  up  late,  writing  a  long  letter  to  the  president  of  our 
foreign  mission  board.  Rev.  Dr.  Wells;  which  I  carefully  revised 
next  day ;  and  sent  it  by  the  Gambia  on  the  24th. 

On  Thursday,  the  25th,  Mamba  returned  from  a  three  days' 
itineration  to  Erere-volo,  bringing  word  that  friend  Ndoiia-ma- 
vufia  was  dead.  I  began  to  collect  material,  a  year  in  advance. 
with  which  to  build  a  chapel  on  the  little  island.  The  work- 
though  slowly,  was  decidedly  growing  for  both  school  and 
church.  Little  trees  and  plants  I  had  brought  from  Lembarene, 
were  growing.  Among  others,  a  cherry-guava  from  Air.  Sin- 
clair. 

It  was  difficult  sometimes  to  know  the  secret  reasons  for  some 
of  the  actions  of  my  people.  They  were  expected  to  attend  both 
morning  and  evening  prayers.  But,  I  had  no  hard  and  fast  rule; 
individual   absences   were   allowed,   especially   if   any  reasonable 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  537 

excuse  were  given.  But,  when  no  one  came  from  the  "  Nkami  " 
hut,  in  the  morning  of  December  2d,  it  looked  like  conspiracy. 
So,  I  gave  them  neither  food  nor  work  that  morning.  Then, 
spitefully,  they  stayed  away  from  work  in  the  afternoon.  And, 
yet,  with  apparent  piety,  they  came  to  inquiry  class  meeting  in 
the  evening!  But,  I  was  not  deceived;  for,  I  smelt  the  odor  of 
liquor,  and  knew  that  some  one  had  been  drinking  rum. 

On  one  of  those  days  came  the  Gambia,  bringing  as  passenger, 
Laseni  and  a  lot  of  plantains,  with  which  he  bought  tools.  I 
had  much  satisfaction  in  my  order  of  American  tools.  Several 
white  traders,  Messrs.  Letz,  Wichula,  and  others  had  admired 
them ;  and,  I  parted  with  them  for  only  plantains.  So,  the  food- 
question  was  comfortably  settled  for  a  time. 

On  Wednesday,  the  8th,  with  my  sister,  and  Alary  and  her 
attendants,  I  went  up-river  in  my  large  boat,  on  an  excursion. 
I  had  adorned  the  boat  with  an  American  flag.  We  met  a 
French  gunboat.  As  it  passed  us,  a  native  soldier  shouted  to 
us,  "  Igavi !  "  (war).  What  he  meant  by  that,  I  did  not  know; 
nor,  was  there  time  to  inquire ;  for.  the  vessel's  own  motion,  and 
the  river's  current  rapidly  carried  her  from  us.  My  sister  sug- 
gested, that,  perhaps,  offense  was  taken  at  my  not  having  saluted 
with  the  flag.  And,  then,  it  occurred  to  me,  that,  perhaps,  the 
flag  itself  was  an  offense.  So,  I  took  it  down.  [Subsequently, 
I  learned,  at  Libreville,  that,  except  at  a  consulate,  foreign  flags 
were  allowable  no  where  on  the  outdoor  premises,  and  only  in- 
doors, as  a  decoration.]  We  ate  our  lunch  in  the  forest,  and 
leaving  my  sister  with  the  little  boy  Biye  at  his  village,  I  went 
with  Mary,  on  to  Asange  Post,  to  settle  some  bills  for  the  year. 

Saturday,  December  11.  was  a  busy  day;  all  morning  my 
annual  inventory  of  "  goods  on  hand  " ;  and,  in  the  afternoon, 
giving  out  rations  of  meat.  etc..  etc..  to  Mamba  and  Ingumu, 
whom  I  had  appointed  in  charge  during  my  expected  absence 
at  the  annual  meetings  at  Gaboon. 

JOURNEY    TO    KAXGWE    AXD    LIBREVILLE. 

By  8  a.  m.  of  Thursday,  the  16th,  in  the  Nelly-Hoivard,  and 
a  canoe,  with  a  company  of  fourteen  souls,  men,  women  and 
children,  we  began  our  excited  journey.  Our  noon  meal  and 
rest  was  in  Xjalele's  trading-house  at  Erere-volo.  We  remem- 
bered days  in  the  past  when  those  Fanwe  villages  were  passed 
in  fear!  Another  little  stop  was  made  at  Laseni's.  near  the 
mouth  of  Abange  Creek.  There,  his  wife  Alida  gave  my  Mary 
a  plump  little  dog.     "  Don  "  became  a  great  treasure.     For  the 


538  MY  OGOWE 

night,  we  stopped  in  the  comfortable  shelter  of  Mr.  Bram well's 
"  Island  factory." 

The  next  day,  in  company  with  a  canoe  of  Mr.  Bramwell's, 
we  resumed  journey,  expecting  to  meet,  at  Lembarene,  the  Fa- 
laba,  which,  we  heard,  had  arrived  from  Gaboon.  But,  in  pass- 
ing down  one  channel  on  a  side  of  Walker's  Island,  opposite  the 
Ngunye  mouth,  it  happened,  that  that  vessel,  at  that  very  time, 
was  passing  up  on  the  other  side,  unseen  by  us.  When  we 
reached  the  lower  end  of  the  island,  the  Falaba  was  seen  steam- 
ing up  the  Ngunye.  And,  perhaps,  it  had  mail  for  me,  on  board ! 
We  reached  the  Andende  house  during  the  morning.  In  the 
afternoon,  went  to  the  German  house,  on  business;  but,  both 
Messrs.  Lubcke  and  Schiff  were  absent. 

Next  clay,  in  company  with  Mr.  Good,  I  went  to  the  French 
Post,  to  pay  our  official  respects ;  and,  to  the  English  house,  to 
inquire  about  passage  on  the  Falaba  to  Libreville.  At  the  Ger- 
man house  again ;  and,  paid  my  year's  bills.  The  Elobi  and 
Duala  were  both  lying  there.  That  house  did  much  in  collecting 
zoological  specimens  for  Hamburg.  Mr.  Schiff  had  in  hand,  at 
that  time,  a  young  elephant. 

On  Sunday,  the  19th,  I  preached  for  Mr.  Good  in  the  morning. 
My  dear  friend  Njivo's  husband,  Evangelist  Mbora,  I  had  sent 
on  Saturday  in  a  canoe  with  five  of  my  people,  to  speak  in  the 
Ajumba  villages  down  the  smaller  branch  of  the  river. 

On  Monday,  the  commandant  came  in  his  gunboat,  to  return 
our  call  of  Saturday.  He  brought  a  sick  man  for  medication ; 
and,  he  inspected  the  station. 

All  the  remainder  of  that  week,  we  were  awaiting  the  return 
of  the  Falaba.  Changes  of  hours  and  food  were  having  a  bad 
effect  on  my  child.  It  was  unusually  early  for  the  quarterly 
communion ;  but,  the  distant  members  of  the  church  had  been 
notified ;  and,  it  was  exceedingly  interesting  to  watch  the  con- 
stant arrivals  as  they  "  came  up  to  Jerusalem."  Continuous 
daily  religious  services  and  session-meetings  began  on  Thurs- 
day, the  23d. 

My  sister  had  offered  to  have  Mary  sleep  with  her,  as  I  had 
brought  no  crib.  But,  the  child  was  dissatisfied,  and  returned 
to  my  bed.  That  night,  she  had  a  fright.  A  cat,  in  its  search 
for  rats,  leaped  from  an  over-head  beam  (like  most  of  our  houses, 
at  that  time,  Andende  had  no  ceilings)  on  to  our  mosquito-net. 
The  force  broke  the  net's  suspending  strings;  and  the  whole  net, 
frame,  cat,  and  all  fell  on  her  in  the  l>ed.     The  terrified  cat  was 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  539 

howling,  and,  in  its  efforts  to  escape  from  the  net's  meshes,  was 
scratching  Mary's  face.     The  shock  was  very  alarming. 

Of  Christmas,  I  took  little  note. 

The  Falaba  returned  from  the  Ngunye.  On  my  going  to  the 
English  house,  Mr.  Smith  (Mr.  Sinclair's  successor)  assured  me 
that  the  vessel  should  not  start  on  Sunday,  but  would  wait  for 
me  until  Monday.  Although  I  had  urged  Njivo  into  her  mar- 
riage with  Mbora,  I  had  afterwards  many  a  regret.  He  was  her 
inferior  in  every  respect.  They  had  a  quarrel ;  and,  she  came  to 
me,  as  her  "  father,"  to  judge  between  them.  Not  a  pleasant 
position  for  her  or  him  or  me. 

Though  it  was  showery  on  Sunday,  the  26th,  the  church  was 
full.  There  were  eight  additions  on  profession ;  and  eighty  more 
enrolled  in  the  inquiry  class,  which  already  had  a  list  of  seventy. 
I  was  glad  to  see  this  reaping,  under  Mr.  Good's  watering,  where 
I  had  first  sown  from  1876  to  1880. 

In  recognition  of  the  trader's  concession  to  my  objection  to 
Sabbath  travel,  by  the  delay  of  the  Falaba,  I  made  all  haste  to 
be  on  hand  early  on  Monday  morning  the  27th.  I  was  up  by  2 
a.  m.,  to  load  the  boat.  At  4.15  a.  m.,  with  Mr.  Good,  my  sister, 
my  Mary  and  Pawa,  Abumba's  young  wife  (temporarily  in 
place  of  Charity),  and  several  of  my  employees,  we  started  on 
the  hour's  pull  around  the  head  of  the  island  to  the  English 
house  of  H.  &  C,  where  we  found  that  there  had  been  a  small- 
pox patient  on  the  vessel.  But,  he  had  been  put  ashore  before 
we  arrived.  There  was  also  an  insane  man  on  board.  Captain 
Bachman  started  at  6  a.  m.  Gliding  uneventfully,  we  anchored 
for  the  night  at  Nango. 

And  the  next  day,  early  and  smoothly,  on  down  past  Angala, 
emerging  into  Nazareth  Bay,  and  out  on  to  a  quiet  sea;  and  at 
night,  anchored  at  sea,  half-way  to  the  Gaboon.  On  the  29th, 
the  sea  was  still  smooth,  and  nobody  sick.  (How  often  I  had 
been  sick  on  the  painful  Hudson,  over  that  course!)  Mary  was 
enjoying  the  voyage.  We  entered  the  Gaboon  estuary  in  com- 
pany with  the  English  ocean-steamer  Bcnguela,  just  arrived  from 
Liverpool,  anchoring  in  the  afternoon.  Rev.  W.  C.  Gault  came 
for  us.  On  the  beach  were  welcomes  from  Mrs.  Boardman  and 
my  excellent  Mrs.  Sneed.  And,  we  were  soon  comfortably  set- 
tled at  Baraka. 

Then,  next  day,  Thursday,  the  30th,  began,  and  continued,  for 
more  than  a  month,  a  series  of  excitements  on  the  side  of  Libre- 
ville civilization,  that  were  like  electric  shocks,  after  my  year's 


540  MY  OGOWE 

seclusion  in  the  Ogowe  wilderness.  The  mail  was  to  be  read. 
There  were  formal  calls  of  welcome,  with  much  show  of  foreign 
etiquette  mixed  with  native  form,  from  the  Mpongwe  minister, 
Rev.  Ntaka  Truman,  the  American  negro  lady,  Mrs.  Boardman, 
photographer  Joaque ;  Licentiate  Kongolo  and  Elder  Uhemba 
from  Benita  and  others.  Mrs.  Gault  presented  Mary  with  a  dress ; 
and,  the  other  Baraka  ladies  gave  her  New  Year  playthings. 
"  New  Year  "  was  a  new  phrase  to  her.  An  American  Methodist 
missionary,  Edwin  Small,  M.D.,  from  Maryland,  a  passenger 
from  the  Bcngucla,  on  his  way  south  to  the  Kongo ;  and  an  Eng- 
lish trader  on  his  way  to  Camma ;  Rev.  A.  W.  Marling,  from 
his  Angom  station  up  the  Gaboon ;  my  tramping  to  the  trading- 
houses  of  Holt,  Sajoux,  and  Bettencourt.  at  the  Plateau,  seeking 
for  supplies  of  milk,  dried  fish,  and  kerosene;  Mrs.  Boardman's 
intoxication  at  the  church  preparatory  service  on  Friday  after- 
noon. And,  her  outrageous  conduct,  when  summoned  before  the 
session,  the  next  morning.  (She  had  been  indulging  too  freely 
in  New  Year's  celebration.)  The  French  Governor  Ballay's 
annual  soiree,  on  Saturday  night,  January  i  ;  which  I  attended, 
with  Messrs.  Gault  and  Marling.  At  church,  on  Sunday,  the  2d. 
it  was  strange  to  see  other  than  negro  faces ;  among  them  was  a 
Mr.  Moyer,  the  chief  in  charge  of  the  telegraph  company.  In 
the  afternoon.  I  stayed  by  Mary,  for  her  usual  nap;  but,  reached 
the  communion  service  witli  her,  just  in  time.  She  was  dressed 
very  prettily.  On  Monday,  the  3d,  came  into  the  harbor,  the 
United  States  gunboat,  Quinnebaug.  The  natives  were  familiar 
with  French.  English.  German,  and  other  national  war-vessels. 
They  had  asked  slightingly  whether  America  "  had  no  power." 
On  one  of  my  furloughs  to  the  United  States,  I  had  called  on 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  at  Washington,  and  had  requested 
that  he  occasionally  order  a  vessel  to  show  the  United  States 
Hag  in  the  Gaboon.  He  consented;  and,  thereafter,  once  in  two 
or  three  years,  a  vessel  was  detached  from  the  squadron  in  the 
Mediterranean,  and  visited  the  West  Coast  of  Africa  as  far 
south  as  the  equator.  On  Tuesday,  the  4th.  mission  meeting 
began.  Three  officers  from  the  Quinnebaug,  called.  Lieuten- 
ants Franklin  J.  Drake,  Frederic  Singer,  and  Randolph  Dickens. 
Thev  invited  us  to  visit  the  vessel.  We  did  so,  on  Wednesday, 
the  5th.  my  sister.  Miss  Lydia  Jones,  and  Mary  and  I.  We 
met  Commander  George  W.  Coffin.  Lieutenant  Commander 
Charles  S.  S]>errv.  Lieutenant  Nelson  T.  Houston,  and 
Surgeon  James  R.  Tyson.  (All  these  officers  have  since 
then  been  promoted,  and  must  of  them  have  retired.)      My  little 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  541 

girl  was  a  rare  sight,  on  that  coast,  to  the  young  ensigns.  They 
petted  her,  carried  her,  and  set  her  up  as  a  little  queen  on  one 
of  the  big  cannon.  As  a  memorial  to  Mrs.  Nassau,  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Secretary  Ellinwood,  the  W.'  F.  M.  Societies  had 
given  to  the  mission,  in  1886,  a  sailing  vessel,  the  Mary-Nassau, 
in  place  of  the  old  slow  Hudson.  While  we  were  on  the  Quinne- 
baug,  the  Mary-Nassau  came  in  from  the  north.  We  left  the 
gunboat,  and  I  took  Mary  to  see  her  mother's  "  little  ship." 
It  had  brought,  for  presbytery.  Rev.  F.  S.  Myongo,  and  other 
natives.  And  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya  had  come  in  his  own  boat  from 
Corisco.  Presbytery  adjourned  on  afternoon  of  Monday,  the 
10th  ;  and  mission  on  Wednesday,  the  12th.  My  duties  as  stated 
clerk  left  Mary  to  many  irresponsible  hands,  with  whom,  irregu- 
lar eating  and  sleeping  caused  her  a  week's  illness,  a  bilious 
attack,  that  made  me  anxious.  Arranging  with  Joaque  for  a 
photo  of  Mary,  who  had  a  strange  unwillingness  to  have  a 
camera  pointed  at  her.  The  sailing  north  of  the  Mary-Nassau, 
with  the  Benita  visitors.  I  preached  in  the  church  on  Sunday, 
the  1 6th.  Several  steamers  going  and  coming  during  those  days. 
A  new  line,  from  Havre  to  the  Kongo.  The  steamer  Ella- 
Wdermann,  from  Hamburg,  came,  bringing  me  a  box  from  my 
Nassau  relatives  in  Warsaw,  N.  Y.,  with  gifts  for  Mary.  One 
day.  I  walked  far  beyond  the  Plateau,  inquiring  in  vain,  at  every 
little  shop,  for  children's  toys.  On  Wednesday,  the  19th,  came 
the  Nubia,  Captain  Davis,  having  passengers  for  Bp.  Win.  Tay- 
lor's Methodist  mission  in  the  Kongo.  I  visited  the  Nubia,  and 
brought  two  of  them  ashore  for  the  day,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hicks 
and  their  two  little  children.  Another  day,  I  took  tea  with 
Mary,  at  Mrs.  Sneed's.  The  harbor  was  alive  with  the  coming 
and  going  of  vessels.  At  the  Plateau  dispensary,  I  supplied  my- 
self with  vaccine  matter,  for  possible  need  in  the  Ogowe.  On 
Sunday,  the  30th,  I  preached  at  both  the  English  and  the 
Mpongwe  services,  and  assisted  in  the  Sabbath  school  singing, 
and  at  Mr.  Gault's  Benga  song-service.  Mary  had  a  slight 
cough  that  made  me  suspect  whooping-cough. 

RETURN    JOURNEY    TO    TTIE    OGOWE,    OX    Fcilaba. 

Finally,  on  Saturday,  February  5th,  I  found  a  steamer,  the 
Falaba,  returning  to  the  Ogowe,  on  which  we  could  take  passage. 
In  my  earlier  Ogowe  years,  I  never  thought  of  depending  on 
steamers;  for,  they  were,  at  that  time,  few.  If  one  happened 
to  coincide  with  my  date.  I  was  glad  to  take  it.  But,  I  never 
waited  for  it.      I  depended  on  the  mission  cutter  and  my  own 


54^  MY  OGOWE 

boat.  But,  with  a  little  child,  I  would  not  risk  the  seventy-five 
miles  to  Nazareth  Bay  in  an  open  boat.  We  hurried  away, 
early  in  the  morning,  from  Baraka,  so  as  not  to  detain  the  ves- 
sel, and  were  on  board  by  sun-rise.  Even,  then,  however,  there 
was  a  delay  in  taking  up  the  anchor,  it  being  fouled  with  an  old 
cast-away.  The  ocean  was  smooth ;  and  we  anchored  at  night 
at  sea. 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  in  attempting  to  enter  Nazareth  Bay, 
the  vessel  grounded :  but,  moved  off  with  the  rising  tide :  and, 
at  night,  anchored  at  Angala.  The  Akcle  was  lying  there.  I 
would  have  transferred  to  it,  as  a  more  comfortable  vessel:  but, 
it  intended  to  go  slowly,  stopping  at  all  villages,  to  buy  thatch. 

The  next  day,  after  going  a  short  distance,  the  worn-out  en- 
gine (of  the  wearied  old  Pioneer)  was  out  of  order ;  and  a  stop 
was  made  all  day  for  repairs.  The  following  day.  we  reached 
Kamaranga,  a  little  below  the  seventy-mile  point  of  Ngumbe. 
On  the  Qth.  Wednesday,  we  passed  Igenja.  There,  two  of  my 
people,  Re-Ndiva  and  Etendi,  recognized  and  hailed  us.  I  told 
them  to  follow  in  their  canoe,  and  join  us  at  night.  Which  they 
did,  near  Nandipo.  Mary  was  glad  to  see  Etendi ;  his  services 
as  cook  she  rememl^ered.  There  was  a  Roman  Catholic  priest 
on  board,  who  made  advances  which  I  would  have  accepted  as 
sincere,  if  I  could  have  forgotten  the  machinations  of  his  associ- 
ates against  me  at  Talaguga,  and  their  tearing  to  pieces  the  Bible 
and  school-books  of  Mr.  Good's  pupils. 

The  next  day,  Thursday,  the  ioth.  at  Oranga,  stopping  for 
wood,  we  found  Mr.  Good  and  his  boat,  on  an  itineration.  The 
steamer  took  him  in  tow.  And.  by  night,  we  reached  Lemba- 
rene.  Leaving  my  company  on  board,  T  hasted  along  the  shore 
path  to  the  new  German  house,  to  ask  Mr.  Stein  for  passage  to 
Talaguga.  on  the  Akcle  expected  next  day.  He  refused.  ( The 
only  unkindnesses  I  received  from  traders  in  the  Ogowe.  were 
from  Germans.)  It  was  late,  and  I  was  not  well.  T  returned 
to  the  Falaba  for  Mary :  and.  leaving  my  baggage,  went  with 
Mr.  Good  in  his  boat,  to  the  Andende  house,  by  9  p.  m. 

The  next  day.  with  Mr.  Good,  T  went  to  get  my  baggage. 
Though  not  feeling  very  well,  T  walked  with  him  in  the  after- 
noon to  the  hill-house,  by  a  route  that  he  had  opened.  Though 
circuitous,  it  was  really  easier  than  my  old  steep  zig-zag  path : 
for,  by  a  long  gradual  ascent  it  went  around  the  heads  of  the 
two  ravines.  We  called  it  "  Mr.  Good's  Path."  The  following 
day.   I  had   fever,  and  was  unable  to  go  to  the  French  house. 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  543 

in  order  to  ask  Mr.  Sajou  for  passage  up-river.     Mr.  Good  went 
for  me.     And,  I  preached  for  him  on  Sunday. 

As  Mr.  Sajou's  vessel  was  not  going  up  the  Ogowe,  I  would 
not  wait  longer.  I  already  had  been  almost  two  months  from 
my  Talaguga  work.  With  my  own  boat  and  eight  crew,  and 
my  own  canoe  with  four  of  Mr.  Good's  men,  and  only  a  portion 
of  my  goods,  I  decided,  on  Monday,  the  14th,  to  go,  hoping  that 
we  might  escape  the  occasional  hot-dry  season  storms.  My 
company  was  my  sister,  and  Mary  with  Pawa.  And,  I  engaged 
Aveya's  sister  Aziza  (another  incompetent)  in  place  of  Charity, 
who,  during  my  absence,  had  accepted  a  position  as  "  temporary 
wife  "  of  the  trader  at  the  "  Island  factory."  While  I  felt  in- 
dignant at  him,  my  feeling  toward  her  was  only  of  pity.  Her 
relation  with  the  white  man,  and  that  of  hundreds  of  other  civ- 
ilized young  women  on  the  coast,  many  of  them  educated  in  the 
various  mission  schools,  was  one  which.  I  thought  (and  still 
think)  called  in  many  wrays  for  a  charitable  explanation,  and  not 
an  indiscriminate  denunciation  of  them  as  "  fallen  women." 
True ;  there  was  a  class  of  native  women,  who,  in  their  readiness 
for  solicitation  by  any  white  man  at  any  time,  were  only  harlots. 
Also,  there  was  another  and  higher  class,  who,  knowing,  from 
universal  native  custom,  no  other  mode  of  marriage  than  sale 
by  their  parents,  did  accept  a  white  man's  contract,  at  a  stipu- 
lated monthly  price.  But.  they  were  faithful  to  the  one  man. 
Then,  there  were  a  few,  in  a  still  higher  class,  who  accepted  offers 
from  a  white  man,  not  for  money,  but  because  their  affections 
dictated,  precisely  as  among  any  other  civilized  young  women. 
They  accepted  love  and  respect  and  protection  and  comfort,  far 
beyond  what  a  native  husband  could  or  would  offer  (most  of 
whom  claimed  the  right  to  beat  a  wife).  Those  young  women 
were  modest,  and,  I  believe  virtuous.  They  were  faithful  to  the 
white  man,  as  his  wife.  When  he  went  on  his  European  fur- 
lough, they  virtuously  held  themselves  in  reserve  for  his  return. 
True,  there  was  no  marriage  ceremony.  But,  at  that  time,  a 
church-ceremony  was  not  required  of  even  our  church-members, 
except  of  church-officers.  Those  young  women  I  regarded  as 
modest  and  true.  They  knew  that,  in  Europe,  there  were  recog- 
nized "  morganatic "  marriages ;  and,  in  some  of  the  United 
States,  valid  "  common-law  "  marriages.  Their  misfortune  was 
that  the  white  "  husband  "  was  not  as  true  as  they.  He  ex- 
pected, some  day.  to  abandon  the  woman,  when  he  should  finally 
return  to  Europe,  where,  possibly,  he  had  a  white  wife. 


544  MY  OGOWE 

The  white  trader  at  the  "  Island  factory  "  had  seen  Charity 
when  I  had  stopped  there  on  former  journeys,  and  had  been 
given  hospitality  by  him.  But.  it  would  have  been  trying  for 
me  to  go  there  again,  and  find  her  in  his  hands.  So,  for  the 
night,  I  stopped  at  a  village  of  Ovenga.  But,  it  was  a  wretched 
night.  Hot,  and  the  huts  close.  And,  a  man,  in  a  hut  next  to 
ours,  was  savagely  beating  his  wife.  The  sound  of  her  screams 
rang  in  my  ears  long  after  her  sobbings  had  ceased. 

Xext  morning,  Tuesday,  the  15th,  before  leaving,  I  denounced 
the  chief  and  his  people.  Stopped,  for  the  night,  at  Belambla. 
On  the  16th,  rain  prevented  an  early  start;  but,  we  reached  the 
civilization  and  courtesy  of  Laseni  and  his  niece  Njivo,  for  the 
mid-day  meal  and  rest.  When  we  resumed  journey  in  the  after- 
noon, I  added  Njivo  and  her  little  boy  Onyenge,  on  my  invita- 
tion for  a  visit  to  Talaguga.  A  very  heavy  rain  caught  us ;  and 
we  huddled  under  the  little  stern  shelter,  where  T  held  the  rud- 
der, my  sister,  Mary  and  Pawa  and  Aziza,  Njivo  and  Onyenge, 
barely  keeping  dry,  while  the  crew  and  my  boxes  were  thor- 
oughly wet.  The  night  was  passed  at  the  Nkogo  village,  where 
we  were  well-received.  The  next  day.  rain  again  hindered  an 
early  start.  But,  a  good  run  was  made  to  Yeiia,  for  the  noon 
rest.  And,  then,  a  fine  long  pull  brought  us  late  at  night  to 
our  Talaguga  home. 

On  Friday,  the  1 8th.  after  settling  accounts  with  the  crews. 
T  started  my  large  canoe,  with  eleven  of  my  own  people,  under 
Mamba,  to  take  back  Mr.  Good's  three  men.  and  to  return  with 
the  boxes  I  had  left  at  Kangwe. 

Mary's  symptoms,  which  I  had  suspected  at  Libreville,  as 
whooping-cough,  became  more  pronounced. 

On  Monday,  the  21st.  to  my  surprise.  Mamba  returned,  with 
the  canoe-load  of  goods!  On  his  way  down,  on  Friday,  he  had 
met  the  Gambia  bringing  those  goods;  had.  on  Saturday,  been 
towed  up  as  far  as  Walker's;  and  had  remained  there  over 
Sunday. 

My  little  Mary  was  oppressed  with  her  whooping-cough,  and 
needed  much  nursing.  So  incompetent  were  the  young  Galwa 
assistants,  and  the  strain  on  my  nursing-care  so  great,  since 
Handi  had  left,  that  T  wrote  to  Mrs.  Gault  at  Libreville,  to  en- 
deavor to  obtain  forme.  A-nve-ntyu-wa  (Jenny  Harrington)  the 
elder  sister  of  my  friend  Njivo. 

On  Friday,  the  25th,  Mr.  Letz  came,  just  before  dinner,  for 
me  to  examine  his  swollen  ear.     After  dinner,  he  kindlv  tried 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  545 

to  fix  some  of  the  silent  keys  on  Mrs.  Nassau's  organ.  But, 
that  organ  was  too  complicated  to  be  repaired  on  a  short  exam- 
ination. A  storm  was  coming,  and  he  had  to  leave.  Mamba, 
wife  and  child,  all  of  them  sick,  left  on  Saturday,  the  26th,  to 
return  to  their  home  at  Igenja.  I  felt  a  doubt  whether  he  would 
return,  even  if  he  should  recover.  He  was  a  good  worker,  and 
a  faithful  friend;  but,  his  Christian  life  was  not  growing.  I 
sent  Paul  Agon  jo  on  Monday  with  canoe  and  crew,  to  return 
my  pleasant  visitor  Nljivo  to  her  uncle  Laseni  at  Abange,  and  to 
buy  provisions.  I  remained  those  days  watching  my  little  Mary, 
whose  cough  was  making  her  weak. 

On  Thursday,  March  3,  Agonjo  returned.  But,  I  was  dis- 
pleased with  his  being  absent  so  long;  and,  for  having  given  an 
extravagant  price  for  odika.  As  he  said  that  he  thought  it  was 
worth  the  price  he  had  paid,  I  took  him  at  his  word,  and  made 
him  keep  the  odika,  and  pay  me  from  his  wages.  Also,  I  fined 
him,  not  for  delay,  but  for  delaying  on  errands  of  his  own ;  and 
for  loading  the  canoe  with  goods  that  were  not  mine.  (His 
old  trading  habit  still  clung  to  him.)  I  was  depressed  at  his 
lack  of  faithfulness.  Pawa,  Mary's  nurse,  had  been  sick  for 
some  time,  and  was  not  well  enough  to  help  me  in  the  care  of 
the  child.  So,  on  Sunday  I  told  my  sister  that  I  had  written 
for  either  Anyentyuwa  or  Handi  to  come  to  my  aid. 

On  Wednesday,  the  9th,  with  my  sister,  Mary  and  her  nurse, 
I  went  on  an  excursion  to  Asange.  But.  on  the  way,  as  rain 
came,  I  left  them  at  a  Fanwe  village,  and  went  on  to  the  Post, 
where  I  was  received  courteously. 

I  went  to  Ndona-nyare's  to  buy  thatch.  The  people  had  none, 
except  what  was  owned  on  trust,  by  the  Asange  officials.  As 
my  need  was  great,  I  yielded,  for  the  first  time  among  the  Fanwe 
in  the  Ogowe,  to  the  necessity  of  custom,  and  gave  out  $25 
(goods)  "  in  trust."  It  was  a  "  system "  that  I  had  always 
opposed. 

Mary's  cough  was  improving;  the  paroxysms  were  less  fre- 
quent ;  and  she  seemed  more  lively.  During  those  days,  there 
were  heavy  tornadoes.  Some  large  trees  were  blown  down  near 
the  dwelling-house. 

With  the  season  so  rainy,  and  Mary  still  coughing,  I  did  not 
think  it  my  duty  to  go  to  the  Kangwe  quarterly  communion. 
But,  giving  my  sister  a  crew  of  seven,  she  went,  in  her  Evan- 
geline, on  Wednesday,  the  23d.  Mary,  now  in  her  third  year, 
had  become  a  pleasant  little  play-mate,  with  whom  to  recreate 
herself  out  of  her  teaching  hours.     The  child  said  "  Ta!  "  (her 


546  MY  OGOWE 

word  for  "good-by")  as  her  aunt  entered  the  boat;  but,  she 
did  not  cry,  and  was  satisfied  with  Pawa. 

Shortly  after  my  sister  had  gone,  came  Mr.  Letz  from  Asange. 
with  Mons.  Du  Val  and  another  Frenchman.  They  remained 
to  dinner.  I  made  a  special  draft  on  my  canned  provisions : 
mutton,  pork  cutlets,  sausage,  lima  beans,  rice :  and,  for  the  des- 
sert, plum-pudding,  pie,  cherries ;  and  tea,  limeade,  and  sherbet. 
Mary  sat  on  my  lap  almost  through  the  meal.  Before  dinner,  1 
had  showed  the  gentlemen  through  the  house.  After  dinner,  I 
took  them  over  the  premises,  past  the  grave,  to  the  brook,  up  the 
hill  to  my  old  cottage  (used  by  Mamba),  down  again  to  the  boat- 
shed  :  and  returned,  showing  them  my  fruit  trees ;  and  gave  them 
young  trees  of  orange,  pitanga,  and  Avocado  pear.  Then,  Mary 
asked  for  her  milk,  and  went  to  sleep.  Etendi  had  done  well 
in  cooking  the  dinner ;  Ombagho  and  Aziza  served.  And.  Mary 
had  not  fretted. 

I  had  carpenter  Tngumu  cut  up  the  old  kongongo.  as  it  was  too 
rotten  to  be  mended.  Thus,  some  of  the  land-marks  of  1882 
were  disappearing:  the  original  hut  had  fallen  in  1886.  next,  the 
kongongo  just  gone,  and  the  boat-shed  was  threatening  to  go. 

Friday,  April  t.  At  night.  T  had  a  strange  sleeplessness.  I 
felt  eerie.  T  imagined  that  I  heard  strange  sounds.  While 
lying  thus  intensely  awake,  at  11.30  p.m.  I  heard  the  front- 
porch  door  slowly  open  and  shut.  My  sister  was  still  absent 
at  Kangwe :  and.  besides  myself  and  little  Mary  there  was  no 
one  in  the  house,  but  Aziza.  Suspecting  her.  T  rose  and  dressed; 
and.  at  midnight,  found  that  she  was  not  in  her  up-stairs  room. 
T  studied  what  might  be  her  object  in  leaving  the  house,  and. 
remembering  that  she  was  often  unnecessarily  in  the  kitchen  with 
cook  Etendi,  I  went  out-doors.  And.  at  12.30  a.  m.  I  found  her 
at  his  hut  in  his  1>ed.  He  was  speechless:  and  she  fled  to  one  of 
the  other  out-houses  where  was  one  of  her  relatives.  I  said 
nothing:  and  left  investigation  until  the  next  day. 

Tn  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  2<1.  my  sister  returned  from 
Kangwe  with  a  mail.  At  night.  I  read  my  mail,  especially  a 
letter  from  Mrs.  Gault,  about  my  request  for  Handi  to  return  to 
my  service.  But,  there  was  not  much  hope.  She  was  unwilling 
to  expose  herself  to  my  sister's  authority.  And.  1  was  debating 
with  myself  about  the  probable  necessity  of  dismissing  both 
Etendi  and  Aziza. 

On  Sunday,  the  3d,  Mary,  for  the  first  time,  sat  throughout 
the  entire  morning  service.  At  night.  T  arranged  for  the  journey 
of  the  canoe  to  take  to  their  homes  the  two  delinquents,  and 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  547 

Akendenge  and  his  wife  on  a  vacation.     Next  day,  the  canoe 
and  company  left.     It  was  a  doleful  beginning  of  the  week. 

On  Wednesday,  the  6th,  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  Swan,  I  went 
to  visit  my  friend  Count  De  Brazza,  at  the  post.  On  the  way, 
I  found  him  at  Xjoli.  on  his  gunboat  Saphire.  He  took  me  on 
board,  towed  the  Swan,  and  very  affably  told  me  his  plans  of 
removing  the  Post  from  Asange  down  to  Xjoli  (his  originally 
chosen  site).  On  my  return,  I  gave  Mary  a  litte  ride  in  "  her  " 
boat.  This  decision  of  De  Brazza  (though  never  carried  out) 
more  than  ever  confirmed  me  in  my  belief  in  the  correctness  of 
my  refusal  to  locate  my  Talaguga  station  on  Njoli.  (True,  at 
the  present  day,  my  successors,  the  French  Protestant  mission, 
have  removed  old  Talaguga  to  Njoli ;  but,  they  as  French,  might 
do  what  I  could  not.  Also,  when  they  did  make  their  change, 
there  were  no  signs  of  government  claim  on  Njoli ;  which  was 
not  the  case  in  1882.) 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  13th,  a  Frenchman, 
who  gave  his  name  as  Louis  Dunod,  stopped  to  salute  us,  and 
took  breakfast  with  us.  He  said  that  he  held  the  office  of  chief 
inspector  of  the  Upper  Ogowe.  His  speech  and  manner  were 
unlike  that  of  other  Frenchmen  ;  and  I  imagined  him  to  be  a 
spy.  After  he  was  gone,  I  went  to  Njomu,  for  thatch.  Chief 
Xjega  was  absent  in  the  forest:  and  I  had  to  wait  for  him  two 
hours.  In  the  house  where  I  sat,  were  marks  of  the  slugs  where, 
the  night  before,  Benayel  clan  had  come,  and  shooting  through 
the  bark  wall,  had  killed  a  man.  While  I  was  loading  my  thatch 
in  the  canoe,  the  Akclc  came  on  its  way.  Mr.  Busch,  on  board, 
kindly  offered  to  tow  the  canoe,  which  was  too  overloaded  for 
my  crew  properly  to  paddle.  On  board  also  was  the  Portuguese 
Manoel,  coming  to  relieve  the  trader  Antyuwa.  Mary  unusually 
fretful  in  her  evening  bath.  I  had  only  a  short  inquiry  class 
meeting.  I  was  informed  of  an  action  of  the  Asange  officials 
(including  even  my  friend  De  Brazza)  in  their  shooting  the 
chief  of  a  Fariwe  village  near  Njoli,  that  seemed  to  me  not  only 
arbitrary,  but  treacherous.  The  Gambia  came  on  Wednesday, 
the  27th,  with  mail,  and  two  boxes,  one  of  medicines  from  Bur- 
roughs &  Welcome;  the  other  from  Lawrenceville.  X'.  J.,  rela- 
tives, containing,  among  other  good  things,  books  that  I  had 
ordered,  and  shoes  for  Mary. 

Just  after  dinner  of  the  29th,  three  traders,  Messrs.  Letz, 
Mooney,  and  Rene,  made  a  short  call.  Mr.  Rene  came  from  a 
far  interior  place,  as  De  Brazza  had  ordered  the  river  to  be 
closed  to  all  white  men,  other  than  French,  beyond  Xjoli. 


548  MY  OGOWE 

On  Monday,  May  2,  a  Fan  we  brought  a  fowl  for  sale ;  a  very 
unusual  event!  By  that  time  the  tribe  near  me  had  become  so 
engrossed  with  the  largely  increased  number  of  trading-houses, 
that  they  ceased  almost  entirely  to  come  to  me. 

On  Thursday,  the  5th,  went  to  Njomu  for  thatch.  Njega 
was  not  at  home.  I  went  to  Sika's  to  call  him.  Returned; 
bought  the  thatch ;  and  held  a  meeting.  On  my  previous 
journey  there,  I  had  seen  a  little  child  with  a  bad  case  of  in- 
guinal hernia.  The  villagers  were  doing  nothing  for  it ;  they 
rather  laughed  at  it,  as  if  it  was  something  funny.  Now,  the 
child  was  dead.  While  I  was  at  Njomu,  the  Duala  passed  down, 
having  aboard  Mr.  Scruff,  who,  I  was  told,  was  finally  leaving 
the  river. 

Tapoyo,  Mr.  Letz's  new  Mpongwe  trader  at  Ntula's,  came  to 
see  me,  with  several  of  Nyare's  people,  who  had  not  visited  me  for 
a  long  while.  One  of  them  was  the  tall  man,  the  one  of  Nyare's 
dozen,  who  had  most  efficiently  interfered  for  me  in  my  fight 
against  him  in  November,  1883. 

Many  signs  of  the  coming  cool  dry  season ;  murky  atmosphere, 
cool  winds,  the  birds  of  the  season,  though  rains  had  not  entirely 
ceased. 

There  being  some  reported  cases  of  small-pox,  I  vaccinated 
Mary.  But,  though  she  really  tried  to  bear  it,  she  was  so  afraid 
of  the  lancet,  that  she  cried,  and,  in  her  resistance,  the  lancet  cut 
too  deeply.  From  the  amount  of  blood,  I  feared  that  the  vac- 
cine had  not  been  able  to  enter  her  system.  Next  day,  I  heard 
bad  news  about  Mamba  and  Akendenge.  On  Saturday,  the 
14th,  Mr.  Letz  came  to  say  good-by,  as  he  had  been  promoted 
to  Lembarene,  to  take  Mr.  Scruff's  place.  He  left  Alionet,  a 
Goree  Mohammedan,  in  charge  of  the  Asange  house. 

The  Conqucz  came  slowly  by  in  the  evening  of  Monday,  the 
23d;  and  Count  De  Brazza  came  ashore,  just  as  we  were  at  tea. 
He  joined  us  at  the  table,  and  petted  Mary,  who  took  his  atten- 
tions very  nicely. 

On  the  25th,  I  sent  to  Asange  houses  to  obtain  a  duplicate  of 
a  vessel  I  had  accidentally  broken.  My  messenger  was  success- 
ful ;  but,  on  his  way.  had  been  hindered  by  the  French,  who  were 
working  at  their  new  premises  on  the  upper  end  of  Njoli  Island. 
I  had  a  bad  headache,  most  of  the  day;  and,  Mary's  tenderness 
was  very  touching  in  her  wishing  to  kiss  away  the  pain,  as  I  had 
often  done  for  her. 

Sunday,  the  29th,  was  a  clear  beautiful  day.  reminding  me  of 
September  days   in   the  United   States.     In  the   afternoon,   the 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  549 

Falaba  passed  up;  the  first  time  she  had  ventured  to  go  farther 
than  my  house. 

On  Thursday,  June  2,  I  made  a  call  on  the  trader  Alionet.  I 
saw  De  Brazza's  photographer,  and  two  enormous  mastiffs,  and 
carrier-pigeons ;  which  he  was  taking  with  him  to  the  Kongo  in- 
terior. As  I  returned,  I  saw  the  sites  which  were  assigned  for 
traders'  houses,  near  Njoli,  when  the  post  should  be  removed 
thither  from  Asange. 

I  saw  some  Fariwe  children  trespassing  at  the  mouth  of  the 
brook.  Of  course,  I  encouraged  all  natives  to  come  to  my 
house;  but  I  did  not  allow  them  to  wander  over  the  premises, 
and  cut  trees,  or  dig,  or  otherwise  appropriate  the  ground. 
When  I  ordered  the  children  away,  one  of  them,  a  girl,  said  that 
she  thought  she  had  a  right  to  be  there,  because  she  was  "  Ntula's 
daughter !  " 

JOURNEY  TO  KANGWE. 

It  being  the  dry  season,  it  was  safe  to  travel  with  Mary.  So, 
on  Wednesday,  the  22d,  I  went  to  the  quarterly  communion  at 
Kangwe.  With  my  sister,  and  Mary,  Abumba  and  wife,  Agonjo 
and  child,  and  four  other  men,  and  stopping  on  errands  at  vari- 
ous places,  we  were  at  Erere-volo,  for  lunch  with  Njalele;  and, 
then,  before  sunset,  to  Aveya,  who  still  was  in  charge  of  Be- 
lambla.  The  night  was  very  bad  with  mosquitoes ;  my  Mary 
was  kept  awake  by  them,  and  crying. 

The  next  day,  stopping  at  a  village  below  the  Ngunye,  we 
were  at  Andende  early  in  the  afternoon.  Church-members  were 
already  beginning  to  come.  The  following  day  there  were  the 
glad  welcomes  of  the  constantly  arriving  native  friends;  and 
consultations  with  Mr.  Good,  about  the  interests  of  the  station. 

On  Saturday,  the  25th,  I  was  buying  food  for  my  expected 
return  journey;  bought  a  new  canoe;  and  tied  up,  for  use  in  the 
United  States,  a  hippopotamus  head,  which  Njivo's  husband 
Mbora  had  bought  for  me. 

On  Sunday,  the  26th,  the  church  was  crowded.  There  were 
six  baptisms;  among  them,  Agonjo.  [He  subsequently  became 
an  elder.]  My  part  of  the  exercises  was  the  distribution  of 
the  elements.  Mary  needing  her  food  at  her  regular  hours,  I 
was  rather  late  in  my  arrival  with  her  at  the  church.  She  sat 
well  during  the  remainder  of  the  services.  Next  day,  the  crowd 
of  visitors  rapidly  departed. 

On  Tuesday,  the  28th,  I  went  around  the  island  to  the  trading- 
houses  ;  and  bought  a  mouth-organ  as  a  toy  for  Mary,  and  shoes 


550  MY  OGOWE 

for  myself  and  Njivo.  Mr.  Letz  offered  me  passage  on  the 
Duala  for  the  following  Tuesday.  Though  this  called  for  a 
week's  delay,  I  preferred  it  to  the  four  days'  boat-trip,  so  trying 
to  Mary,  in  its  confinement. 

\ext  day,  some  of  my  crew,  seeing  that  there  was  to  be  a 
delay,  applied  for  leave  to  visit  their  homes  at  various  points 
from  fifteen  to  forty-five  miles  down-river.  One  of  them  Re- 
Morido  being  thus  given  permission,  stole  one  of  Mr.  Good's 
canoes,  for  the  trip.  To  assure  the  return  of  those  who  went,  I 
declined  to  pay  them  their  month's  wages  (though  only  one  day) 
in  advance.     The  next  day,  I  paid  those  who  remained. 

As  1  was  to  return  home  on  the  Duala,  I  utilized  my 
crew,  on  Friday,  July  I,  by  sending  them  in  my  newly-pur- 
chased canoe,  ahead  as  far  as  Laseni's,  there  to  gather  plantains 
by  the  time  the  Duala  should  overtake  them. 

In  compliance  with  the  French  government  requisition  that 
no  school  should  exist  in  our  mission  without  instruction  being 
given  in  the  French  language,  the  Board  made  efforts  to  obtain, 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  a  Christian  teacher,  who,  pos- 
sessing a  knowledge  of  French,  was  willing  to  devote  it  to  the 
foreign  missionary  cause.  Not  one  could  be  found.  So,  as  an 
alternative  to  having  our  schools  closed,  French  laymen,  nominal 
Christians,  were  sent  to  us.  They  were  very  unsatisfactory.  We 
Americans,  for  the  sake  of  example  to  the  weak  native  Christians, 
on  the  Pauline  principle,  drank  no  liquor.  Those  Frenchmen 
had  their  daily  wine;  and,  having  attended  church  in  the  Sun- 
day morning,  spent  the  afternoon  in  amusements,  following  their 
habit  of  the  "  continental  Sabbath."  Also,  the  particular  man 
who  was  just  at  that  time  in  charge  of  the  Andende  school,  was 
a  trial  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good.  He  was  so  severe  that  the  pupils 
frequently  rebelled.  One  day,  while  I  was  sitting  with  Mrs. 
Good  in  the  "parlor,"  a  school-l>oy  rushed  in  and  hid  himself 
behind  her  chair.  Immediately  followed  the  teacher  in  pursuit, 
with  a  rod  in  his  hand.  The  boy  had  tied  from  punishment  to 
the  sanctuary  of  the  lady's  presence.  But,  the  irate  teacher, 
regardless  of  her,  struck  at  the  boy:  the  latter  dodged,  and  the 
blow  fell  on  gentle  Mrs.  Good! 

Messrs.  Letz  and  Wichula  were  at  church,  on  Sunday,  the  3d. 
and  remained  to  dinner.  But,  they  left  immediately  afterwards, 
as  they  thought  they  heard  the  whistle  of  their  steamer.  It  was 
so;  both  the  Falaba  and  the  Duala  had  come.  In  the  afternoon, 
a  mail  was  sent  to  us.  Among  other  news  was  that  of  the  prob- 
able return  of  Mr.  Reading  to  Africa.      Xext  day.  I  went  around 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  551 

to  Lembarene,  to  see  about  boards  that  I  expected  for  my  pro- 
posed church-building;  and  to  the  post,  to  have  witnessed  a 
power  of  attorney,  in  regard  to  some  property  of  Mrs.  Nassau. 
Three  years  after  her  death,  and  at  the  thousands  of  miles 
distance  from  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  with  law's  delay  and  red- 
tape! 

RETURN    TO    TALAGUGA    BY    DllClla. 

Appreciating  the  favor  of  transportation  on  the  Duala,  and 
fearful  of  delaying  it  even  one  minute,  I  did  not  sleep  all  Mon- 
day night.  At  4  a.  m.  of  Tuesday,  the  5th,  I  was  up  and 
dressed,  and  started  with  my  boat  and  company,  at  5.30.  I  was 
in  ample  time  at  the  -vessel ;  and,  our  pleasant  steamer  journey 
began.  Though  the  dry  season  shallows  were  numerous,  espe- 
cially near  the  Goree  Island  (Xenge-sika)  they  were  all  success- 
fully passed.  Near  Ngwilaka,  we  overtook  my  canoe  and  crew 
under  Agonjo,  and  took  them  in  tow.  Which  was  quite  a  relief 
to  them ;  for,  they  had  heard  that  the  people  of  Isosa  intended 
to  attack  them.  (The  reason  was,  not  any  complaint  against 
me;  but,  Agonjo,  in  his  trader-days  at  that  village,  had  had  rela- 
tions with  one  of  the  women  of  the  chief,  and  was  charged  with 
not  having  paid  for  the  privilege.  Now,  though  he  had  become 
a  Christian,  and  was  forgiven  of  God,  he  was,  nevertheless,  to 
bear  the  natural  consequences  of  his  sins.)  Reached  Talaguga 
before  the  6  p.  m.  sunset,  with  glad  welcomes ;  and  the  vessel  pro- 
ceeded to  Asange. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day,  it  returned,  and  stopping, 
hastily  landed  my  boards  and  boxes.  Mr.  Letz  was  on  board ; 
he  was  anxious  about  some  trade-charge  made  against  him  by 
the  spy  Dunod.  Busy  storing  away  the  boards,  opening  the 
boxes,  and  arranging  their  contents. 

On  Thursday,  the  7th,  sent  to  Mavyarie's  village,  for  my 
thatch-trust  in  Zina's  hands.  The  crew  returned  late,  having 
had  difficulty  with  his  people,  who  wanted  to  dispute  the  agreed- 
upon  price  of  the  axe  and  cloth  already  paid  to  them.  Then, 
my  crew  had  gone  on  down  to  Njomu,  to  see  if  they  could  get 
some  of  Njega's  trust.  There  was  plenty  of  thatch ;  but  he  was 
away,  and  they  could  not  take  it  without  his  permission. 

So,  on  Saturday,  the  9th,  I  went  myself  very  early.  Stopped 
at  Mavyarie's  to  notify  him  to  be  ready;  on  to  Njomu;  found 
abundance  of  thatch,  cleared  off  my  old  loan,  and  one  hundred 
pieces  on  the  new.  On  the  way  back,  had  an  amicable  talk  with 
Mavyaiie.     Near  Talaguga,  at  Nyare's  old  ozege,  found  Mary 


552  MY  OGOWE 

and  her  attendants  playing  on  the  sand ;  took  them  in  the  canoe, 
and  was  at  the  end  of  a  successful  day  by  4  p.  m. 

On  Sunday,  the  10th,  the  trader  Manoel  sent  word  that  he 
could  not  come  to  services,  because  an  attack  was  expected  on 
their  village,  in  consequence  of  the  shooting  of  a  man  of  another 
village  by  a  hunter  who  in  the  forest  mistook  him  for  a  gorilla. 
My  sister  went  itinerating  as  far  down  as  Mavyane's.  The 
crew  returned  bringing  with  them  forty  of  the  fifty  pieces  of 
thatch  due  me.  Considering  that  I  had  been  so  irenic  with  him, 
this  action  of  his  was  plainly  insulting.  Those  natives  could 
scarcely  complete  a  bargain  without  an  attempt  to  overreach. 
I  returned  the  forty  pieces,  next  day,  refusing  them  until  I 
should  be  given  the  entire  fifty. 

For  several  months,  I  had  been  gathering  logs  for  the  founda- 
tion-posts, and  sills,  and  sleepers  for  the  floor  of  the  proposed 
chapel.  Finally,  on  the  14th,  I  began  a  busy  day,  with  all  my 
men  at  the  site  on  the  little  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  brook, 
boring  auger  holes,  and  mortising.  Also,  warned  by  the  danger 
the  dwelling-house  had  been  in  by  the  felling  of  trees  near  it 
after  (rather  than  before)  its  erection,  I  decided  to  fell  a  very 
large  tree  that  was  on  the  brook's  lower  side ;  lest,  some  day  it 
should  fall  on  the  chapel.  The  tree-trunk  was  very  thick,  and 
its  wood  hard.  One  man  worked  at  it  all  day;  but  did  not  ac- 
complish much.  The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  16th,  Agon  jo 
took  the  job,  to  finish  it  before  Sunday.  But,  by  the  5  p.  m. 
rest-hour,  the  tree  still  stood.  The  situation  by  this  time  was 
dangerous,  and  the  young  men  voluntarily  stayed  to  complete 
the  task.  My  entire  family  came  to  see  the  sight.  My  sister 
with  Mary  stood  on  the  hill-side,  by  Mrs.  Nassau's  grave,  in  fine 
view  of  the  tall  tree.  It  fell,  with  a  tremendous  crash,  exactly 
at  sunset,  and  in  an  utterly  opposite  direction  from  what  I  had 
expected.  Its  trunk  lay  across  the  site  of  the  chapel  (thus  mak- 
ing additional  work)  while  the  end  of  its  top  branch  almost 
touched  the  grave.  However,  its  log  made  a  useful  bridge  over 
one  of  the  two  branches  of  the  brook's  mouth. 

On  Sunday,  the  24th,  services  were  disturbed  by  two  Galwa 
employees  of  the  French  Post  coming  late  to  meeting,  bringing 
with  them  bottles  of  liquor,  for  two  of  my  men,  their  friends, 
Re-Benje  and  Re-Mondo.  The  former  accepted;  but,  I  ordered 
both  the  liquor  and  the  visitors  into  their  canoe  and  away. 
The  next  day,  Re-Benje,  who.  for  a  long  time  had  been  lazy 
and  troublesome,  left.  As  usual  with  my  deserters,  he  at  once 
went  to  get  employment  with  the  adjacent  traders. 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  553 

On  the  27th,  I  went  on  the  hill,  to  inspect  my  old  cottage. 
While  there,  Mary  followed  me  with  her  nurse,  to  tell  me  that 
one  of  the  little  boys,  Ngelisani,  had  struck  her.  It  was  the 
first  unkindness  I  had  known  of  her  receiving,  from  any  native. 
At  evening-prayers,  I  spoke  feelingly  about  it  to  the  assembled 
household.  And,  at  the  usual  inquiry  meeting  that  followed, 
two  of  the  members,  Mburu  and  Monkami,  spoke  of  the  matter 
in  a  very  sympathizing  manner. 

JOURNEY   TO    KANGWE. 

Mr.  Good  had  gone  to  England,  for  his  health,  and  had  left 
the  quarterly  care  of  the  Kangwe  church,  and  the  monthly  in- 
spection of  the  station  with  me.  It  much  increased  my  work 
and  responsibility.  It  was  a  thankless  task,  and  compelled  an 
absence  from  my  own  station  and  family,  of  one-fourth  of  each 
month.  In  order  to  accomplish  most  in  the  given  space  of  time, 
I  planned  for  the  journey  down  of  one  day,  and  yet,  to  include 
a  number  of  necessary  business  stoppages.  Arising  at  3  a.  m. 
of  Friday,  the  29th,  to  load  the  boat,  etc.,  I  was  off  by  daylight. 
A  stop  at  Njomu,  to  give  out  "trust"  for  bamboo;  at  Bitaga, 
to  give  notice  that  my  sister  would  soon  come  for  our  annual 
vacation  picnic;  at  trader  Bigman's,  and  at  Erere-volo  Beach, 
to  give  "  trust  "  for  plantains;  at  Ompomo-Isosa,  to  eat.  There, 
Agon  jo's  enemy  would  have  assaulted  him,  my  Winchester  alone 
preventing  his  capture.  We  left,  in  an  unpleasant  state  of  mind. 
At  Belambla,  to  inspect  Aveya's  good  care  of  the  place.  Reached 
Andende,  at  9  p.  m.  The  night  was  cold;  I  was  shivering.  But, 
was  welcomed  by  all.  Next  day,  I  made  out  the  monthly  ac- 
counts, and  took  reports  of  station  affairs  (for  my  eventual  re- 
port to  Mr.  Good).  Went  with  Agonjo  to  the  Lembarene  Post, 
and  had  a  satisfactory  interview  with  the  commandant,  in  favor 
of  Agonjo ;  who,  though  he  had  been  a  sinner,  had  now  re- 
pented;  and  the  action  of  the  Isosa  man  and  woman  against  him 
was  regarded  as  a  case  of  black-mail.  Candidate  Mbora  was 
employed  by  Mr.  Good  as  an  evangelist.  As  there  was  no  need 
of  his  presence  at  Andende  during  my  week  there,  I  arranged 
that,  whenever  I  came,  he  should  go  away  to  Ajumba,  and  spend 
the  Sunday  in  services  there. 

On  Sunday,  July  31,  only  twenty-three  people  at  church. 
The  weather  was  very  cold.  Thermometer  marked  61  °;  the 
lowest  mark  I  ever  saw  in  my  forty-five  years  under  the  equator. 

Monday,  August  1,  was  a  very  busy  trying  day.  I  was  pay- 
ing Mr.  Good's  employees  their  monthly  wages.      (Not  a  pleas- 


554  MY  OGOWE 

ant  task.)  /  was  on  the  lookout  for  deception;  and  they  ex- 
pecting injustice.  But,  I  had  no  trouble  with  any  of  them; 
excepting-  with  his  chief  employee,  Ra-Nyiko,  who  himself  had 
employees  under  him  ;  and,  I  strongly  suspected  "  graft."  Mbora 
returned  from  Ajumba.  Though  he  had  been  my  protege,  and 
Mrs.  Nassau's  theological  pupil,  and  Mr.  Reading  and  1  had 
induced  Xjivo  to  accept  him  in  marriage,  he  was  treating  her 
unkindly,  his  coarseness  was  resented  by  her  refinement ;  she  was 
unhappy,  and  all  my  sympathies  were  with  her. 

BACK    TO    TALAGUGA. 

Next  day,  Tuesday,  the  2d,  T  woke  with  a  headache.  But, 
after  morning  prayers,  began  to  load  my  canoe,  in  which  my 
crew,  without  permission,  had  stowed,  to  a  point  of  inconven- 
ience to  me,  a  quantity  of  their  own  dried  fish.  1  endured  it. 
Mad  I  ordered  their  goods  out,  most  of  them  would  probably 
have  taken  themselves  out  also.  I  could  not  begin  a  contest,  or 
accept  a  delay ;  for,  I  had  promised  my  sister  to  meet  her  at 
Bitaga  on  a  certain  day.  And,  with  all  their  fish,  the  crew  would 
be  happy,  and  perhaps  would  pull  letter.  So,  I  accepted ;  and 
we  proceeded ;  and  were  at  Belambla  that  night. 

The  following  day,  after  our  lunch  in  the  forest  near  Isosa, 
I  called  to  the  people  of  the  village,  as  we  passed,  telling  them 
the  commandant's  message.  Farther  on,  we  stopped  opposite 
Nkogo,  and  at  Erere-volo,  for  the  plantains,  for  which  1  had 
given  "  trust."  With  my  field-glass,  I  could  see  my  boat  lying 
at  Bitaga  Beach ;  and,  I  knew  that  my  sister  was  there  according 
to  appointment.  On  my  arrival,  there  was  a  warm  welcome 
from  the  awaiting  company.  Never  before  had  my  little  Mary 
been  so  demonstrative.  On  the  4th,  we  went  to  our  camp  on 
the  island  in  the  lagoon ;  and  repeated  the  pleasures  of  the  previ- 
ous year,  reading,  resting,  playing,  fishing,  and  doing  nothing. 
Abundance  of  fish  were  caught  in  my  net.  Crowds  of  Faiiwe 
came  to  visit  us.  Leaving  a  guard  at  the  camp,  sister  and  I 
with  Mary,  spent  the  night  in  the  more  comfortable  trading- 
house.  Friday  was  a  repetition  at  the  camp.  Mary  enjoyed 
flinging  pebbles  into  the  water,  and  in  watching  the  flocks  of 
pelicans.  Of  fish,  there  was  a  surfeit.  And,  again,  the  night 
was  passed  in  the  village.  And,  on  Saturday,  the  6th,  the  boat 
was  loaded,  and  all  started  in  good  spirits. 

While  we  were  stopping  at  Njomu,  Agonjo's  enemy  (who 
happened  to  have  removed  from  Isosa  to  Yefia),  came  across  the 
river  to  talk  about  the  quarrel.     ITe  was  rather  startled  at  the 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  555 

message  I  gave  him  from  the  French  commandant.  And,  late 
in  the  afternoon  the  (anticipated)  celebration  of  Mary's  third 
anniversary  birthday  ended,  and,  we  were  comfortably  at  home. 

On  Sunday,  August  7,  the  Duala,  on  its  way  down  from  the 
Post,  anchored,  and  sent  ashore  four  small  bags  of  rice,  and  a 
request  from  Mr.  Letz  to  buy  Mrs.  Nassau's  organ.  Such  Sab- 
bath businesses  very  much  annoyed  me.  But,  my  trader- 
friends  traveled,  regardless  of  days.  And,  as  they  kindly 
brought  my  mails  and  supplies,  I  had  to  receive.  But,  that  / 
should  sell  anything  on  Sunday  was  my  own  matter  and  under 
my  control.  I  never  did  it.  Nor  would  I  have  sold  that  organ 
under  any  consideration.  It  was  a  sacred  souvenir  for  Mary 
Foster's  daughter,  who  was  that  day  three  years  old.  [Years 
afterward  it  passed  safely  into  the  hands  of  that  daughter.] 

On  Tuesday,  the  16th,  I  began  to  set  the  foundation-posts  of 
the  chapel.  I  felt  quite  elated  with  success.  And,  still  more 
so,  as,  in  the  evening,  there  arrived  from  their  vacation,  in  two 
canoes,  Abumba,  Awora,  and  their  wives,  and  two  new  men, 
and  a  lad.     There  were  happy  rejoicings  at  the  arrivals. 

The  French  gunboat  SapJiir,  came  from  the  Post,  and  sent 
a  boat  ashore,  with  word  for  me  to  go  aboard.  I  hastily  went 
off  in  my  canoe, with  a  crew  of  four ;  on  reaching  Yena,  the  peo- 
ple of  the  village  fled  to  the  forest.  We  had  to  wait  a  long 
while  for  Agonjo's  enemies,  Akumu-lekwe  and  Akatyani,  to  be 
summoned  from  the  forest.  They  came ;  and  the  captain  very 
shortly  settled  the  affair.  The  Saphir  went  on  its  way,  unfor- 
tunately, in  the  low  water,  going  on  to  a  snag.  And,  I  returned 
in  my  canoe,  stopping  at  Mavyane's,  and  was  given  all  the 
thatch  due  me.  (About  which,  the  women  had  made  difficulty, 
when  I  had  sent  for  it,  a  few  days  before.)  I  was  pleased  to 
meet  there,  the  man,  Igwera,  who  had  so  politely  entertained 
Mrs.  Nassau,  on  her  journey  (in  December,  1883,  and  Febru- 
ary, 1884)   when  he  was  living  near  the  Ngunye. 

On  Sunday,  the  21st,  a  number  of  employees  of  the  govern- 
ment at  the  services;  my  deserter  Re-Benje  with  them.  At 
Sabbath  school  there  was  a  canoe-load  of  Fanwe  from  Sanjala. 
I  had  a  good  Bible  class.  And,  my  little  Mary  was  well  and 
hearty  and  happy. 

Though  I  made  occasional  short  journeys,  under  necessity  of 
business,  I  did  not  yet  feel  that  I  was  free  to  leave  my  child, 
and  go  on  itinerations,  on  which  she  could  not  accompany  me. 
Mamba.  had  apparently  done  well  that  work  for  me,  before  he 


556  MY  OGOWE 

left  me  (under  the  temptation  of  liquor  and  trade).  So,  as 
Abumba  and  Awora  had  returned,  I  occasionally  sent  them,  on 
that  work.  (They  subsequently  were  employed  as  evangelists 
in  larger  fields.) 

INSPECTION    JOURNEY    TO    KANGWE. 

The  month  had  come  around  again,  for  my  inspection  of 
Kangwe  station.  I  was  off  by  5  a.  m.  of  Saturday,  the  27th. 
One  of  the  necessary  stops  was  at  Bitaga,  to  inform  the  trader 
there,  Njambi  (one  of  my  former  employees),  that  my  sister 
would  meet  me  there  on  my  return,  a  week  later,  for  another 
outing  for  Mary.  At  Erere-volo,  where  trader  Njalele  offered 
me  some  of  the  delicious  meat  of  a  manatee  (dugong)  that  had 
just  then  been  caught  by  the  people  of  that  village.  At  Belambla, 
where  Ompwenge  was  in  charge,  in  place  of  Aveya.  Was  wel- 
comed, on  my  arrival  at  Andende  at  night ;  and  sat  up  late,  read- 
ing a  mail  which  had  come  the  day  before,  by  the  Falaba.  On 
Sunday,  the  28th,  there  were  sixty  people  at  church ;  a  good 
Bible  class  in  the  afternoon;  and,  in  the  evening,  I  enjoyed  sing- 
ing with  my  friend  Njivo.  Captain  Birchman  and  Mr.  Smith 
were  visiting  Miss  Harding,  on  the  Hill.  I  sat  up  late,  past 
midnight,  reading  general  assembly  reports  from  Omaha, 
United  States,  sent  by  Mr.  Reading,  who  had  been  attending 
there,  as  elder  of  Corisco  presbytery. 

I  was  on  my  feet,  all  day  of  Monday,  paying  wages,  buying 
supplies ;  and  receiving  reports  from  Mr.  Good's  evangelists. 
One  of  them,  Ra-Xyiko  was  so  insubordinate,  that  I  suspended 
him.  Those  employees  were  Mr.  Good's  appointees;  but,  as  I 
was  (even  temporarily)  in  charge,  they  were,  just  then,  under 
my  orders.  Two  others,  Bigman  (a  former  employee  of  Mr. 
Reading  and  of  myself)  and  Jakob,  made  commendable  inquiries 
as  to  how  to  conduct  their  inquiry  classes. 

The  next  day,  1  was  very  busy  preparing  for  my  return 
journey.  My  crew,  whom  I  had  allowed  to  visit  their  homes, 
were  returned  in  time.  One  of  my  ankles  had  been  abscessed 
for  some  time.  At  night,  good  Njivo  skillfully  opened  it,  and 
let  out  some  pus. 

RETURN    TO    TALAGUGA. 

Remembering  the  inconveniences  of  the  journey  of  the  month 
before,  1  had  announced  in  advance  that  I  would  allow  nothing 
but  my  own  goods  in  the  canoe.  On  our  way,  on  Wednesday, 
the  31st,  we  passed  the  Gambia  aground.      So  low  was  the  river, 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  557 

in  that  dry  season,  that  even  our  canoe  several  times  grounded. 
But,  we  were  at  Belambla,  by  8  p.  m.  Just  twelve  hours  in 
coming  eighteen  miles ;  so  slow  had  been  our  course  in  the  tortu- 
ous channels. 

The  next  day,  September  1,  we  were  at  Erere-volo  by  5  p.  m.  ; 
took  from  Njalele  thirty  bunches  of  plantains,  a  fowl,  manatee 
meat,  and  some  eggs.  The  plantains  made  the  canoe  danger- 
ously overladen ;  so  that  pulling  through  the  winding  channels 
had  to  be  slow,  making  our  arrival  at  Bitaga  as  late  as  7  p.  m. 
My  sister  was  just  then  holding  evening-prayers.  I  was  given 
a  glad  welcome  by  my  little  Mary.  Then,  next  day  was  spent 
in  vacation,  at  our  camp  in  the  lagoon.  The  following  day, 
Saturday,  all  three  crafts  started  homeward,  stopping  at  Njomu 
for  a  hearty  lunch.  Later,  at  a  sand-bank,  for  Mary  to  play 
awhile;  the  restrictions  of  the  boat,  comfortable  as  it  was,  were 
trying  to  her  energies. 

The  rush  and  responsibilities  of  the  preceding  eight  days  had 
their  reaction.  Rising  with  a  headache,  I  had  to  sit  while  con- 
ducting Sunday  morning  services  of  the  4th.  And,  another 
necessary  rest  made  Sabbath  school  late.  For  some  time,  our 
difficulties  with  the  French  government,  about  the  compulsory 
use  of  the  French  language  in  our  schools,  had  led  to  negotia- 
tions with  the  Paris  Evangelical  Society,  with  reference  to  their 
taking  the  Ogowe  portion  of  the  mission  off  of  our  hands.  Mr. 
Good  had  been  very  desirous  of  this ;  for.  he  and  Baraka  at 
Libreville  were  especially  affected.  But,  I  did  not  wish  to  give 
up  my  Ogowe.  Though  annoyed  by  Roman  Catholic  obstruc- 
tions, Talaguga  was  not  touched  on  the  school  question.  I  had 
no  school  at  all ;  and,  my  sister's  class  consisted  of  only  four 
pupils.  (Less  than  the  "  school.")  At  the  evening  monthly 
concert.  I  informed  the  household,  that  the  probability  was  that 
we  would  continue  to  hold  the  Ogowe;  and  that,  for  some  time, 
at  least,  there  would  be  no  transfer  to  the  Paris  society.  My 
people  (who  knew  of  "French"  only  as  government  officials) 
expressed  themselves  in  a  gratifying  manner. 

On  Monday,  the  5th,  I  resumed  my  chapel-building.  Agonjo's 
little  boy  made  a  pleasant  playmate  for  Mary.  I  was  very  par- 
ticular about  her  associates.  The  village  children  were  none  of 
them  fit,  either  in  dress  or  civilization.  When  they  came,  they 
were  treated  kindly;  but,  she  and  they  were  only  curiosities  to 
each  other.  I  paid  also  Ingumu's  wife  for  occasional  aid  to 
the  unworthy  Aziza,  whom,  at  her  earnest  pleading  (and  in  my 


558  MY  OGOWE 

otherwise  helplessness)  I  had  allowed  to  return.  A  large  canoe, 
on  its  way  to  Asange,  stopped  with  a  letter  from  a  man  down- 
river, who  wished  to  marry  Aziza,  asking  her  to  come  to  him 
in  that  canoe  on  its  return.  She  declined ;  wisely  taking  the 
position  that  he  should  come  to  her.  I  still  was  doing  my 
village  itineration  vicariously,  by  sending  Abumba  and  Agonjo 
on  a  tour  of  exhortation.  By  Thursday,  the  15th,  work  on  the 
chapel  progressed,  so  that  the  frames  of  the  walls  were  put  in 
place. 

As  Mr.  Letz  had  not  been  able  to  put  in  working-order  all 
the  keys  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  organ,  and  the  longer  retention  of  the 
instrument  in  the  African  climate  would  still  further  deteriorate 
it,  I  boxed  it.  on  the  1 6th,  to  have  it  ready  to  lie  sent  to  the 
United  States,  there  to  be  repaired.  [This  was  subsequently 
done,  at  the  Mason  &  Hamlin  repair-shop  in  New  York.]  In 
the  evening,  I  was  rejoiced  by  Paul  Agonjo  requesting  enroll- 
ment in  my  sister's  class,  for  instruction  in  the  work  of  an  evan- 
gelist. 

DOWN    TO    KANGWK. 

1  had  barely  rested  from  my  previous  month's  trip  to  Kangwe, 
when  it  became  necessary  to  prepare  for  the  quarterly  commu- 
nion journey.  My  sister  was  not  well,  and  did  not  feel  able 
to  remain  in  charge  during  my  absence.  So.  she  was  going 
with  me.  though  my  Nelly-Howard  was  out  of  repair,  and  her 
smaller  Evangeline,  in  which  I  was  taking  the  organ,  would  1>e 
crowded.  So,  on  Tuesday,  the  20th.  we  started,  with  boat  and 
canoe,  crews  of  fifteen,  and  my  sister,  myself,  and  Mary  and 
her  new  nurse  Irandi  (the  fifth  of  the  eight  incompetents). 
There  was  a  dry  season  drizzle,  premonitory  of  the  coming  rains. 
With  stops,  we  were  at  Belambla  shortly  after  sundown. 
Neither  Ompwenge  nor  his  assistant  were  at  their  post;  only 
two  Bakele.  1  had  a  heavy  job  of  lifting  the  organ-lx^x  out 
of  the  boat,  to  house  it  over-night  against  rain. 

The  next  day.  Wednesday,  the  21st.  we  reached  Andende  in 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  Discharging  my  passengers  and 
goods,  I  went  on  at  once  with  the  organ  around  to  Lembarene. 
to  leave  it  at  the  house  of  \\.  &  C.  ready  for  shipment  to  Libre- 
ville and  thence  to  Liverpool  and  the  United  States.  When  I 
returned  at  dusk,  the  premises  were  already  beginning  to  be 
crowded  with  the  evangelists,  Yongwe.  Okendo,  Ogula.  and  their 
companies  of  inquirers,  and  other  church-mem1>ers,  gathering 
for  "the  feast."      Mary  had  already  made  herself  at  home  with 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  559 

my  friend  Njivo's  little  son  Onyenge  and  daughter  Lena 
(Abidi). 

During  all  those  days,  Thursday,  the  22d,  to  Saturday,  the 
25th,  I  had  no  time  to  read  the  newspapers  that  were  awaiting 
me,  or  to  write  letters  for  the  mail.  There  were  daily  church-ses- 
sion meetings  from  9  a.  m.  until  1 1  a.  m.  :  and  from  2  p.  m.  until 
3  p.  m.  Then  preaching  services  from  3.30  p.  m.  until  4.30  p.  m. 
And,  session  again,  from  7  p.  m.  until  11  p.  m.  During  the  in- 
tervals, I  was  occupied  with  buying  the  abundance  of  food 
brought  for  sale  (besides  what  the  crowd  had  for  their  own 
feeding),  and  the  reception  and  recording  of  gifts  of  vegetables, 
eggs,  etc..  for  monthly  concert  (before  the  days  of  the  intro- 
duction of  foreign  coin).  One  of  the  new  members,  Osamu- 
wa-mani,  had  with  him  his  little  child  whom  he  had  named 
Mary.  She  was  very  sick.  Leaving  her.  he  had  gone  away, 
to  bring  his  wife,  and  returned  on  evening  of  the  23d. 
The  next  day.  near  noon,  the  child  died.  Such  heart-rending 
wailing!  I  thought  much;  had  it  been  my  own  little  Mary! 
She  was  too  young  to  understand :  but,  nevertheless,  was  im- 
pressed by  the  prevalent  sadness.  My  sister  made  herself  very 
helpful,  by  her  sympathy  with  the  parents,  and  by  presiding  over 
the  funeral  arrangements.  The  burial  was  that  same  evening. 
In  the  tropics,  interment  follows  death,  within  twenty-four 
hours. 

There  was  a  large  crowd  at  church  on  Sunday ;  and  all  the 
program  was  carefully  made  and  followed,  in  a  solemn  and 
orderly  manner,  without  confusion.     There  were  ten  baptisms. 

During  Monday,  the  26th,  to  Wednesday,  the  28th,  I  was  under 
great  physical  and  mental  strain.  The  crowd  were  leaving  for 
their  homes.  I  was  wanted  by  a  waiting  line,  each  of  whom 
wished  to  be  first,  with  some  request  for  medicine  or  informa- 
tion, or  for  inquiry  or  advice.  I  was  busy  from  early  in  the 
morning  of  Monday.  All  day.  I  was  paying  wages  of  the 
"Bible-readers"'  (evangelists),  Bigman,  Elder  Yongwe,  Aveya, 
and  their  companies,  and  some  of  my  own  people.  It  is  easy 
to  pay  wages,  when  they  are  counted  in  coin.  But,  those  were 
the  days  when  we  paid  in  goods.  So  much  time  was  taken  by 
the  native  in  deciding  what  kind  of  goods  he  should  take, 
whether  calico-cloth,  or  tools,  or  a  dozen  other  things. 

On  Tuesday,  the  crowd  had  largely  dispersed.  It  took  a  long 
time  to  satisfy  Elder  Yongwe.  Xot  that  he  disputed  my  ac- 
count: but.  he  was  slow  in  his  selections.  I  paid  the  incom- 
petent Irandi,  and  dismissed  her. 


560  MY  OGOWE 

On  Wednesday,  payments  were  complete,  and  the  crowd  were 
all  gone.  Then,  I  was  to  attend  to  my  own  needs.  Went  in 
the  boat  to  the  trading-houses,  taking  with  me  my  child,  to  whom 
I  had  been  able  to  give  little  attention  during  the  previous  week. 
She  was  pleased,  in  seeing  so  many  civilized  houses,  the  two 
German,  the  English  H.  &  C,  the  French  Post,  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  mission.  (Which  had  followed  me,  and  had  located 
on  the  high  blurt"  at  the  upper  end  of  the  island,  in  the  rear  of 
the  Eyenano  villages.)  She  was  attracted  by  leopard  and  mon- 
key skins  at  the  English  house ;  where  also  she  was  presented 
with  a  little  drinking-cup.  And,  at  Mr.  Letz's,  she  was  given 
a  mouth-organ.  The  white  gentlemen  were  pleased  with  the 
rare  sight  of  a  white  child  in  their  homes.  The  return  up-river 
could  not  be  made  on  Thursday,  as  my  sister  was  not  well. 

BACK    TO    TALAGUGA. 

As  she  was  better  on  Friday,  the  30th,  the  start  was  made. 
I  had  obtained  several  new  employees ;  they  worked  better  than 
any  previous  crew.  At  a  very  picturesque  spot  in  the  forest, 
we  lunched,  my  sister  reclining  in  the  boat,  and  Alary  glad  to 
get  a  chance  to  romp  ashore.  At  night,  rather  than  ask  hospi- 
tality at  the  Island  "  factory"  (under  its  then  conditions)  we 
slept  at  Byam's  Fanwe  village. 

The  next  day,  our  nooning  was  in  the  forest,  at  an  exceed- 
ingly pretty  spot  beyond  the  "  Goree  "  islands.  My  sister  was 
better,  and  was  carried  ashore  in  a  hammock,  in  which  she  re- 
clined under  the  shade  of  the  trees,  and  without  fear  of  rain. 
We  were  at  Belambla  early  in  the  afternoon,  arriving  not  much 
later  than  Ompwenge,  who  had  started  from  Kangwe  on  Thurs- 
day. 

The  rest  on  Sunday,  October  2,  was  a  relief  to  my  sister,  who 
still  was  feverish.  We  saw  the  Duala  pass  up.  My  principle 
against  Sunday-travel  would  have  had  a  justifiable  exception,  if 
I  could  have  placed  her  on  it.  But,  it  was  in  vain  to  make  any 
sign  to  the  vessel,  as  we  watched  it  from  the  boat-landing. 
While  there.  Mary  was  thrilled  to  see  a  hippopotamus  swim  by. 

The  next  day,  starting  early,  and,  for  my  sister's  sake,  avoid- 
ing stops  at  villages,  we  ate,  after  a  long  run.  in  a  forest  camp 
below  Sakuma.  But.  people  came  from  the  village  into  the 
forest  to  satisfy  their  curiosity  in  gazing  at  the  white  lady  and 
child.  We  enjoyed  eating  a  bread-fruit,  which  I  had  brought 
fnmi  Belambla,  from  a  tree  of  my  own  planting.     The  rest,  at 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  561 

night  was  at  Erere-volo,  in  Njalele's  house.     Unfortunately,  he 
was  drunk;  for  which  he  seemed  ashamed. 

On  Tuesday,  the  4th,  my  sister  was  worse,  and  in  much  pain. 
We  hasted;  but,  had  to  stop  at  Njomu  Beach  to  eat;  where  we 
were  annoyed  by  the  people  staring  at  our  eating.  Then,  we 
pulled  rapidly  on  to  our  home  by  4  p.  m.  I  had  mislaid  the 
front-door  key ;  and,  in  my  anxiety  to  get  my  sister  to  her  bed,  I 
did  not  take  time  to  search.  So,  I  climbed  into  the  house 
through  a  broken  window-pane,  to  open  the  door  and  windows. 
(It  was  an  evil  example,  that  was  followed  by  thieves,  on  the 
occasion  of  my  subsequent  absence  at  Kangwe. )  Everything 
was  safely  landed.  I  counted  twenty-three  natives  in  my  house- 
hold. 

As  my  sister  was  better  on  Thursday,  the  6th,  I  ventured  to 
leave  her;  and,  with  two  canoes  and  twelve  men,  went  to  Njomu 
for  bamboo-rafters  for  the  chapel  roof.  We  went  into  the 
swamp  at  the  rear  of  the  village,  first  leaving  there  two  to  teach 
and  exhort,  while  I  superintended  work  in  the  forest.  After  a 
successful  day;  and  a  night's  rest,  we  ten  went  again,  next  day, 
to  the  forest,  carried  the  ninety  fronds  to  the  canoes,  ate  our 
lunch,  and  at  noon  started  to  return.  In  the  more  lightly-laden 
canoe  I  was  at  home  by  4  p.  m.,  and  my  little  girl  at  the  landing 
to  welcome  me ;  and,  my  sister  was  better,  and  able  to  move 
about  the  house. 

On  Saturday,  the  8th,  the  Ditala  brought  a  letter  from 
Ompwenge,  telling  of  the  accidental  burning  of  the  Belambla 
kitchen.  Poor  Belambla!  By  Thursday,  the  13th,  I  was  push- 
ing the  work  on  the  chapel  roof.  Three  Fanwe  came  to  ask 
employment ;  and  a  Fanwe  lad  came  to  live  at  the  house  to  learn 
to  read.  This  pleased  me  much.  Mary's  cat  "  Falaba  "  had 
three  kittens,  which  added  greatly  to  her  amusement. 

I  had  continued  pressing  the  chapel  work  under  my  personal 
direction;  and  the  roof  was  entirely  completed  in  the  afternoon 
of  Saturday,  the  15th.  It  was  a  great  relief  to  me;  for,  the 
rains  were  falling  heavily,  every  night.  That  night,  the  clouds 
and  thunder  were  alarming.  There  were  other  things  which 
gratified  me;  Fanwe  were  willing  to  work  for  me;  and,  they 
brought  me  food  in  exchange  for  dried  fish ;  the  little  girl  Bitaga, 
who  had  run  away,  more  than  a  year  before,  returned ;  and  two 
boys  also  came  to  live  and  be  taught.  The  entire  working  force 
busy  at  the  chapel,  in  squads  of  two  or  three,  at  a  variety  of 


562  MY  OGOWE 

jobs;  some,  tying  bamboo  on  to  the  walls,  squaring  logs  for 
sleepers,  raking  up  rubbish,  etc. 

We  had  intended  making  an  excursion  to  the  Asange  villages. 
But,  Mary  was  not  well.  So,  I  went  alone,  to  inquire  at  the 
trading-houses,  for  condensed  milk.  On  the  way,  stopped  to  see 
the  steam  saw-mill  which  De  Brazza  had  erected  on  the  upper 
end  of  Njoli  Island.  How  I  longed  for  the  industrial  school, 
for  which  I  had  l>een  pleading  for  almost  twenty  years!  At 
the  Post,  were  a  company  of  Frenchmen  with  their  crews  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  just  arrived  from  the  Interior. 

On  Friday,  the  21st,  the  Gambia  came,  with  a  mail,  and  my 
American  order  of  soap,  rice,  tools,  etc.,  etc.  And,  on  Monday, 
the  24th,  the  Duala,  which  had  passed  up  on  Sunday,  stopped 
to  buy  tools.  I  felt  a  great  satisfaction  in  contributing  to  the 
industries  of  the  Ogowe.  The  presence  of  the  four  Fanwe  chil- 
dren, permanently  in  my  household,  was  an  incentive  to  their 
people  to  sell  me  food.  But,  at  once,  tribal  jealousies  were 
aroused.  For  years,  my  household  had  consisted  almost  solely 
of  Gal  was.  Ngelisani  began  to  oppress  the  Fanwe  boys,  by 
taking  away  their  mosquito-net  at  night.  I  soon  stopped  that. 
At  the  chapel,  the  men  worked  well,  according  to  their  own 
standard.  But,  I  had,  in  my  long  experience,  adopted  some 
esthetic  styles  in  bamboo.  What  was  fit  for  a  hut.  I  did  not 
think  fit  for  a  chapel ;  and,  I  was  exact  and  strict  in  my  require- 
ments about  straight  lines.  (My  protege.  Rev.  Mr.  Itongolo, 
years  later,  in  his  erection  of  the  church  at  Ubenji,  in  the 
Batanga  region,  imitated  me.)  On  Saturday,  the  22d,  two  of 
the  young  men  Ndongo  and  Anome-go-nkala  (men-in-town) 
fell  from  the  scaffolding,  and  were  unable  to  work  for  several 
days.  One  of  them  died  at  his  home,  several  months  later  (I 
am  not  sure,  due  entirely  to  his  fall). 

TO    KANGWE. 

In  filling  my  trying  task  of  monthly  inspection,  I  had  another 
journey  to  Kangwe,  on  Friday,  the  28th.  I  took  advantage  of 
the  Gambia,  and  joined  it  with  my  canoe  and  crew.  In  such  a 
rainy  season.  T  would  not  take  either  my  sister  or  Mary;  and. 
when  unaccompanied  by  them,  I  preferred  a  canoe  to  the  Nclly- 
Howard.  The  latter,  indeed,  gave  protection  from  rain ;  but  the 
former  was  more  rapid.  The  Gambia  stopped  for  the  night  at 
Mr.  Jones',  a  new  trader,  near  Xgwilaka.  He  gave  a  doleful 
account  of  his  troubles  with  the  natives.  The  Akclc  was  there 
also,  on  her  way  up-river.      In  the  morning.  I  sent  by  it  a  little 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  563 

letter  to  Mary.  The  Gambia  resumed  her  journey;  but,  she 
soon  broke  one  of  her  valves,  and  was  helpless.  So,  I  left  her, 
in  my  canoe,  giving  passage  to  the  trader,  Mr.  Mooney.  Ate 
at  Belambla :  deposited  Mr.  Mooney  at  his  Aguma  house,  Lemba- 
rene :  and  was  at  Andende  by  6  p.m.  sunset.  According  to 
arrangement,  candidate  Mbora  was  away  at  Ajumba;  and  my 
friend  Njivo,  his  wife,  was  visiting  in  Lake  Onanga.  I  was 
relieved,  at  hearing  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good  were  soon  expected 
to  return.  Andende  seemed  very  quiet  and  lonely,  with  no 
voices  of  children. 

On  Monday,  the  31st.  I  paid  Mr.  Good's  employees  their 
monthly  wages.  Had  trouble  with  one  of  them,  "  Abraham," 
whom  I  had  refused  to  accept  for  baptism  at  the  previous  com- 
munion. Presbytery  had  a  rule  that  ability  to  read  should  be 
required  as  a  condition  of  baptism  except,  ( 1 )  when  the  candi- 
date was  too  old  to  learn.  (What  was  "too  old,"  twenty  or 
forty?)  (2)  Or,  having  tried,  had  proved  unable  to  learn. 
("Trying,"  for  how  long;  six  months  or  two  years?)  (3)  Or, 
was  too  far  from  opportunity  of  instruction.  (What  was  "  too 
far";  two  miles  or  ten?)  Mr.  Good  interpreted  all  these  ex- 
ceptions much  more  leniently  than  I.  The  result  was  that  double 
the  number  of  candidates  passed  his  examination,  who  could 
not  have  passed  mine.  Naturally,  they  praised  him.  But,  the 
church-records  later  showed  that  persons  baptized  in  their  ac- 
cepted inability  to  read  God's  Word  were  not  likely  to  grow  in 
their  Christian  life. 

RETURN. 

Next  day,  Tuesday.  November  1,  I  went  on  my  own  errands 
to  Lembarene.  And,  then,  hurried  back  to  Andende ;  and  hastily 
got  my  canoe  ready.  But,  there  was  the  usual  trouble,  of  the 
crew  crowding,  not  simply  their  necessary  baggage,  but  orTensive- 
odored  dried-fish,  etc.,  which  they  intended  (not  to  eat  but)  to  sell 
for  gain.  When  I  ordered  these  out,  one  of  the  crew,  Ognla  (a 
Shekyiani)  rebelled  and  deserted.  I  went  on,  with  the  remaining 
five  paddles.  But,  it  was  slow  disheartening  work.  Stopping  for 
the  night  at  an  Akele  village,  there  were  only  five  people  there. 
Next  day,  reached  Belambla  in  a  heavy  rain.  Ompwenge 
was  very  helpful  in  drying  our  wet  goods.  And,  I  had  fruit, 
of  my  own  planting.  Avocado  pears  and  mangoes. 

The  following  day.  Wednesday,  the  3d,  when  I  reached  old 
Osamu-'kita.  T  was  overtaken  by  the  Duala,  T  gladly  ran  along- 
side, knowing  that  my  German  trader  friends  usually  would  be 


564  MY  OGOWE 

willing  to  give  me  a  tow.  To  my  surprise,  objection  was  made, 
and  I  was  warned  off  by  a  French  officer.  I  felt  very  much 
humiliated.  (I  subsequently  learned  that  the  vessel  had  been 
chartered  by  the  French,  and,  that,  while  they  were  willing  to 
take  myself  as  a  passenger,  they  were  unwilling  to  tow  the  canoe 
and  crew.)      I  continued  my  journey  with  the  canoe. 

At  the  Akele  village  where  I  stopped  to  eat,  the  staring  of  the 
people  was  exceedingly  offensive.  In  my  early  days  in  Africa, 
being  stared  at  while  I  ate,  amused  me.  But,  after  almost  thirty 
years,  it  had  become  trying,  especially  from  the  Fanwe  and 
Bakele ;  Benga,  Kombe,  and  Mpongwe  were  more  polite.  At 
Xkogo,  I  could  get  no  plantains ;  the  gardens  had  been  devas- 
tated by  elephants.  At  Njalele's,  I  recovered  some  utensils, 
that  had  been  forgotten  on  our  last  visit  there.  And,  after  dark, 
pulled  on  to  Njambi's  at  Bitaga  Lagoon.  A  woman,  of  the 
Biman  clan  welcomed  us.  But,  there  was  little  opportunity  for 
religious  services.  A  mourning  for  the  dead  was  going  on  in 
the  village. 

Xext  day  was  very  warm,  and  the  crew  wished  to  stop  and 
bathe.  But,  I  feared  rain,  and  had  to  refuse.  Reached  Tala- 
guga  in  a  heavy  rain.  The  Duala  had  left  a  mail ;  its  best  letter 
was  from  the  Board  telling  of  the  expected  coming  of  a  new  mis- 
sionary, a  Mr.  Findley  (or  Finlay).  My  sister  and  I  were  be- 
ginning to  feel  the  strain  of  years  and  the  isolation  of  frontier- 
work,  and  looked  with  hope  that  the  recruit  would  be  our  relief. 
(But.  he  never  joined  the  mission.)  Beginning  with  Sunday, 
the  6th,  and  then  almost  every  day  of  the  following  week,  there 
was  some  "  palaver  "  with  my  employees.  They  seemed  to  be 
infused  with  a  spirit  of  neglect  and  disobedience. 

By  the  12th,  much  of  the  carpenter  work  on  the  chapel-porch 
was  done.  The  open  space  under  the  house  became  available 
for  storing  boats  and  canoes. 

The  Gambia  came  on  Wednesday,  the  16th,  with  a  letter  from 
Mr.  CJood  announcing  that  he  had  arrived  at  Kangwe  on  the  7th. 
When  the  vessel  returned  from  Asange.  it  stopped,  and  Mr. 
Moonev  came  ashore  to  buy  some  of  my  popular  American  tools. 
In  the  afternoon,  l)c  Brazza  cnme  down  in  a  canoe.  lie  neared 
my  landing,  and  left  his  compliments  as  he  passed.  (T  have 
ever  had  faith  in  the  sincerity  of  his  friendship.)  I  investigated 
my  people's  huts ;  and,  at  night,  lectured  them  on  the  unclean 
conditions  which  they  allowed.  It  was  a  great  satisfaction,  that 
for  a  month  past,  iguma  and  plantains  had  been  brought  in 
quantity  so  sufficient  that  I  had  not  needed  to  give  rations  of 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  565 

either  rice  or  farinya.  Thus  removing  a  chief  ground  of  com- 
plaint among  my  employees. 

On  Sunday,  the  20th,  just  as  I  was  commencing  services,  the 
Elobi  passed  up  and  whistled.  I  did  not  know  whether  it  was 
a  call  or  only  a  salutation.  In  either  case,  I  took  no  notice. 
For,  much  as  I  valued  the  aid  of  the  frequently  passing  vessels, 
in  bringing  me  mail  and  goods  (which  sometimes  I  was  com- 
pelled to  receive  on  Sunday,  when  the  vessels,  against  my  wish, 
landed  them)  I  consistently  stood  by  my  principle  of  doing  no 
secular  work  on  the  Sabbath. 

Next  day,  very  early  in  the  morning,  I  was  awakened  by  Mary 
calling  to  me.  She  was  coughing,  as  if  in  croup.  I  was 
alarmed,  and  watched  her  carefully  during  the  day;  for,  the  en- 
tire day  was  cold  and  rainy. 

Aziza  was  not  well  for  two  days.  Imperfect  as  she  was,  I 
missed  her  aid;  for,  I  had  to  attend  entirely  to  Mary,  particu- 
larly as  she  was  troubled  with  many  small  boils  on  her  face. 
By  Saturday,  the  26th,  work  at  the  chapel  was  going  on  well 
without  me,  under  care  of  the  Kombe  carpenter  Ingumu.  So, 
I  stayed  in  my  study,  working  on  my  final  revision  of  the  Benga 
grammar. 

On  Sunday,  the  27th,  the  Akele  passed  up.  When  it  came 
down  next  morning,  it  left  for  me  a  mail  and  a  box  of  clothing 
and  other  presents  for  Mary;  but  there  was  no  word  or  mark 
by  which  I  could  know  from  whom  they  had  come.  My  poor 
child's  boils  so  increased,  that  her  face  was  almost  covered  with 
poultices.  She  wanted  to  be  sung  to,  for  her  pains.  And,  had 
so  many  questions  to  ask,  that  I  had  to  check  myself  from  an 
attempt  to  check  her. 

On  Thursday,  December  1,  while  paying  the  month's  wages, 
the  little  girl  Bilaga  actually  asked  pay  for  her  small  service  in 
playing  with  and  amusing  Mary !  The  next  day,  she  ran  away, 
because  I  had  required  her  to  take  the  chigoes  herself  out  of  her 
own  feet.  I  was  pushing  work  at  all  points,  so  as  to  leave  the 
house  and  grounds  in  order,  when,  at  the  month's  end,  I  should 
start  on  the  annual  journey  to  the  meetings  at  Libreville. 

On  Sunday,  the  4th,  Bilaga  was  brought  back;  but,  she  re- 
mained unwillingly.  And,  on  the  7th,  she  ran  away  again.  I 
regretted  that.  And,  I  was  troubled  by  a  variety  of  affairs :  I 
was  not  well  myself;  and  was  pained  at  Mary's  boils  (though  she 
bore  them  well)  ;  I  suspected  that  Ingumu  had  been  drinking;  how 
should  I  arrange  for  the  sewing,  etc.,  of  Mary's  little  garments, 
(the  only  work  my  sister  had  done   for  her  since  the  loss  of 


566  MY  OGOWE 

Handi,  and  which  she  was  no  longer  able  to  attend  to).  Heard 
that  Mamba  and  Akendenge  were  on  their  way  to  Talaguga ;  but, 
I  did  not  suppose  that  they  were  coming  with  any  intention  of 
remaining.  They  arrived ;  and  were,  as  always,  polite  and  agree- 
able; but,  left,  the  next  day.  I  grieved  for  Mamba.  I  never 
had  a  better  employee;  and,  but  for  his  weakness  as  to  liquor, 
he  might  have  been  an  elder,  and  a  power  in  the  church. 

On  Wednesday,  the  14th,  Mr.  Mooney  sent,  asking  for  the 
loan  of  my  copy  of  Stanley's  "  Kongo  Free-State."  Next  day, 
I  heard  that  little  Bilaga  had  been  sold  into  marriage! 

I  was  hurrying  the  completion  of  the  chapel-seats.  And,  I 
put  up  an  arbor,  by  the  gully  at  the  east  end  of  the  house,  for 
a  granadilla  vine,  a  job  I  had  been  wishing  to  do.  for  a  whole 
year;  but,  had  been  delayed  by  so  many  more  imperative  needs. 
1  enjoyed  much  the  granadilla  fruit.  A  large  number  of  Fafiwe, 
on  a  journey,  had  stopped  over  Saturday  night ;  and  were 
present  at  Sunday  services  of  the  18th. 

By  the  afternoon  of  the  21st,  all  the  various  jobs  I  had  laid 
out  for  Ingumu  and  the  other  workmen,  were  successfully  com- 
pleted. And,  all  arrangements  were  made  for  the  long  journey 
that  was  to  begin  next  day. 

JOURNEY    TO    KANGWE. 

Leaving  several  men  in  charge,  we  were  all  ready  for  the 
start  by  9  a,  m.  of  Thursday,  December  22.  The  Nclly-Hoivard 
and  passengers,  and  crew  of  five;  Ingumu,  leaving,  in  a  canoe 
and  small  crew ;  and  Abumba  suddenly  appearing  in  a  small 
canoe,  and  demanding  a  crew.  He  had  annoyed  me  by  leaving 
the  question  of  his  going'  undecided,  to  the  last.  I  gave  him  one 
man.  It  was  an  unpleasant  ending  of  a  service  of  many  years, 
that  should  have  been  more  honorable.  With  the  usual  stops, 
we  were,  by  sundown,  for  the  night  at  Belambla.  Ompwenge 
had  already  gone  to  Kangwe ;  but,  had  left  written  direction,  in 
a  notice  posted  on  the  door,  how  to  enter.  (Quite  safe,  in  a 
country  where  few  could  write  or  read!)  There  were  abun- 
dance of  mangoes  on  the  trees.  At  night,  Mary  had  the  usual 
Belambla  sad  time  with  mosquitoes. 

Xext  day,  we  were  at  Andende  house  early  in  the  afternoon ; 
and,  welcomed  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good  and  little  Albert.  Can- 
didate Mlx)ra's  wife  Njivo  and  family  were  still  absent.  I 
missed  her  and  them  for  aid  with  Mary. 

On  Saturday,  the  24th,  went  to  the  trading-houses,  to  call  on 
the  gentlemen  there:  to  pay  my  year's  bills;  and  to  inquire  about 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  567 

possible  steamer  passage  to  Libreville.  It  being  the  close  of  the 
fiscal  year,  two  of  the  general  agents,  from  Libreville,  were  on 
a  visit  of  inspection ;  Mr.  Allam,  of  the  English  house  of  H.  & 
C,  and  Mr.  Lubcke  of  the  German  Woermann.  I  preached 
for  Mr.  Good  at  the  preparatory  service  of  Saturday,  the  24th. 
But,  on  Sunday,  I  had  a  bilious  attack,  and  could  not  attend 
communion ;  but,  remained  with  Alary,  who  also  was  not  well. 
The  day  had  little  of  the  traditional  Christmas  appearance. 

On  Monday,  the  26th,  went  around  to  Lembarene,  with  Mr. 
Good,  to  engage  passage  on  the  German  Elobi.  Then,  I  hurried 
back  to  Andende,  and  sent  Agonjo  and  Okendo  to  the  Akelc, 
to  ask  their  passage  to  Talaguga.  They  had  come  down,  only 
to  attend  communion ;  and,  they  were  to  go  back,  to  be  in  charge 
of  the  station  during  my  absence.  Sent  to  Lembarene  some  of 
our  baggage  for  the  Gaboon  journey.  Paid  my  people  their 
month's  wage;  and,  most  of  them  at  once  dispersed  to  their 
homes.  Abumba  again  disappointed  me.  I  thought  that  he  had 
come  only  to  attend  communion.  But,  he  had  deceived  me;  he 
declined  to  return  to  Talaguga.  And,  the  day  closed  unpleas- 
antly. 

I  had  reported  to  Air.  Good  my  superintending  of  his  station 
during  his  absence.  It  had  been  done  at  his  request,  rather  than 
that  he  should  close  the  station  entirely.  It  had  been  hard,  re- 
sponsible work ;  and,  I  thought  that  I  had  been  comparatively 
successful.  But,  inevitably,  there  would  be  some  regrets ;  and, 
knowing  our  antipodal  points  of  view,  I  said  pleasantly  to  him, 
in  a  deprecatory  way,  "  Mr.  Good,  I  hope  that  you  do  not  find 
the  station  affairs  in  a  very  bad  state  ?  "  "  No  worse  than  I 
expected !  "  he  curtly  replied.  It  was  one  of  the  few  occasions 
on  which  he  was  unkind  to  me.  For,  with  all  our  differences  of 
view,  I  never  had  a  quarrel  or  altercation  with  him.  I  felt  hurt. 
My  hard  journeys  to  and  from  Kangwe,  involving  so  much  self- 
sacrifice  in  regard  to  my  child,  seemed  to  have  become  harder. 
I  said  nothing.  I  quietly  resolved  never  again  to  fill  that 
vacancy,  even  if  Kangwe  station  should  lie  closed. 

On  Tuesday,  sent  a  canoe  with  more  baggage  for  the  Elobi. 
To  my  surprise,  Agonjo  returned,  saying  that  the  engineer  of 
the  Akelc  refused  to  give  him  passage.  I  thought  that  I  saw 
there  the  hand  of  Mr.  Lubcke.  He  did  not  like  me,  since  an 
altercation  he  had  had  with  me  at  Libreville,  when  he  was  drunk. 
(The  Germans  were  becoming  less  generous  than  the  English.) 
I  at  once  sent  Agonjo  to  Air.  Smith  of  the  house  of  H.  &  C, 
who,  I  was  sure  would  give  him  passage  on  the  Gambia. 


568  MY  OGOWE 

JOURNEY    TO    GABOON    ON    THE   Elobi. 

By  noon  of  the  27th,  all  our  company,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good 
and  Albert,  and  my  sister,  and  Mary  and  myself,  started  for 
the  Elobi,  in  boat  and  canoe,  at  the  German  house,  Mr.  Lubcke 
was  in  an  ill-humor;  for.  Mr.  Letz,  his  subordinate,  was  having 
a  difficulty  with  the  French  Post,  about  some  Kru-men  passen- 
gers. (And,  that  ill-humor  directed  itself  toward  me,  during 
the  voyage.)  We  anchored,  for  the  night,  near  Ashuka.  The 
accommodations  were  narrow.  Mary  had  to  sleep  with  her 
aunt  in  a  little  cabin.  1  was  given  no  quarters,  and  slept  on  the 
upper  deck,  in  the  open.  Mary  waking  during  the  night,  and 
missing  me  (for,  her  crib  had  always  been  in  reach  of  my  hand) 
cried  for  me,  and  would  not  be  comforted,  until  I  came  down 
and  soothed  her. 

About  noon,  the  next  day,  we  reached  Angala,  where  the 
Duala  was  lying.  The  expectation  had  been  that  we  would  all 
be  transferred  to  that  vessel,  and  proceed  to  Libreville  on  it. 
But,  Mr.  Lubcke  changed  his  plans,  and  ordered  the  Elobi  to 
go  on  with  him  and  us.  Then,  we  lay  at  Angala  until  1 1  p.  M., 
in  order  that  when  we  should  reach  the  river's  mouth,  we  would 
find  the  tide  at  its  best  stage  for  immediately  putting  out  to  sea. 
Mary  was  much  amused  during  the  afternoon,  by  the  antics  of 
a  chimpanzee  that  was  put  on  board  at  Angala. 

Emerged  at  the  mouth,  before  2  a.  m.  of  the  29th,  and  put  out 
to  sea.  I  was  not  seasick;  Mary  was,  slightly.  We  anchored 
in  the  Gaboon  harbor,  at  noon.  I  never  have  known  why  my 
sister,  myself,  and  Mary,  had  to  wait  for  a  permit  to  land.  (It 
never  was  required  before  or  since.)  Mr.  and  Airs.  Good  and 
their  child  were  taken  at  once  ashore  by  Mr.  Lubcke  in  the  cap- 
tain's boat.  When  it  returned,  we  landed.  Arrived  at  Baraka, 
we  were  welcomed  by  Mrs.  Ogden  and  other  missionaries.  I 
found  awaiting  me  a  mail,  which  informed  me  that  the  box  of 
gifts  for  Mary  which  reached  Talaguga  on  November  28,  was 
from  the  Hightstown,  X.  J.,  Mission  Band. 

In  the  afternoon  of 'Friday,  the  30th,  arrived  the  Mary-Nas- 
sau, from  Benita,  bringing  Airs.  Reutlinger.  And,  on  Saturday, 
came  Rev.  Mr.  Marling  from  his  Angom  station,  up  the  Gaboon 
River. 

On  Sunday.  January  1,  1888,  though  I  was  not  well,  I 
preached  in  the  morning  for  Mr.  Gault.  He  was  in  charge  of 
Baraka,  having  l>een  transferred  from  Benita,  to  take  the  place 
of  Rev.  G.  C.  Campbell,  who  had  returned  to  the  United  States. 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  569 

But,  I  was  detained  from  the  afternoon  communion,  by  Mary's 
long  nap.  I  would  never  interrupt  her  sleep.  She  wished  me 
near  her;  for,  she  was  still  troubled  with  boils  on  different  parts 
of  her  body;  and,  she  was  shy  of  strangers. 

Then,  after  Monday,  the  2d,  there  was  a  whole  month  made 
busy  with  varied  occupations :  Attending  meetings  of  mission 
in  the  mornings,  and  of  presbytery  in  the  afternoons;  a  visit  to 
the  Plateau,  to  make  an  official  call  on  the  lieutenant-governor, 
and  to  consult  the  doctor  about  my  child;  efforts  to  induce 
Joaque  to  take  a  photo  of  her ;  Elder  Etiyani  went  to  the  French 
hospital  to  have  a  tumor  extirpated  behind  his  ear  near  the  base 
of  the  brain,  and  fainted,  from  the  loss  of  blood;  closed  our 
meetings  on  the  9th  and  10th ;  and,  the  members  began  to  scat-, 
ter.  I  took  an  eight-mile  walk  with  Mr.  Good,  to  the  place 
Sibange,  on  an  affluent  of  the  Munda  River,  where  Woermann 
had  an  extensive  coffee  plantation  of  40,000  trees.  Mary  did 
not  wish  me  to  leave  her,  and  consented  to  my  going  only  on 
my  promise  that  I  would  return  before  sunset.  I  told  her  to 
watch  the  sun.  There  would  have  been  no  difficulty  about  the 
return,  had  we  come  back  the  same  route.  But,  Mr.  Good  said 
that  he  knew  another.  As  I  knew  neither,  I  had  to  follow  him. 
He  missed  the  path ;  and,  finally  we  emerged  at  the  Plateau,  two 
miles  distant  from  Baraka.  I  was  fearfully  tired.  But,  the 
sun  was  sinking;  the  promise  to  my  child  must  be  fulfilled;  for, 
father's  "  Yes  "  was  never  doubted.  I  was  staggering.  I  do 
not  know  how  I  accomplished  those  two  miles.  But,  Mary  was 
awaiting  me  on  the  Baraka  path ;  and,  I  reached  her  just  before 
the  sun  sank  under  the  horizon  of  the  sea.  And,  I  had  a  chill 
in  the  evening.  At  the  trading-houses,  getting  supplies,  among 
the  rest,  1200  pounds  of  dried  fish,  with  which  to  stop  food- 
complaints. 

On  Sunday,  the  22d,  I  preached  in  the  morning;  but,  all  the 
afternoon,  sat  with  my  sick  child  on  my  lap.  Next  day,  Mr. 
Good  and  his  family  returned  to  his  Kangwe,  on  the  Falaba.  I 
remained  with  my  sister,  who  needed  the  continued  rest  at  the 
seaside ;  and,  for  my  Alary  still  under  the  doctor's  treatment. 
On  Sunday,  the  29th,  Rev.  F.  S.  Myongo  preached  in  Benga, 
Air.  Gault  in  English;  and,  in  the  evening,  I,  in  Mpongwe.  On 
Monday,  Aziza  was  sick,  and  could  not  help  me.  Took  Mary 
to  good  old  Mrs.  Sneed's,  to  play  with  the  kittens;  and,  in  the 
evening,  she  was  well  enough  to  sit  up  at  prayers.  The  ocean- 
steamer  Africa,  from  Liverpool,  arrived,  having  on  board,  my 
friend  Air.  Reading,  who  had  again  joined  the  mission.     The 


570  MY  OGOWE 

Falaba  came  from  the  Ogowe,  bringing  Njivo  and  her  two  chil- 
dren. I  was  glad  for  their  arrival ;  they  were  company  for 
Mary.  In  the  boat  to  the  Plateau  on  February  6,  with  sister, 
Mrs.  Gault,  and  Mary  and  Aziza;  and  Njivo  and  her  daughter 
following  along  the  beach.  The  Mary-Nassau  brought  Rev.  Mr. 
Marling  from  his  Gaboon  River  station,  Angom,  for  a  called 
presbytery  meeting  on  the  nth;  at  which  Mr.  Reading,  and  Can- 
didate Iguwi  were  licensed  to  preach.  Meetings  of  mission  and 
presbytery  were  continued  on  the  13th.  Took  Mary  in  the  boat 
to  the  plateau,  to  have  her  vaccinated. 

RETURN    TO    THE    OGOWE    BY    Falaba. 

On  Friday,  February  17,  gathered  together  the  last  things,  for 
the  return  in  the  Falaba,  having  with  me  new  assistants,  a 
Fan  we  young  man  Nkama.  and  a  Mpongwe  young  woman 
Lucy.  The  steamer  started  late  in  the  afternoon.  The  captain 
kindly  gave  up  his  room  for  my  sister  and  Mary  to  sleep  in. 
But,  the  child,  unaccustomed  to  sleeping  with  her  aunt,  it  was 
necessary  for  me  to  be  near  her,  by  sleeping  on  the  deck  at  her 
door. 

The  next  morning,  we  entered  the  Ogowe ;  and,  by  night 
anchored  near  Kamaranga.  And,  the  following  night,  anchored 
near  Xdogo.  As  we  passed  Igenja  in  afternoon  of  Monday, 
the  20th,  we  took  on  board  three  of  my  people;  and  anchored  at 
Oranga,  where  Etendi  (restored  to  my  service)  and  three  others 
were  taken.  We  were  finally  at  Lembarene  by  middle  of  after- 
noon of  the  2 1  st.  The  steamer's  whistles  were  always  distinctly 
heard  at  Andende ;  and,  the  custom  was  for  the  mission-boat  to 
be  promptly  sent  around.  But,  Mr.  Good  failed  to  do  so.  And, 
after  we  had  waited  two  hours,  the  captain  kindly  gave  us  his 
boat:  and  we  and  my  people  and  all  their  and  our  luggage  were 
at  Andende  by  7  o'clock  at  night. 

The  next  day.  Wednesday,  the  22d,  I  started  my  seven  crew 
in  the  canoe  on  their  way  to  Talaguga.  And,  in  the  afternoon, 
1  went  with  Mr.  Good  and  his  mason,  to  see  the  site  he  had 
chosen  for  his  proposed  new  house  on  the  Hill.  Though 
Andende  house  had  been  built  by  Mr.  Reading  as  a  protest 
against  the  so-called  "  hill-fever  "  (of  which  he  had  read  in  some 
Ixxtk)  and.  for  convenience  of  a  market  at  the  water-side,  in 
Mr.  Good's  mind  (and  I  endorsed  him)  the  evil  of  the  proximity 
of  the  mosquito-infested  low  grounds  of  Andende  Creek  out- 
weighed the  labor  of  hill-climbing  (particularly  since  he  had 
made  the  easier  circuitous  path).     His  site  was  a  hundred  yards 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  571 

to  the  rear  of  my  old  house,  and  on  the  very  apex  of  the  Hill. 
On  the  23d,  Mr.  Good  asked  me  to  accompany  him  in  a  formal 
call  on  Miss  Harding  on  the  Hill,  relative  to  some  difficulties 
between  him  and  her,  as  to  station  control.  Was  surprised  to 
find  that  two  of  the  men  I  had  left  in  charge  of  Talaguga  had 
come  down  for  food.  Took  my  goods  to  Mr.  Letz  at  Lemba- 
rene,  to  be  ready  for  the  first  steamer  chance  up-river.  And, 
in  the  evening  came  word  from  Mr.  Wichula,  that  the  Akelc 
would  take  us  on  the  following  day.  That  night,  I  was  busy 
packing  and  arranging,  for  the  morning. 

TO    TALAGUGA    ON    THE    Akelc. 

On  Friday,  the  24th,  was  awake  before  4  a.  m.  ;  loaded  up, 
and  was  off  shortly  after  5  a.  m.  And,  at  Mr.  Letz's  before  6 
a.  m.  Transferred  my  belongings  from  the  boats  to  the  vessel, 
and  started  for  our  home  by  7.30  a.  m.,  my  boat  being  towed. 
A  French  traveler,  Mons.  Froment,  was  on  board.  My  man 
Monkami  steered  the  boat  so  unskillfully,  that,  on  reaching 
Bitaga,  I  entered  it,  and  took  the  rudder-lines  myself.  Finally, 
reached  Talaguga  after  dark.  Welcomed  by  the  four  in  charge ; 
and  discharged  everything  that  night.  I  was  glad  to  get  to  my 
own  bed ;  and  grateful  to  be  told  that  all  was  right  at  the  station, 
after  my  two  months'  absence. 

On  Sunday,  the  26th,  for  the  first  time,  worshiped  in  the  re- 
cently-constructed chapel.  The  trader  Manoel  and  his  people, 
and  a  boat-load  of  natives  from  the  Post,  were  present. 

I  had  brought  the  Fanwe  young  man.  Nkama,  professedly  a 
Christian,  from  Mr.  Marling's  station,  in  the  hope  that  he  might 
influence  the  Talaguga  Fanwe,  none  of  whom,  after  my  six 
years  with  them,  had  made  any  Christian  profession.  The 
guavas  I  had  planted  (of  the  ''strawberry"  variety)  were  in 
abundant  fruitage ;  Mary  was  extravagantly  fond  of  them.  I 
sent  a  number  of  plants  to  the  Post.  Mons.  Kerraoul,  on  his 
way  to  Lembarene.  stopped  to  leave  a  letter  for  me  from  Mons. 
Froment.  I  had  found  my  Mpongwe  so  available,  that  I  had 
somewhat  neglected  the  study  of  Fanwe.  especially  since  Air. 
Good  had  said  to  me.  shortly  after  his  first  coming  to  the  Ogowe, 
"Dr.  Nassau,  you  have  the  Benga  and  the  Mpongwe;  leave 
Fanwe  for  me!  "  But.  as  the  tribe  was  now  coming  more  reg- 
ularlv  to  Sunday  services.  I  began  to  use  Nkama  as  an  aid,  he 
being  able  to  communicate  with  me  both  in  English  and 
Mpongwe.  besides  his  own  tongue,  his  teacher.    Air.    Marling, 


5/2  MY  OGOWE 

being  the  best  Faiiwe  linguist  in  the  mission.  Nkama  seemed 
to  be  zealous;  for,  he  asked  permission  to  address  the  visitors 
on  religion. 

On  Thursday,  March  i,  Chief  Njega  (Nze)  and  his  people 
came  with  a  present  of  plantains;  and,  I  made  a  return  gift. 
But,  he  was  so  greedy  in  asking  for  more,  that,  according  to  my 
rule,  I  took  back  mine,  and  restored  his.  This  was  my  invari- 
able lesson.  But,  it  was  a  difficult  one.  The  majority  could 
not  learn  it. 

Nkama  voluntarily  preached  to  and  prayed  with  the  company. 
At  monthly  concert,  of  Sunday,  the  4th,  in  the  evening,  I  told 
the  people  of  their  being  so  different  from  heathen  of  other  coun- 
tries, in  that  they  were  unwilling  to  do  anything  for  God,  with- 
out pay.  There  was  I,  even  before  there  was  a  church-organi- 
zation, or  a  single  Christian  Fariwe,  presenting  the  duty  of  native 
self-help!  (A  duty  which  I  never  failed  to  press,  wherever  I 
lived,  during  the  remainder  of  my  life  in  Africa.) 

Mr.  Wichula,  of  the  German  house  of  Stein  &  Co.  (a  rival  of 
YYoermann)  came  in  the  Akcle  on  the  7th,  to  settle  accounts  with 
me.  He  was  selling  out  to  Mr.  Letz  (Wdermann's  representa- 
tive) and  was  closing  his  trading-houses.  I  had,  for  my  own 
recreation,  written  a  history  of  Corisco  presbytery.  I  wrote  to 
my  brother-in-law,  Rev.  Dr.  Gosman,  asking  his  advice  as  to  its 
publication.  [It  was  subsequently  published,  in  pamphlet  form, 
under  the  generosity  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Pratt,  of  Albany.  And,  it  is 
included  in  the  chapters  of  my  "  Corisco  Days."] 

The  young  woman,  Aziza,  was  kindly  intentioned,  but,  she 
was  heedlessly  neglectful.  As  she  and  I  were  starting  to  the 
prayer-room,  on  evening  of  the  8th.  she  allowed  Mary  to  fall. 
She  evidently  was  hurt.  I  carried  her  to  the  room,  and  held 
her  during  the  service. 

It  was  a  trial  to  me  that  so  many  of  the  Galwa  young  men, 
even  church-members,  in  leaving  my  service,  went  at  once  into 
trade,  with  its  inevitable  association  with  liquor.  Not  all  left 
as  deserters.  The  parting  of  most  was  apparently  friendly. 
Some  wearied  of  the  continuity  of  service,  and  wished  a  change; 
some  wanted  higher  wages;  for  almost  all,  the  old  food  question 
(of  variety,  not  sufficiency)  was  still  a  problem.  In  trade,  also, 
they  would  have  many  idle  hours  and  days :  the  work  was  com- 
paratively- easy;  food  was  always  obtainable,  for,  the  other  na- 
tives, in  their  superior  interest  in  trade,  and  for  rum,  would  sell 
their  produce  to  the  trader  rather  than  to  me;  and,  the  wages 
were  higher  than  what  the  mission  could  give.     And,  yet,  much 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  573 

of  the  competency  which  those  young  men  brought  to  the  white 
trader  came  from  their  experience  with  me.  From  me,  they 
had  learned  a  little  English  to  speak  or  to  read ;  some  ideas 
about  obedience  and  civilized  manners ;  and,  an  ambition  "  to 
rise."  There  came  one  such  young  man,  Re-Ndiva,  on  the  9th, 
with  a  company  of  Sika's  people  from  near  Njomu,  to  occupy 
the  trading-house  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  just  then 
vacated  by  Mr.  Wichula's  man.  I  had  been  reading,  with  much 
interest,  "  Ramona." 

On  Sunday,  the  nth,  Sika,  his  wife  Mbaga,  and  their  people 
were  at  chapel.  Messrs.  Mooney  and  Lubcke,  Jr.,  called  on  the 
13th,  on  their  way  down  to  Njomu;  they  accepted  my  invitation 
to  stop  for  supper  when  they  should  return.  Sika,  also  on  his 
way  back  to  Njomu,  left  his  wife  with  me,  for  a  few  days'  visit 
with  Lucy.  I  had  prepared  quite  an  extra  supper;  but  the  ex- 
pected guests  did  not  return.  They  passed  up-river  the  next 
morning,  and  forgot  the  courtesy  of  stopping  to  leave  their  apol- 
ogies. I  was  grateful  for  the  character  of  the  service  I  was 
l>eing  given  by  my  young  men,  better  than  I  formerly  had.  But, 
the  unreliability  of  both  Lucy  and  Aziza,  in  their  service  to  my 
child,  was  more  than  a  daily  care  to  me ;  it  was  an  anxiety. 

In  the  evening  of  Monday,  the  19th,  in  the  moonlight,  on  the 
veranda,  I  gave  the  children  a  fine  romp  and  play,  which  they 
all  enjoyed,  except,  when  I  exploded  a  torpedo  near  Aziza,  Mary, 
thinking  it  was  a  "  gun,"'  was  frightened  lest  her  nurse  was  being 
killed. 

Thursday,  the  22(1,  a  memorable  day!  I  started  Re-Njogo 
and  a  crew  of  five  in  a  canoe  to  Kangwe.  With  that  many 
employees  away,  I  took  a  day  off,  in  my  study.  While  I 
was  there,  Alary  strolled  in  by  herself,  and  wanted  to  handle  my 
guitar.  It  was  standing  unused  in  the  corner;  it  had  been  un- 
touched for  months.  She  must  have  often  seen  it  there.  I  do 
not  know  why  it  attracted  her  that  day.  To  please  her,  I  set 
to  repairing  the  broken  strings.  And,  then,  at  her  wish,  I  ac- 
companied myself  in  a  ballad,  "  There  came  a  gypsy  on  her 
way,"  the  refrain  of  which.  "  A-ri-a-ru,  a-ru,"  had  been  one  of 
my  most  frequent  lullabies  in  her  infancy.  She  had  always 
liked  it.  That  day,  she  reclined  on  the  lounge  near  me,  listen- 
ing intently.  Her  attitude  and  the  song  brought  a  startling 
memory  of  how  I  had  sung  and  played  that  same  song  for  her 
mother  one  evening  in  her  "  Cosy  Nook  "  home  at  Holmanville, 
X.  I.,  in  1 88 1,  she  reclining  on  a  lounge,  in  that  same  attitude. 

In   the  trying  responsibilities,   cares,  and   annoyances  of  my 


574  MY  OGOWE 

life  in  the  African  forest,  I  had  failed  to  observe  how  I  was 
becoming  narrowed  to  just  one  line.  The  music  brought  back 
the  civilized  past.  And,  all  the  blessed  things  of  that  past  were 
still  trooping  in  my  thought,  when,  near  noon,  the  Duala  came, 
with  Mr.  Letz  and  his  captain.  They  could  not  remain  for 
dinner:  but.  they  joined  me  in  music.  I  played  for  them  on  the 
guitar.  Air.  Letz  on  my  sister's  Baby  organ,  and  the  captain  on 
my  cornet.  I  enjoyed  a  hearty  dinner;  and,  after  it,  practiced 
on  the  cornet,  sitting  on  the  front  veranda.  The  guitar  strings, 
so  long  unused,  needed  a  good  deal  of  tuning  during  the  after- 
noon. In  the  twilight,  before  evening-prayers.  I  was  again  with 
the  cornet  out  of  doors.  The  echoes  struck  against  the  hills 
across  the  river  in  a  romantic  manner,  as  I  played  "  Annie 
Laurie.''  "  Tis  midnight  hour,"  and  other  songs  of  my  serenad- 
ing days  at  Princeton.  After  Mary  had  been  placed  in  her  cot, 
the  employees  asked  me  to  show  them  my  wooden  snake.  I 
did,  as  I  had  done,  years  before.  They  knew  that  it  was  only 
joints  of  wood.  But.  I  juggled  so  well  that  its  twistings  and 
turnings  were  alarmingly  natural.  They  would  not  touch  it. 
And,  I  played  for  them,  on  the  guitar.  After  they  were  gone 
to  their  huts,  and  I  was  alone,  the  excitement  of  the  day  was 
still  in  possession  of  me,  the  instrument  was  in  perfect  tune,  and 
I  sat  out  in  the  moonlight,  and  sang,  "  Stars  of  the  summer 
night,"  "  From  the  Tyrol  I've  come,"  "  I'll  watch  for  three," 
and  other  of  the  ballads  I  had  learned  at  my  Lawrenceville 
home  more  than  30  years  before.  I  was  alone,  but  I  sang  to 
quivering  leaves,  to  the  fairies  of  the  flowers,  and  to  the  stars. 
I  felt  as  I  had  not  felt  for  years.  A  great  load  from  the  years 
seemed  to  roll  away  from  me.  (That  day  also,  I  had  discovered 
a  new  flower  in  my  garden.)  And,  other  flowers  seemed  to 
have  bloomed  in  my  heart.  It  was  a  rare  day.  My  little  Mary 
had  brought  it  to  me. 

A  few  of  the  young  men  who  left  my  service,  had  left  under 
dismissal  and  prohibition  of  my  premises.  They  immediately 
obtained  employment  with  the  traders  near  me.  Thence,  they 
became  thorns  in  my  side.  For,  that  prohibition  did  not  hold 
on  Sundays.  I  invited  any  sinner  to  come  to  chapel.  They 
came,  not  for  any  reverence  of  the  service,  but  to  visit  their 
former  companions,  and  to  foment  disturbance  among  them. 

There  was  a  singular  character.  Frederick  Pratt,  a  Sierra 
Leone  negro,  handsome,  polite,  educated,  who  was  trading  in 
the  vicinity.  As  far  as  civilized  conversation  counted,  he  was 
equal  to  almost  any  of  the  white  traders  who  visited  us.      My 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  575 

sister  actually  enjoyed  liis  company.  But,  there  was  always  a 
suspicion  with  me,  that,  natives  who  came  so  far  to  obtain  work 
were  of  the  class  who  "  leave  their  country  for  their  country's 
good.''  He  was  at  chapel  and  afternoon  Sabbath  school,  on  the 
25th ;  and  then  went  down  to  Walker's  to  buy  food.  On  re- 
turning, in  a  storm,  he  was  upset  in  his  canoe  and  almost 
drowned  by  the  waves  which  any  strong  wind  soon  raised  in  the 
Ogowe.  Some  years  later,  he  married  one  of  our  best  Baraka 
Mpongwe  school-girls,  Gertrude,  widow  of  the  recreant  Elder 
Komanandi. 

For  several  months,  I  had  tried  to  collect  a  "  trust  "  from 
Chief  Nze.  of  Njomu.  Traders  rarely  succeeded  in  collecting 
all  their  "  trust  "  for  ivory,  rubber,  etc.  They  were  satisfied 
with  the  gain  they  made  on  the  portion  paid.  And,  they  ad- 
vanced new  loans  to  the  debtor.  At  first,  I  had  kept  out  of  the 
trust  system  entirely.  But,  had  finally  entered  it,  unable  to 
obtain  what  I  needed,  in  any  other  way.  But,  not  in  its  entirety. 
I  declined  to  advance  any  new  loan  until  the  old  one  was  paid 
in  full.  Faiiwe  did  not  understand  that.  And.  my  friend  Nze 
had  taken  no  notice  of  the  messages  I  had  sent  him.  So,  on 
Thursday,  the  29th.  I  went  myself  to  Njomu.  I  was  not  cor- 
dially received.  But.  finally  Nze  changed  tactics,  and  yielded 
to  my  demand.  While  I  was  there,  the  Falaba  came,  and  handed 
me  a  small  bundle,  and  box  of  limes,  and  apple-butter.  When 
I  reached  home,  Mary  was  as  frantically  happy  over  that  apple- 
butter  as  most  children  are  with  any  jam. 

At  5.30  a.  m.  of  Friday,  the  30th,  I  sent  a  canoe  and  five 
young  men  with  letters,  giving  them  2^2  hours  to  reach  the 
Falaba  at  the  Post.  At  8  a.  m.  that  vessel  passed  down.  I 
believed  that  my  canoe  had  not  reached  it  in  time.  But,  only 
about  five  minutes  later,  my  crew  also  came  down,  in  rapid  pur- 
suit, and  followed  the  steamer  down-river.  At  7  p.  m.,  the 
crew  returned,  bringing  back  the  letters.  They  told  me  that 
they  had  overtaken  the  vessel,  but  that  the  captain  (a  new  one) 
would  not  allow  them  to  come  alongside,  and  had  refused  the 
letters.  It  was  very  rare  that  unkindness  was  shown  me  by 
any  trader,  English,  German,  or  French,  immoral  as  some  of 
them  were,  and  with  as  little  sympathy  as  most  of  them  had 
for  our  mission-work.  I  had  joined  in  denouncing  this  man's 
seduction  of  one  of  our  Baraka  school-girls.  Naturally,  he  was 
taking  revenge.  But,  in  asking  him  to  carry  my  mail.  I  did  not 
consider  that  I  was  asking  a  favor  of  him,  but  of  his  Liverpool 
firm  of  H.  &  C,  who  were  invariably  courteous  and  helpful. 


576  MY  OGOWE 

That  same  day,  the  canoe  I  had  sent  to  Kangwe,  on  the  22d, 
returned,  bringing  again  Paul  Agonjo  and  his  little  son.  I  was 
glad  for  Agonjo's  return.  His  boy  made  another  playmate  for 
my  child.  And,  himself  I  at  once  utilized  to  do  the  village  visi- 
tation, which  I  could  not  regularly  go  away  to  do,  the  while  I 
had  only  the  unreliable  Lucy  and  Aziza  in  charge  of  my  child. 
Agonjo  also  assisted  me  in  my  Sunday  services,  and,  I  gave  him 
Nkama,  as  his  assistant  in  the  village  work. 

In  the  evening  of  Saturday,  April  7,  Ntula  (who  considered 
himself  as  Xyare's  successor  in  chieftainship,  but  whom  I  had 
declined  to  so  recognize),  came  to  ask  me  to  receive  and  forward 
to  the  Post,  a  government  canoe  which  he  had  found  floating, 
and  which  hitherto  he  had  refused  to  give  up ;  but,  which  he  was 
finally  anxious  to  get  rid  of,  as  he  heard  that  his  village  was  to 
be  burned  for  it.  I  refused  to  interfere.  I  had  suffered  annoy- 
ances on  my  premises  from  him,  and  was  quite  willing  that  he 
should  get  some  punishment. 

On  Sunday,  the  8th.  I  preached  with  unusual  ease.  But,  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  day,  I  had  an  unusually  strange  fever; 
and,  by  evening  had  to  ask  my  sister  to  take  charge  of  the 
service.  It  is  quite  distinctive  of  the  African  fever,  that  one  of 
of  its  preceding  symptoms  is  a  bright  mentality.  When  I  felt 
brilliant  in  conversation,  or  especially  fluent  in  letter-writing,  I 
learned  to  suspect  that  fever  was  coming. 

On  Monday,  the  9th,  the  Duala,  that  had  been  expected  for 
several  days,  passed  up-river.  The  next  day,  it  returned,  and 
anchoring,  discharged  a  valuable  mail,  and  fifty-four  boxes  and 
bags  of  my  semi-annual  supply  of  goods  and  provisions.  On 
board  were  Messrs.  Kerraoul,  Mooney  and  Williams.  The  lat- 
ter two  came  ashore  to  drink  from  my  brook,  of  whose  clear, 
sparkling  water  they  had  heard,  as  it  dashed  down  the  Hill. 
(  There  was  iron  in  it;  so  much,  that  the  edges  of  the  banks  were 
colored  by  it.  and  a  distinct  deposit  was  left  in  my  cooking  ves- 
sels. But,  it  was  not  obvious  to  taste.)  Re-Njogo,  whom  I 
had  sent  to  Kangwe  on  the  6th  returned  on  Friday,  the  13th, 
bringing  with  him  Abumba.  I  hoped  he  would  again  be  useful 
as  an  evangelist.  But,  after  his  desertion  in  the  preceding 
December,  T  had  not  immediate  perfect  faith  in  him. 

On  Monday,  the  16th.  two  of  my  people  were  sick,  and  wished 
to  go  to  their  homes.  Four  others  offered  to  take  them,  one  of 
whom  was  Etendi.  Their  offer  was  voluntary,  and  their  going 
was  not  for  my  service,  but,  for  their  sick  companions.     Never- 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  577 

theless,  I  promised  that  if  they  returned  in  fourteen  days,  I 
would  pay  their  wages  as  usual. 

On  Thursday,  the  19th,  a  small  canoe  with  two  young1  men 
upset  in  the  swift  current  opposite  the  house.  Little  Ombagho 
and  another  of  my  people  hasted  out  to  them  in  a  larger  canoe, 
and  saved  them.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  21st, 
my  sister  returned  from  a  four  days'  itineration,  bringing  with 
her  a  welcome  lot  of  food,  and  two  Fanwe  boy-pupils.  [One 
of  them  was  Adza,  now  a  Christian,  in  the  service  of  my  French 
successors.] 

Friday,  the  27th,  I  rose  well ;  but,  about  9  a.  m.  was  suddenly 
seized  with  a  violent  nausea  and  vertigo,  so  that  I  was  unable 
to  stand,  and  remained  lying  until  afternoon.  I  do  not  remem- 
ber the  cause  of  the  vertigo  (doubtless,  indigestion).  But,  I 
failed  to  recognize  it  as  an  evil.  [I  have  in  these  late  years 
learned  what  it  means.  But,  that  was  the  first  time  that  I  re- 
member being  so  affected.] 

In  the  afternoon  of  Sunday,  the  29th,  I  discovered  Nyamba 
(who  had  been  at  chapel  in  the  morning),  at  work  in  her  old 
garden,  the  ground  of  which  had  reverted  to  me,  by  purchase. 
I  had  no  objection  to  her  taking  plantain-sets  from  her  old 
stocks;  but,  I  ordered  her  away  from  work  on  Sabbath.  On 
Wednesday.  May  2.  my  canoe  with  a  crew  of  three  returned 
from  Kangwe ;  but  two  days  over  the  time-limit  I  had  given  them, 
and  without  Etendi.  They  told  a  tale  of  his  drinking  liquor, 
and  fighting,  and  deserting  them.  I  felt  sorry  for  him,  for,  he 
had  been  a  pleasant  servant. 

By  Thursday,  May  10,  Mary,  who  had  been  sick  and  feverish 
tor  a  week,  was  again  herself.  I  heard  that  there  were  people 
from  the  Interior  selling  ground-nuts  at  the  villages  across  the 
river,  and  that  they  had  curiosity  to  visit  the  white  man's  house, 
but  were  afraid  to  do  so ;  for,  they  were  drunk,  and  had  heard 
of  my  attitude  toward  drunkards.  Lucy  agreeably  surprised 
me  by  asking  to  join  my  inquiry  class.  She  had  been  so  friv- 
olous, that  I  was  not  looking  for  so  serious  a  step  by  her.  The 
kindly  disposed  but  unreliable  Aziza  involved  herself  in  another 
scandal.  On  Sunday,  the  20th.  some  fifteen  Fanwe  from  Njomu, 
were  present  at  chapel  in  the  morning,  and  at  Sabbath  school  in 
the  afternoon. 

On  Monday,  the  21st,  came  trader  Sika,  in  a  large  canoe, 
bringing  as  passenger,  a  former  employee,  Okendo,  a  Christian, 
returning  to  my  service.     I  hoped  much  from  him,  as  an  aid  in 


578  MY  OGOWE 

Agonjo's  evangelistic  work.  When  the  canoe  was  first  sighted, 
the  children  mistook  it,  and  shouted,  "Mr.  Good's  people!" 
There  was  at  once  excitement  and  preparation  to  receive  Mrs. 
Good.  But,  presently  the  disappointment  was  so  great  that  my 
sister  broke  down.  She  was  needing  civilized  female  compan- 
ionship. She  was  sick  on  Sunday,  the  27th,  and  unable  to  come 
to  chapel.  But,  Mary  sat  very  quietly  by  herself.  About  fif- 
teen strangers  were  present.  Paul  Agon  jo's  little  boy  did  not 
prove  to  be  a  proper  playmate  for  my  child.  I  had  to  send  him 
out  of  Sabbath  school  for  filthiness. 

By  Friday,  June  1,  the  dry  season  had  come.  The  river  had 
fallen,  so  that  several  feet  of  the  rock  (opposite  the  brook's 
mouth)  were  visible.  The  water  had  not  been  unusually  high 
in  May;  at  no  time  had  it  covered  my  front  path.  Lightning 
and  thunder  had  ceased.  Only  slight  showers  at  night;  and 
menyenge  drizzles  in  the  mornings. 

On  Monday,  the  4th,  eight  Galwa  canoes  passed  up,  carrying 
thatch  for  sale  at  the  Post.  One  of  them  rested  at  my  landing. 
I  watched  the  crew,  and  moralized  on  their  rum-sodden  faces. 
For  my  useful  tools  and  other  helpful  goods,  I  could  with  dif- 
ficulty obtain  thatch  even  by  going  for  it  myself.  Then,  those 
Galwas  were  making  a  70-mile  journey  to  sell  theirs  for  rum. 

My  sister  had  recovered,  and,  on  Wednesday,  the  6th,  she 
went  down  to  Ngwilaka,  on  another  three-days'  evangelizing 
journey.  She  took  with  her  her  two  Fanwe  lads,  to  visit  their 
village;  and  also  the  girl  Bilaga.  who,  though  she  had  run  away 
to  be  married,  was  only  betrothed,  and  had  returned  to  school. 
While  I  was  playing  with  Mary  on  Friday,  the  8th.  she  asked 
me  to  show  her  how  to  jump  rope.  I  had  not  forgotten  some 
long-ago  skill  in  that  line,  and  my  gymnastics  amused  her  and 
the  servants,  who  then  were  all  excited,  and  went  out  on  the 
lawn,  to  practice  for  themselves.  The  next  day,  the  cat  Falaba. 
who  had  promised  us  a  litter  of  kittens,  appeared  in  the  house 
with  one,  much  to  Mary's  delight. 

In  the  evening  of  Sunday,  the  10th,  the  Duala  anchored  at  my 
landing.  And,  next  morning,  I.  appreciating  that  the  vessel  had 
recognized  my  Sabbath  principle,  went  off,  before  daylight,  and 
received  some  sixteen  boxes  of  goods  and  supplies,  and  a  mail. 
There  were  constantly  things  that  I  added  to  the  house  and 
grounds,  in  the  way  of  conveniences.  So  that  the  house  was 
a  very  much  more  comfortable  one  than  even  in  1884.  Besides 
the  chapel,   and   employees'   enlarged  dormitories,   there  was  a 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  579 

new  prayer-room,  and  better  bridges  over  the  brook,  and  over 
the  gully  (east  of  the  house). 

All  morning  of  Thursday,  the  14th,  I  felt  dull  and  feverish. 
But,  in  the  afternoon,  Mary  asked  me  to  play  on  the  cornet. 
She  actually  sang,  to  my  accompaniment,  the  tune  "  Greenville," 
and  the  Sabbath  school  songs,  "  In  the  sweet  by-and-by,"  and 
"  'Tis  the  promise  of  God,  full  salvation  to  give." 

On  Saturday,  the  16th,  a  canoe  of  Sika's,  on  its  way  up-river, 
came  with  a  basket  of  oranges  from  Mr.  Reading  at  Libreville. 
Some  river  steamer  had  probably  dropped  it  at  Sika's.  It  was 
a  very  honest  native  friend  wrho  had  refrained  from  eating  the 
fruit !  Later,  in  the  day,  several  government  canoes,  on  their 
way  to  the  Post,  stopped  to  buy  and  sell.  Best  of  all,  they  told 
the  news  that  Anyentynwa,  the  Mpongwe  woman  whom  a  year 
before  Mrs.  Gault  had  failed  to  obtain  as  governess  for  my 
child,  was  on  her  way  to  me,  having  arrived  at  one  of  the  Lemba- 
rene  trading-houses.  My  great  burden  began  to  be  lifted  from 
me! 

On  Wednesday,  the  20th,  I  started  my  best  canoe  in  charge 
of  Agon  jo,  down-river  to  Kangwe,  for  the  several  purposes  of 
getting  rid  of  two  young  men,  who  were  leaving  my  service ;  to 
take  away  Lucy  and  Nkama,  whom  I  was  dismissing;  and,  in 
hope  that  there  might  be  brought  back  with  them  my  friend 
Anyentyuwa. 

Lucy's  desire  to  join  the  inquiry  class  was  only  a  case  of  "  the 
morning  dew."  She  was  an  accomplished  dancer,  and  found 
admiring  spectators  among  my  workmen  in  the  evenings,  her 
exhibitions  being  very  suggestive.  And,  poor  Nkama,  whom 
Mr.  Marling  had  sent  to  me,  to  save  him  from  similar  tempta- 
tions at  his  own  place,  fell  under  her  fascinations.  It  was  a 
veritable  Providence  that  was  sending  Anyentyuwa  to  my  aid  at 
that  very  time ! 

In  my  gladness,  I  took  a  holiday,  next  day.  Leaving  only 
three  men  at  the  house,  I  took  the  remainder  of  the  household, 
with  my  sister,  in  her  boat,  and  went  up-river  a  few  miles  to 
the  sand-bank  which,  long  before,  Ombagho  had  called  "  Mary's 
Ozege."  The  occasion  was  especially  for  her  pleasure.  On  the 
way,  we  stopped  to  inspect  the  government  saw-mill  on  the  upper 
end  of  Njoli.  Then,  on,  to  the  Ozege.  How  delighted  the  child 
was  to  land  there!  How  fast  she  ran!  Fanwe  passers-by 
stopped  to  look,  and  annoyed  me  by  the  intensity  of  their  stare, 
as  if  we  were  wild  beasts.     We  made  our  dinner  on  the  Ozege. 


580  MY  OGOWE 

Young  Mr.  Lubcke  passing,  stopped  to  take  a  cup  of  coffee  with 
us. 

On  my  return,  I  planted  oil-palms  on  the  lawn  at  the  east  end 
of  the  house,  and  in  other  places.  (I  had  seen  no  oil-palms  in 
the  Talaguga  region,  when  I  located  there  in  1882.) 

On  Sunday,  the  24th,  Sika  and  his  people  were  at  chapel  and 
Sabbath  school.  Mary's  dog  Don  always  behaved  himself  well 
during  services,  lying  quietly  at  her  feet.  But,  that  day,  Sika  had 
brought  his  dog  Dick.  This  was  too  much  for  Don's  equanim- 
ity; and,  there  was  some  confusion.  In  the  afternoon,  Mary 
was  still  accustomed  to  take  her  nap,  and  therefore  would  not  be 
present  at  Sabbath  school.  When  I  returned  from  school,  I 
found  her  awake,  but,  patiently  waiting  for  me ;  she  had  not 
cried,  or  been  unhappy.  She  gratified  me  by  often  speaking  of 
her  mother.  I  had  talked  to  her  of  her  mother's  photograph. 
For,  she  was  hearing  other  children  called  to  or  for  their 
mothers ;  and,  I  wished  her  to  know  that  she  had  one.  This 
had  so  impressed  her,  that  in  Speaking  to  me  of  her  mother,  it 
seemed  as  if  she  herself  remembered  one  whom  she  had  known, 
and  not  simply  one  of  whom  she  had  been  told. 

On  Thursday,  the  28th,  went  with  my  sister  and  the  children 
to  Mary's  Ozege.  Mary,  now  that  she  had  passed  the  trials  of 
infancy,  and  the  tests  of  whooping-cough  and  boils,  and  I  had 
learned  to  adjust  my  treatment  to  her  fevers,  was  growing  large 
and  heavy.  After  lunch.  I  went  on  alone  with  the  boat  and 
crew,  to  the  Post,  to  buy  some  of  the  government  boards  of  its 
saw-mill.  T  was  told  that  none  could  be  spared.  At  this  I  won- 
dered, considering  that  I  saw  the  piles,  unprotected  by  a  shed, 
wasting  in  the  exposure  of  alternate  heat  and  rain.  There  were 
great  changes  on  Asange  Island,  where  the  Post  was  still  lo- 
cated. Many  houses  were  built,  almost  the  entire  island  cleared 
of  underbrush;  lawns  sown;  paths  laid  out;  and  even  a  cemetery 
enclosed. 

On  Saturday,  the  30th,  Candidate  Mbora  came  again  into  my 
service.  It  was  a  refreshing  assistance  to  have  him  in  the  pulpit 
with  me  the  next  day.  And.  on  the  following  Wednesday,  July 
4,  he  took  charge  of  the  work  of  itinerating.  But,  almost  as  if 
our  enemies  knew  of  this  stronger  step  in  evangelism  on  our 
part,  that  very  day.  I  saw  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  passing  in 
a  canoe.  I  changed  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  from  Tuesday 
to  Wednesday,  and  held  it  in  the  chapel,  having  torn  down  the 
old  bark  prayer-room,  in  order  to  build  on  that  same  site  a  larger 
and  stronger  one. 


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Facing  page  580 


THE  MOTHER-TASK  CONTINUED  581 

I  had  kept  goats,  during  Mary's  infancy,  for  the  sake  of  their 
fresh  milk.  Now,  that  she  no  longer  depended  on  milk,  I  de- 
cided not  to  keep  the  animals.  They  had  served  their  day. 
1  wished  the  little  fruit  trees  and  other  plants  to  have  their  turn 
for  life;  the  goats  were  very  destructive. 

On  Sunday,  the  8th,  both  Mbora  and  Agonjo  assisted  me  in 
the  morning  services,  the  latter  in  Fanwe.  My  little  girl  sat  so 
prettily,  dressed  in  a  white  merino,  sent  to  her  by  my  dear 
brother  William.  Next  evening,  Mary  and  the  children  had  an 
unusually  thrilling  play  of  a  native  game,  "  Ilage,"  enacted  very 
dramatically  by  Aziza. 

On  Wednesday,  the  nth,  though  it  was  dry  season,  the  day 
was  showery.  I  think  that  Mary  felt  the  unseasonable  weather ; 
for,  she  did  not  wish  to  play;  and,  at  dinner,  preferred  my  lap 
to  her  own  seat.  Messrs.  Mooney  and  Lubcke,  Jr.,  called  just 
at  dinner  time,  and  sat  down  with  us.  In  the  evening,  Mbora 
conducted  the  prayer-meeting  in  the  chapel.  I  had  him  make 
the  exercises  longer  than  in  the  former  days  when  I  had  to  attend 
to  all  the  parts  myself  alone. 

My  sister  with  boat  and  crew  went  on  Wednesday,  the  18th, 
for  a  four-days'  itineration.  During  her  absence,  the  frisky 
Bilaga.  ran  away.  But,  she  came  back  when  my  sister  returned. 
On  Sunday,  the  2 2d,  Mary  was  present  at  Sabbath  school. 
Impressed  with  the  sight  of  so  much  teaching  being  done  by  her 
father  and  her  aunt  and  others,  she  voluntarily  took  three  little 
Fanwe  children,  and  in  regular  formal  manner  began  to  tell 
them  about  a  picture  in  her  little  book.  (She  used  both  English 
and  Mpongwe. )  I  wondered  if  her  mother  saw  the  touching 
sight! 

I  ventured,  on  Monday,  the  23d,  to  go  away  for  two  days,  to 
Sika's,  to  get  bamboo,  for  the  roof  of  the  new  prayer-room. 
It  was  a  successful  day  in  the  bamboo-swamp.  After  supper, 
I  had  preaching  service  for  the  villagers ;  which  was  somewhat 
spoiled  by  Sika's  violent  efforts  to  make  the  active  Fanwe  be- 
have. It  was  a  long  time  before  I  fell  asleep  in  the  midst  of  the 
village  drumming  and  dancing.  The  next  day.  with  my  load  of 
bamboo,  after  going  homeward  about  a  mile,  I  found  the  over- 
loaded canoe  leaking  so  badly,  that,  stopping  in  the  forest,  I 
sent  men  back  by  land  to  borrow  a  canoe  of  Sika.  When  it 
came.  I  divided  my  load ;  and  we  safely  reached  home. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  25th,  I  heard  that  the 
Fanwe  across  the  river  had  seized  and  threatened  to  kill  for 
"  witchcraft  "  two  of  the  little  bovs  who  had  attended  Sabbath 


582  MY  OGOWE 

school  on  the  Sunday.  I  immediately  sent  Agonjo  and  crew  to 
try  and  save  them.  But,  Mamaga  (an  old  man,  Nyare's  suc- 
cessor) treated  them  roughly,  and  declared  his  intention  to  kill 
the  children.  Mary  was  quite  distressed  for  the  little  boys. 
The  next  day,  though  I  had  a  bad  headache,  I  went,  taking  her 
with  me,  to  Nyamba's  (not  Mamaga's)  village,  to  intercede  for 
their  lives.  [I  have  no  farther  record  in  reference  to  this  inci- 
dent. Nor  have  I  any  memory  of  the  result.  But,  I  judge  that 
my  intercession  was  effective ;  for,  I  do  not  think  that  I  would 
have  no  memory  of  the  fact,  if  the  children  were  finally  killed; 
nor  do  I  think  that  I  would  have  failed  to  appeal  to  the  French, 
if  I  had  not  been  successful.]  Fully  expecting  the  arrival  of 
Mrs.  Good  on  a  visit  from  Kangwe,  I  sat  on  the  front  veranda 
after  7  p.  m.,  awaiting  the  coming  of  a  steamer.  I  had  pre- 
pared candles  in  the  six  Chinese  lanterns  (which  I  kept  for 
great  occasions)  hanging  them  on  the  front  of  the  house.  Be- 
fore the  Dnala  blew  its  warning  whistle,  I  had  heard  the  beat  of 
its  engines,  and  hasted  to  light  the  candles.  Then  I  pushed  off 
in  my  boat,  and  brought  ashore,  Mrs.  Good  and  her  Albert,  and 
Angentyuwa  and  her  little  girl  Iga.  There  was  great  rejoic- 
ing !  Mary  made  a  frantic  demonstration !  This  woman, 
known  as  Fando  (the  name  given  by  her  mother),  as  Jane  (by 
her  father),  Janie  (by  Mrs.  Bushnell),  Anyentyuwa  (by  her- 
self), Jane  Harrington  (by  most  white  people),  and  her  younger 
sister,  my  dear  friend  Njivo,  were  the  noblest  native  Christian 
ladies  T  met  with  in  my  entire  African  life.  I  had  known  them 
intimately  for  twenty-five  years,  since  they  were  little  children. 
Their  father,  a  wealthy  educated  (but  non-Christian)  Mpongwe, 
had  given  Anyentyuwa,  when  only  four  years  old,  to  Mrs.  Bush- 
nell, as  her  "  daughter."  Thenceforward,  she  remained  at 
Baraka  school  as  her  home  (but,  supported  by  her  father). 
She  was  proud  of  it,  as  she  grew  from  childhood  to  womanhood, 
attached  to  Mrs.  Bushnell  as  daughter,  assistant,  teacher  in  the 
school,  companion,  nurse,  friend,  adviser.  Nothing  was  too 
hard  for  her  to  do  for  her  Baraka  home,  and  for  the  succession 
of  missionaries  who  came  during  those  twenty  years.  Of  the 
two  sisters,  Njivo  was  the  more  beautiful,  and  witty;  but, 
Anyentyuwa  was  a  stronger  character,  as  a  leader,  and  more 
intellectually  brilliant,  her  education  having  been  carried  far  by 
Mrs.  Bushnell.  Tn  that  respect,  she  was  superior  to  two  of  the 
missionaries.  As  to  her  truth  and  honesty,  I  have  ever  held  her 
equal  to  any  member  of  the  mission.  She  had  been  sought  by  a 
score  of  white  men,  as  a  mistress.  But,  her  virtue  scorned  their 
offers  of  wealth. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  TASK  ENDED,  AUGUST,    1 888-FEBRUARY,    1 89 1 

BUT,  this  lady,  when  she  came  to  me,  "  had  a  past."  Ap- 
preciating from  what  she  had  come,  and  to  what  she 
was  coming,  she  sought  an  interview  the  day  after  her 
arrival  at  Talaguga,  and  honorably  making  me  her  father-con- 
fessor, she  revealed  to  me  the  true  story  of  events  in  her  previ- 
ous five  years,  of  which  all  the  missionaries  had  heard  many 
false  and  unjust  statements.  I  am  perfectly  certain  that  she 
told  me  the  truth : 

In  November,  1882,  when  she  was  twenty- four  years  of  age, 
and  still  a  virgin  (a  rarity,  at  that  age,  in  that  part  of  Africa), 
an  educated  native  suspended  church-member  raped  her.  At 
first,  she  thought  that  her  resistance  had  been  partly  successful, 
and  she  told  no  one.  When  she  found  that  she  was  to  become 
a  mother,  she  told  good  "  mother  "  Bushnell,  who  believed  her. 
But  the  Rev.  Wm.  Walker  did  not;  and,  she  was  driven  from 
her  Baraka  home.  After  her  child  was  born  in  August,  1883, 
he  summoned  her  before  the  church  session,  pointing  to  the  child 
as  proof  of  her  guilt.  He  would  not  believe  her  protest.  Ap- 
parently, the  old  man  was  not  aware  of  the  physiological  fact 
that  fertility  does  not  depend  solely  on  the  consent  of  the  female. 
She  was  suspended.  Her  long  years  of  civilization  had  made 
her  unable  to  support  herself  in  the  rough  manual  labor  of  gar- 
den-making; and,  she  tried  to  support  herself  in  laundering  and 
dress-making.  Her  own  people  she  offended,  because  she  re- 
fused to  enrich  them  by  selling  herself.  She  still  went  to 
church.  But,  even  there,  Mr.  Walker  pointed  her  out  as  an 
evil  example.  So,  she  ceased  to  go  to  church.  In  this  dis- 
tressed state  of  mind,  the  advances  of  a  certain  white  gentle- 
man, that  came  in  a  respectful  way,  without  naming  a  price,  but 
offering  love,  protection,  and  support  as  wife  was  accepted.  On 
her  part,  I  believe  that  she  meant  no  wrong.  She  knew  that  in 
civilization  there  were  "  common-law  "  wives ;  and  that  some  of 
the  States  of  America  accepted  the  contract  as  a  valid  marriage. 

583 


584  MY  OGOWE 

In  our  mission  (at  that  time)  a  church-ceremony  was  required 
only  of  male  church-members.  (Other  Christian  women  were 
wives  of  polygamists.)  In  the  Gaboon  church,  at  that  very 
time,  were  a  score  of  men  and  women,  living  as  husband  and 
wife,  with  only  the  native  ceremony  accepted  as  valid.  She 
lived  virtuously  with  that  English  gentleman  as  his  wife.  But, 
unfortunately,  she  was  spoken  of,  in  traders'  dissolute  circles, 
and  on  the  steamers,  as  in  the  same  class  of  women  who  sold 
themselves  for  a  price  to  any  man.  Which  never  was  true  of 
her,  in  any  sense. 

Mr.  Walker's  successor  in  the  church  summoned  her.  Her 
explanations  were  not  listened  to.  She  asked,  at  least  to  be 
allowed  to  retain  a  suspended  church-membership  (as  was  al- 
lowed, at  that  same  time,  to  a  man  under  suspension  for  drunk- 
enness), especially  as  she  still  clung  to  her  Bible  and  prayer. 
She  was  excommunicated.  Later,  when  she  found  that  the  gen- 
tleman was  unfaithful  to  her,  she  considered  their  contract 
broken.  And,  she  accepted  the  offer  of  a  French  officer,  on  a 
promise  of  a  marriage-ceremony.  When  he  went  to  France  on 
his  furlough,  asking  her  to  reserve  herself  for  him  on  his  return, 
she  refused,  as  he  had  failed  to  keep  his  promise.  In  order  to 
return  to  the  church,  she  refused  continued  offers  from  white 
men,  and  accepted  a  Sierra  Leone  negro  trader,  who  fully  ex- 
pected to  have  a  church  ceremony.  But.  because  it  was  (un- 
wisely) deferred  until  he  could  build  a  fine  house  in  which  to 
make  a  display  of  the  wedding,  she  was  refused  by  the  session. 
The  man  died  before  his  house  was  finished.  The  insults  that 
had  been  heaped  on  her  by  Baraka  hardened  her  heart.  And. 
she  accepted  the  offer  of  a  Scotchman  living  one  hundred  miles 
down  the  coast.  In  a  few  months  he  was  recalled  to  England. 
At  once,  again,  she  had  an  offer.  But.  she  refused  it.  deter- 
mining to  refuse  all  marriage,  in  order  to  be  again  accepted  in 
the  church.  The  man.  to  compel  her,  accused  her  of  theft  (a 
crime  impossible  for  her).  The  local  French  magistrate  sent 
her  for  trial  to  Libreville.  Even  in  that  court-room,  the  judge 
solicited  her.  She  refused  him ;  and  he  condemned  her.  That 
one  act  of  hers,  for  me,  condoned  her  previous  errors.  She 
went  to  jail  for  righteousness'  sake.  It  was  a  shame:  but,  I 
regarded  it  as  a  crown.  The  affair  was  so  outrageously  unjust 
that  the  excellent  Governor  Ballay  paroled  her;  and,  the  judge 
released  her,  in  response  to  the  protests  of  the  French  community 
who  had  known  and  respected  her.  Just  at  that  time,  her  sister 
Xjivo,  Mr.   Reading's  housekeeper  at  Baraka.  was  intending  to 


THE  TASK  ENDED  585 

leave  him,  for  my  greater  need.  Mr.  Reading,  who  believed  in 
Anyentyuwa,  advised  her  to  go  to  me.  And,  she  came.  Her 
little  girl,  Iga-nambe,  or  "  Josephine,"  or  simply  Iga,  was  just 
two  years  senior  of  my  Mary,  and  became  her  best  playmate. 

After  this  wonderful  confession,  1  gave  Anyentyuwa  absolu- 
tion. I  believed  her  more  sinned  against  than  sinning.  I  had 
the  example  of  my  Master,  at  the  well  of  Samaria. 

Then  I  told  Anyentyuwa  the  whole  history  of  the  causes  of 
Handi's  having  left  me.  I  gave  her  control  of  my  child,  with 
authority  equal  to  my  own  in  the  daytime.  I  still  retaining 
sole  charge  during  the  night.  I  told  her  that,  while  she  was 
not  under  my  sister's  authority,  I  wished  her  to  give  her  all 
respect.  But,  that  in  case  of  a  conflict  I  would  endorse  her.  I 
called  Mary,  and  told  her  that  I  would  not  require  her  to  come 
to  me  for  permissions,  as  hitherto;  but,  that  she  might  go  any- 
where or  do  anything  that  her  governess  "  Ma  "  Janie  allowed. 
("Ma"  is  a  native  word,  a  title  of  respect.)  Aziza,  I  re- 
tained, as  Anyentyuwa's  assistant,  to  save  her  steps,  and  to  do 
her  bidding.  Then,  I  went  to  my  sister,  and  reminding  her  of 
all  I  had  suffered  for  two  years  through  the  loss  of  Handi,  and 
of  her  own  inability  farther  to  assist  me,  even  as  to  Mary's 
garments,  I  told  her  of  the  authority  I  had  entrusted  to 
Anyentyuwa,  and  begged  her  to  give  her  no  orders  of  any  kind 
whatever.  I  warned  her  that  if  any  difficulty  arose,  I  would 
not  compromise,  as  I  had  done,  in  order  to  save  her,  as  in  the 
case  of  Handi,  but  would  justify  Anyentyuwa  in  any  refusal  to 
obey.  But,  I  assured  her  that  the  latter  would  always  be  re- 
spectful. And  she  was.  She  never  failed.  The  situation  was 
a  delicate  one;  but,  she  carried  herself  with  rare  skill,  tact, 
courtesy,  and  womanly  dignity.  [Unfortunately,  there  came  a 
day,  when  my  sister  failed  in  her  promise  to  me.  I  did  not  fail 
in  my  promise  to  Anyentyuwa.  When  the  choice  came  between 
my  duty  to  my  sister,  and  my  duty  to  my  child,  there  was  no 
doubt  as  to  my  child's  priority.]  Though  my  mother-care  was 
not  ended,  the  mother  task  was. 

In  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  July  31,  came  Messrs.  Carrothers 
and  Deemin,  who,  at  my  invitation  stayed  to  tea,  and  remained 
overnight.  I  mention  them  particularly;  for,  they  represented 
the  English  firm  of  J.  Holt  &  Co.,  which  had  entered  the  river 
several  years  before,  had  retired,  and  now  was  returned,  and 
was  located,  not  with  the  other  firms  at  Lembarene  Post,  but 
three  miles  farther  up-river  on  the  other  (left)  bank,  in  the 
Iuenga  tribe.     And,  to  that  firm,  and  to  Mr.  Deemin,  personally, 


586  MY  OGOWE 

I  was  subsequently  often  indebted  for  many  favors  and  assist- 
ances in  the  use  of  their  little  river-steamers,  and  in  other  ways. 
On  Wednesday,  August  I,  with  my  household,  and  my  guests, 
we  went  on  an  excursion  to  the  Ozege;  and  thence  to  the  Post. 
There  we  met  Messrs.  Kerraoul  and  Gazengel;  and,  I  showed 
Mary  the  domestic  animals  that  were  gathered  there  for  breed- 
ing. 

TO  BITAGA  LAGOON. 

On  Tuesday,  the  7th,  started  on  the  annual  excursion  to 
Bitaga  Lagoon,  as  an  entertainment  for  my  guests ;  and  espe- 
cially as  a  celebration  of  Mary's  fourth  anniversary  birthday. 
We  in  the  boat,  and  Abumba  in  the  canoe.  Being  short-handed, 
I  gave  him  Aziza  and  Bilaga  to  help  him  paddle. 

Njambi,  a  former  employee,  but  then  trader  at  Bitaga,  was 
not  there  when  we  arrived ;  but,  when  he  came  later,  he  at  once 
gave  us  fish.  About  the  same  time  arrived  Agonjo  from 
Kangwe.  After  evening-prayers,  there  was  an  ugly  talk  with 
some  of  the  Fan  we,  who  wanted  to  make  me  pay  for  the  priv- 
ilege of  fishing  in  the  lagoon.  (A  strange  demand  for  a  tribe 
who  had  so  outraged  my  property  rights!)  I  recognized  the 
right  of  private  property  in  their  towns  and  gardens ;  but,  I  told 
them  that  the  lagoon  was  part  of  the  river,  which  belonged  to 
the  French,  to  whom  only  would  I  pay  tribute.  The  demand 
was  not  insisted  on. 

The  next  day,  sending  the  two  canoes  in  advance  to  prepare 
the  camp  in  the  same  spot  as  the  year  before,  the  rest  of  us  fol- 
lowed in  the  boat.  The  day  was  given  up  to  amusement,  all 
rules  off.  Abundance  of  fish ;  reading,  resting,  talking,  children 
playing,  eating  with  good  appetites.  And,  returned  to  Njambi's 
for  the  night.  The  following  day  was  a  repetition.  In  the 
morning  of  Friday,  the  10th,  starting  the  two  canoes  in  advance, 
we  followed  slowly  in  the  boat,  stopping  for  a  few  minutes 
each,  to  salute  and  recreate  at  seven  different  places.  At  the 
last  place,  Ogombe's  village,  we  recovered  Don,  who  had  per- 
sisted in  following  us  along  the  bank  on  Tuesday,  and  who  had 
lost  us  when  we  crossed  to  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Ogombe 
had  found  him,  and  detained  him  for  me. 

The  Gcuubia  came  on  Saturday,  the  nth.  bringing  Mr.  Good, 
and  a  large  valuable  mail.  Between  the  reaction  from  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  excursion,  and  the  excitement  of  the  mail, 
I  had  a  bad  headache.  On  Monday,  gave  Mr.  Good  a  canoe 
and  crew,  to  visit  the  Post. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  587 

Next  day,  Mr.  Good  was  disappointed  in  no  steamer  coming; 
and,  as  he  was  anxious  to  return  to  his  post,  I  sent  him  with  his 
family,  in  my  best  canoe  and  crew,  under  the  care  of  Abumba. 
Although  the  day  was  showery,  Mr.  Good  preferred  the  canoe, 
as  it  was  more  rapid  than  a  boat,  and  would  have  less  difficulty 
over  the  shallows,  which  were  unusually  numerous. 

On  the  15th,  I  was  troubled  with  an  eye-worm.  I  had  a  dis- 
agreement with  Mbora,  on  Friday,  the  17th.  In  his  trips  to  the 
villages,  I  gave  him  a  man,  to  paddle;  but,  I  expected  that  he 
also  should  work,  and  not  sit  idle,  as  if  he  was  superior  to 
manual  labor.  I  felt  disappointed  in  him,  as  he  showed  little 
energy  or  interest  in  his  work. 

On  Sunday,  the  19th,  a  large  number  of  Fahwe  at  chapel. 

In  the  evening  of  Monday,  Abumba  returned  from  Kangwe, 
bringing  news  of  the  rebellion  of  the  school-boys  against  the 
brutality  of  the  French  teacher.  Mr.  Good,  in  his  large  school, 
had  complied  with  the  government  requisition  for  the  teaching 
of  French.  At  Talaguga,  I  had  not  felt  that  the  law  applied 
to  my  sister's  few  irregular  pupils. 

On  Wednesday,  the  29th,  Agon  jo  and  Mbora  came  back  so 
late  from  their  itineration,  that  the  latter  was  unable  to  assist 
me  in  the  prayer-meeting.  And,  I  was  annoyed  at  Agonjo's 
clandestinely  taking  with  him  on  his  trips,  bottles  of  palm-oil 
for  sale.  (The  remains  of  his  old  trading  habits.)  Selling 
was  right;  but,  I  objected  to  his  mixing  it  with  his  Bible-work. 
I  spoke  to  him  about  it,  next  day;  and  his  acknowledgments 
were  satisfactory. 

On  Friday,  September  7,  Mr.  Carrothers,  of  Holt's,  stopped,  in 
a  small  boat,  on  his  way  to  Asange.  He  brought  word  that  he 
had  overtaken  a  canoe  containing  a  Mr.  Gacon,  who  was  on  his 
way  to  me,  and  who  would  expect  a  canoe  from  me  to  meet  him. 
I  at  once  sent  it.  To  my  agreeable  surprise,  the  crew  went  so 
rapidly  that  they  returned  by  5  p.  M.  of  Saturday,  the  8th,  with 
Air.  Gacon,  who  had  come  to  repair  the  Nelly-Howard.  In  the 
evening,  I  enjoyed  singing  duets  with  him.  He  also  had  his 
flute ;  but,  I  could  not  play  with  him,  as  he  followed  his  ear, 
and  not  notes.  Air.  Gacon  was  a  Swiss,  whose  trade  had  been 
that  of  a  cabinet-maker.  He  had  come  to  Africa,  as  a  mechanic- 
assistant  to  Rev.  Messieurs  Allegret  and  Teisseres,  agents  of 
the  Paris  Evangelical  Society,  who  were  on  a  tour  of  inspection 
of  the  French-Kongo,  with  expectation  of  locating  a  new  mis- 
sion. Thev  were  following  De  Brazza's  route  to  the  Kongo 
via    the   Ogowe.     While   waiting   to   perfect   their   plans,    they 


588  MY  OGOWE 

were  the  guests  of  our  mission,  at  Kangwe  station.  Not  just 
then  requiring-  the  services  of  Mr.  Gacon,  they  had  allowed  him 
temporarily  to  enter  our  service.  And,  he  was  making  himself 
very  useful  as  a  carj>enter  in  various  repairs.  On  Monday,  the 
joth,  he  l>egan  work  on  shaping  new  timbers  for  the  boat,  out 
of  curved  branches  of  trees  which  I  had  collected  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

I  allowed  Anyentyuwa  to  go  for  several  days'  visit  to  her 
brother  at  Njomu.  In  a  desire  to  accomplish  several  objects 
on  the  journey,  I  also  sent  Mbora,  on  his  exhortation  duty  at 
the  villages  that  would  be  stopped  at.  But,  on  the  crew's  re- 
turn, they  complained  that  he  delayed  them  by  visits  to  native 
traders.  So,  he  objected  to  going  any  more  on  village-visita- 
tion, when  I  had  any  secular  business  for  the  crew.  This 
sounded  very  well;  but,  it  was  not  his  real  reason.  So,  I  dis- 
continued his  village-work. 

On  Saturday,  the  15th.  I  sent  a  crew  to  Yeria  for  thatch:  and 
to  bring  Anyentyuwa,  whom  my  Mary  was  anxious  to  have  re- 
turn, she  having  become  already  very  much  attached  to  her. 
Mbora  came  on  Tuesday,  the  18th,  to  apologize  for  his  lan- 
guage; and,  I  allowed  him  to  resume  his  village-work.  Next 
day,  the  place  was  very  quiet.  One  canoe  and  crew  to  Njomu 
for  bamboo;  and.  in  another,  Mr.  Gacon  had  gone  to  visit  the 
Post,  as  he  had  almost  completed  the  repairs  and  painting  of 
the  boat.  I  sent  to  Asange,  to  obtain  from  the  Post,  water- 
cress for  propagation  at  Talaguga.  By  Monday,  the  24th,  the 
boat  repairs  were  entirely  completed.  Mr.  Gacon  had  given  it 
a  new  lease  of  life;  it  leaked  only  a  little. 

JOURNEY    TO    KANGWE, 

On  Wednesday,  the  26th,  late  in  the  morning,  in  the  Nelly- 
Howard,  heavily  laden  with  baggage,  and  crowded  with  twenty 
souls.  My  Kangwe  journey  was  always  associated  with  a 
variety  of  errands  at  villages  on  the  way.  At  the  end  of  two 
hours,  for  dinner  at  Njomu,  at  Anyentyuwa's  brother's  trading- 
house,  and  left  her  and  her  little  Tga  there  until  we  should  re- 
turn. At  Xjambi's,  at  Bataga;  he  offered  Mary  a  little  mon- 
key. At  Sakuma  village  (a  very  large  one  of  Njagu  and  Mana) 
a  woman  gave  her  some  sugar-cane.  And.  another,  who  was 
pregnant,  came  to  gaze  steadily  on  my  little  girl,  in  order  that 
her  expected  child  might  resemble  her.  ( Those  natives  were 
firm  believers  in  "maternal  impressions.")  Dropped  at  their 
villages    the    bovs    Adza    and    Xjega.      And.    at    the    village    of 


THE  TASK  ENDED  589 

another  boy,  Angwe,  stopped,  for  the  night.  Those  Fanwe 
were  very  rude.  I  had  to  rebuke  them,  before  they  would  give 
me  a  seat  to  sit  on,  or  huts  for  me  and  my  people  to  sleep  in. 
Very  rare  inhospitality !  I  had  a  headache,  and  slept  but  little 
that  night. 

The  next  day,  early  on  to  Belambla.  And,  on,  with  inten- 
tion to  visit  the  new  trader,  Mr.  Wheeler,  at  the  Island  "  fac- 
tory " ;  but,  the  channels  were  too  shallow.  At  the  Andende 
house,  by  4  p.  m.  and  was  met  by  the  two  French  teachers, 
Messieurs  Carmien  and  Lesage,  and  little  Albert  Good,  who 
came  to  welcome  my  Mary. 

The  following  day,  Friday,  the  28th,  walked  to  the  Hill,  to 
see  Mr.  Good's  new  house  on  the  hill-top.  Preached  for  him 
at  the  afternoon  preparatory  service.  And,  sat  up  late  at  night 
discussing  the  question  of  native  marriage-ceremony.  Of 
course,  he  differed  from  me. 

On  Saturday,  went  to  the  trading-houses,  to  settle  bills  at 
each  place.  Did  not  attend  the  afternoon  church-service,  being 
occupied  with  my  little  Mary,  who,  in  her  play  on  the  veranda, 
had  run  against  a  chair,  and  cut  her  lip.  She  cried  herself  to 
sleep  on  my  lap.  After  the  meeting,  I  paid  my  men  their 
month's  wage:  and,  to  Aziza  and  Xami,  Mary's  attendants, 
their  year's  dues.  Mary  was  not  well  at  night.  So  that,  next 
day,  at  the  Sunday  service,  after  I  had  preached  the  sermon, 
I  did  not  remain  to  the  communion,  but,  left,  to  sit  with  my 
sick  little  girl,  all  the  remainder  of  the  day.  Several  additions 
to  the  church :  among  them,  one  of  my  employees,  Mafiandi, 
whom  I  considered  very  unworthy. 

On  Monday.  October  1,  Mary  was  better;  and.  I  went  to 
Inenga,  to  Holt's,  to  inquire  about  purchasing  their  deserted 
trading-house  up-river,  as  Agonjo's  proposed  out-station  for 
Scripture-reading  work.  Returning  in  the  afternoon,  I  walked 
to  the  Hill,  with  Mary,  my  sister,  and  Mrs.  Good,  to  inspect  the 
new  house.  From  the  bread-fruit  which  I  had  originally 
planted  there.  T  got  a  young  set  to  be  planted  at  Talaguga.  We 
had  expected  to  return  to  Talaguga  on  Tuesday,  the  2d ;  but,  a 
note  came  from  Mr.  Letz,  delaying  the  Akcle  until  Thurs- 
day. 

Xext  day.  Mary  was  playing,  and  apparently  well,  excepting 
that  she  had  a  red  rash:  which,  however,  was  not  irritating.  I 
supposed  it  to  be  the  outcome  of  some  intestinal  disturbance.  In 
the  afternoon  I  packed  the  largest  portion  of  our  luggage,  and 
sent  it  around  the  island  to  Mr.  Letz,   for  the  journey  of  the 


590  MY  OGOWE 

next  day.  And  as  the  transportation  given  me  was  a  great 
favor,  in  fear  of  detaining  the  vessel  even  one  minute  (because 
of  its  early  start),  I  did  not  go  to  bed,  but  dozed  in  a  chair 
until  3.30  a.  m.  of  Thursday.  Then,  I  wakened  the  crew,  and 
loaded  the  boat.  Kind  Mrs.  Good  prepared  some  tea.  I  wak- 
ened and  dressed  my  Mary;  and  was  off  from  the  landing  by  5 
a.  m.  With  Aziza's  newly-married  husband,  Ogandaga,  and  a 
new  employee,  and  a  passenger,  I  had  a  crew  of  eight  paddles. 
We  reached  Woermann's  by  exactly  6  a.  m.  ;  and  twenty  min- 
utes later,  the  Akelc  started,  we  on  the  little  deck,  and  the  boat 
in  tow.  In  passing  Holt's  house  at  Inenga,  Mr.  Carrothers  sent 
off  a  letter  generously  giving  me  possession  of  their  deserted 
trading-house  at  Magenene.  Passage  was  slow;  for,  a  surf 
boat,  heavily  laden  with  salt,  was  also  in  tow,  and,  the  channels 
were  very  tortuous,  so  that  there  was  no  hope  of  reaching  Tala- 
guga  that  day.  As  the  hours  slowly  passed,  my  expectations 
receded  from  Njomu,  Erere-volo,  Ngwilaka,  until  finally,  only 
by  running  after  dark,  did  we  reach  Adza's  village,  the  place 
at  which  I  wished  to  stop  to  inspect  the  Magenene  house. 
When  we  left  Andende  in  the  morning,  Mary  seemed  well ;  and, 
on  the  steamer,  she  ate  well,  and  slept  on  rugs  on  the  deck,  a 
Very  long  time  in  the  afternoon.  But,  when  she  awoke,  she 
was  seized  with  vomiting  and  purging.  I  was  startled,  and 
could  not  account  for  the  sudden  change.  Evidently  she  needed 
better  watching  than  I  had  been  able  to  give.  I  regretted  hav- 
ing left  Anyenty.uwa.  Perhaps  the  recession  of  her  rash  had 
something  to  do  with  the  case.  We  all  went  ashore.  I  held 
meeting  with  the  people,  and  informed  them  that  the  house  was 
mine,  and  that  I  would  send  them  a  teacher.  T  passed  a  miser- 
able night  with  my  little  daughter.  The  vomiting  and  purging 
continued.  I  feared  she  had  dysentery.  Under  the  medical 
idea  of  those  days,  I  withheld  the  drinking-water,  for  which  she 
begged,  fearing  it  was  not  pure.  Few  memories  in  my  life  are 
as  bitter  as  that  of  my  refusal  to  her  pleadings,  "O!  father! 
I'm  your  thirsty  little  daughter!" 

We  were  up  by  5  a.  m.  of  Friday,  the  5th,  and  off  on  the 
Akelc  by  6  a.  m.  Mary's  nausea  was  diminishing,  but  her 
diarrhoea  continued.  I  gave  her,  alternating,  little  sips  of  lem- 
onade, of  water,  of  spirits  of  nitre,  and  of  rice-water.  I  was 
anxious  for  the  steamer  to  go;  and  did  not  ask  it  to  stop  for  the 
Fan  we  lads.  (Angwe  had  come,  in  time.)  There  was  a  report 
that  two  villages  were  in  ambush  for  my  boat,  in  revenge  for 
the  death  of  three  of  their  people  drowned  in  Mons.  Kerraoul's 


THE  TASK  ENDED  591 

service.  At  Erere-volo,  the  vessel  stopped  for  fire-wood ;  and, 
at  Njomu  for  Anyentyuwa  and  Iga.  Mary  was  still  distressed 
with  thirst  for  water,  which  I  feared  to  give  her  until  we  should 
reach  our  perfect  brook;  but  Ma  Janie's  coming  aroused  her. 
Finally,  at  Talaguga,  shortly  after  3  p.  m.,  she  revived  imme- 
diately. With  thirst  satisfied,  and  a  hot  bath,  she  slept  well. 
The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  6th,  she  awoke  with  sudden  energy ; 
but,  soon  fell  back  with  the  weakness  inevitable  after  her  severe 
purgation,  which  was  not  entirely  stopped ;  but,  otherwise  she 
seemed  well.  Her  symptoms  were  improved;  but,  she  was  still 
so  weak,  that  she  was  willing  to  lie  in  her  carriage,  and  ride 
slowly  through  the  bedroom  and  my  adjoining  study. 

On  Sunday,  October  7th,  there  was  a  large  audience  in  the 
chapel.  Anyentyuwa  and  my  sister  stayed  all  day  with  Mary, 
who  was  dozing  most  of  the  time ;  would  eat  nothing ;  her 
diarrhoea,  though  still  too  frequent,  was  improved  in  character  by 
the  careful  medicines  and  food  I  was  giving.  But,  she  had  a 
cough  that  had  become  frequent  and  spasmodic. 

On  Monday,  the  8th,  the  rainy  season  was  fully  come,  with 
thunder  and  lightning.  Mary  was  better;  but.  still  with  no 
appetite.  I  stayed  with  her  most  of  the  day.  In  the  evening. 
1  gave  her  quinin;  it  eructated;  but.  she  bravely  swallowed  it 
down  again.  For  so  young  a  child,  she  was  very  brave  about 
medicine. 

She  rose  in  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  9th.  suddenly  bet- 
ter, talking  and  trying  to  play:  and  this  energy  she  kept  up  all 
day.  On  Thursday,  the  nth,  I  remained  a  good  deal  in  the 
house  with  her.  as  she  had  not  entirely  recovered  from  the  ef- 
fects of  her  sickness.  The  cause  of  that  sickness  has  always 
been  a  mystery  to  me.  Sometimes  I  have  thought  that  perhaps 
the  canned  food  of  the  Akclc  may  have  had  ptomaine  poisoning; 
though  I  knew  only  of  her  eating  asparagus  and  bananas.  Now 
that  Aziza  was  married.  I  dignified  her  position  by  building  a 
little  hut  for  her  and  her  husband,  separate  from  the  other  work- 
men. 

On  Sunday,  the  14th,  though  the  day  was  showery,  there  was 
a  good  audience  in  the  chapel.  Among  the  company  was  the 
former  trader,  Ongamu.  now  a  government  agent,  and  his  little 
sister.  He  was  an  uncle  of  Anyentyuwa :  and,  they  stayed  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  day.  Angwe's  Fafiwe  relatives  came  to 
visit  him.  And.  in  the  evening,  came  friend  Chief  Nze.  to  beg 
for  a  canoe  with  which  to  complete  a  journey  with  a  sick  woman 
of  his  company. 


592  MY  OGOWE 

Xext  day,  I  loaned  him  the  canoe,  taking-  as  hostages  his  gun 
and  fetish.  Ongamu  had  gone  to  some  villages ;  and,  on  his 
way  back  to  Asange,  he  stopped  to  get  flower  sets,  seeds,  and 
young  trees,  to  plant  at  the  Post.  He  told  me  that,  near  a 
Bindube  village,  he  had  rescued  a  Fariwe  who  was  about  to  be 
sold  to  Fanwe  near  me,  to  be  eaten,  as  a  punishment  for  his  per- 
sistent solicitation  of  women! 

On  Tuesday,  the  16th,  for  the  first  time  in  her  life,  complaint 
was  made  to  me  against  Mary,  that  she  had  "  tawa-d  "  (in- 
sulted) any  one.  The  complainant  was  little  Adza.  The  other 
children  were  indignant  at  his  making  the  charge.  I  record 
with  pleasure,  that,  during  my  little  daughter's  life  at  Talaguga, 
she  was  treated  by  all  natives  with  uniform  kindness  and  re- 
spect. And,  she  also  (though  from  her  position  as  my  child, 
she  might  have  assumed  offensive  superiority)  did  not  do  so, 
but  conducted  herself  in  a  spirit  of  affiliation.  The  natives 
were  her  playmates,  their  language  hers.  (I  required  her  to 
use  English  to  me.)  And.  her  governess.  Ma  Janie.  was 
wonderfully  wise  and  tactful  with  her,  in  her  dealings  with  the 
Fanwe. 

JOURNEY  TO   MAGENENE. 

On  Wednesday,  the  17th.  started,  with  Abumba  and  three 
others  in  one  canoe,  and  myself  with  Agonjo  and  four  others  in 
another.  As  usual,  there  were  stoppages.  At  Yeiia.  Chief 
Alukijame  was  away,  on  a  war  with  some  interior  Bakele.  On 
to  Bitaga,  where  I  was  saddened  by  the  news  of  the  death  of 
Njambi's  little  daughter.  Mine  had  recovered:  his  had  died! 
Shortly  below  Xgwilaka,  to  Njagu's.  I  walked  through  the 
street,  and  two  young  men  engaged  themselves  to  come  and 
work  for  me.  How  different  from  my  Talaguga  Fanwe.  The 
latter  had  no  interest  in  school,  or  church,  or  work  for  me. 
They  were  engrossed  in  "  trade."  Parted  company  with 
Abumba  and  his  crew:  he  was  to  take  Angwe  to  his  village,  hold 
a  meeting,  and  join  me  next  morning. 

At  the  Magenene  house,  where  Agonjo  was  to  be  stationed, 
found  that  a  door  had  l>een  stolen  ;  but.  it  was  soon  returned. 
Made  measurements  and  calculation  of  building  material  needed 
for  repairs.  Held  a  meeting  in  the  evening;  but,  I  was  so  sleepy, 
that  I  shortened  the  service.  After,  I  had  gone  to  bed,  Agonjo 
held  another  meeting.  This  kept  me  awake,  as  I  listened  to  the 
interested  inquiries  of  some  men  who  were  talking  with  him. 
And.  after  quiet  had  come.   I   was  wide  awake  and  could  not 


THE  TASK  ENDED  593 

sleep  because  of  the  bitter  memory  of  Mary's  piteous  cries  for 
water,  only  two  weeks  previously,  on  that  very  spot. 

Next  day,  arose  early;  and,  after  prayers,  started  homeward. 
I  was  not  anxious  about  Mary;  she  was  guarded  by  the  perfect 
governess.  And,  I  was  free  to  go  on  errands  of  other  duty. 
At  Njagu's  village,  was  joined  by  Abumba,  the  two  young  men, 
and  two  new  boys.  As  I  had  no  matches,  at  Nkogo  I  got  a 
firebrand,  for  our  stop  in  the  forest,  for  the  noon  lunch. 

At  Bitaga,  I  had  a  serious  talk  with  Njambe  about  his  intem- 
perance. He  had  been  a  pleasant  workman  while  in  my  service ; 
and,  I  found  him  tender  over  the  loss  of  his  child.  He  gave  me 
a  monkey  (which,  once  before  he  had  offered  her)  for  my  Mary. 
On  to  Njomu,  and  stayed  overnight  with  Anyentyuwa's  brother 
Antyuwa.  He  was  a  well-educated  Mpongwe.  I  slept  in  the 
very  neatly  kept  room  of  his  dead  wife ;  the  neatest  native  room 
I  had  occupied  in  the  Ogowe. 

On  Friday,  the  19th,  ate  no  breakfast,  and  started  immedi- 
ately after  prayers.  My  crew  were  vexed  that  I  had  given  the 
best  paddles  to  Abumba's  crew  (who  had  the  heaviest  load)  and 
they  pulled  sullenly  for  an  hour,  until  they  got  over  their  spite. 
Then,  we  overtook  Abumba,  and  passed  him  at  Sanjala.  I  had 
taken  no  notice  of  their  sullenness ;  and,  when  they  came  to  their 
senses,  I  myself  took  a  paddle  for  quarter  of  a  mile.  All  in 
good  spirits,  we  moved  rapidly,  and  were  at  home  before  1 1 
a.  m.  Mary  was  in  ecstasies  at  my  return.  Then  there  was 
great  rejoicing  over  the  monkey.  Anyentyuwa's  welcome  was 
most  courteous ;  and,  she  prepared  a  strong  band,  to  which  to 
fasten  the  little  chain  I  had  provided.  Mary  was  again  in  her 
usual  good  health. 

On  Sunday,  the  21st,  some  of  the  strangers  at  chapel  brought 
word  that  one  of  the  employees  of  the  trader  Mpaga,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  had  been  killed,  on  a  journey  in  the 
forest,  to  the  interior  Fanwe,  and  had  been  eaten  by  them. 
This  created  great  excitement  among  my  people. 

On  Monday,  the  22(1,  an  unusual  show  of  steamers,  four  of 
them.  One  brought  a  letter  from  Mr.  Good,  and  several  little 
things  I  had  been  needing;  among  others,  a  folding-chair,  most 
convenient  for  travel.  Agon  jo  was  preparing  to  leave,  to  get 
his  wife,  and  be  ready  for  his  Bible-reading  work.  Mbora  too, 
was  about  to  go  on  a  visit  down-river.  On  Monday,  the  29th, 
the  Akele,  on  its  way  from  Asange,  landed  two  big  cases  of 
cloth,  and  a  missing  case  of  tools,  1000  dried  fish,  and  a  mail. 
In  the  afternoon,  I  opened  the  boxes,  and  arranged  their  con- 


594  MY  OGOWE 

tents  in  my  little  "  store."  There  came  also  two  Mpongwe 
traders  for  medicine;  one,  for  a  felon  on  his  finger;  the  other, 
with  a  toothache. 

Next  day,  leaving  one  of  the  men  painting  Anyentyuwa's 
room  up-stairs,  I  went  in  the  Szvan,  to  take  her  and  Iga  to  visit 
their  uncle  Ongamu  at  Asange.  Mary,  of  course,  went  along, 
and  behaved  very  nicely.  I  was  over  three  hours  on  that  five- 
mile  way,  against  the  strong  swift  current  of  the  rainy  season. 
At  Asange,  the  houses  were  very  busy  buying  ivory  and  rubber 
from  the  crews  of  the  government  canoes  which  had  just  ar- 
rived from  the  Interior,  and  thatch  from  Galwas.  A  Mr.  Mc- 
Taggart  gave  Mary  a  kitten  (for  which  she  had  asked  him) 
while  I  was  absent  at  another  house.  I  left  Anyentyuwa  and 
her  Iga  with  Ongamu  (to  be  sent  for  next  day).  The  return 
ride  with  Mary  down-stream  was  a  rapid  one.  She  particularly 
enjoyed  that  ride  in  her  mother's  boat. 

JOURNEY  TO  MAGENENE. 

On  Monday,  November  12,  prepared  the  two  canoes  for  a 
journey,  to  put  in  order  Agonjo's  Scripture-reading  out-station. 
As  usual,  there  were  necessary  stops,  at  Walker's ;  at  Yeiia ;  at 
Bitaga.  Near  Ngwilaka,  I  changed  crews  (with  Abumba  of  the 
other  canoe)  because  my  Fail  we  feared  the  Bemijige  clan;  and 
stopped  there  to  arrange  with  trader  Jones,  that  Agonjo  should 
get  his  monthly  wages  paid  by  him.  By  5  p.  m.,  were  at  Mage- 
nene.  But,  the  night  was  a  lonely  sad  one,  with  the  memory  of 
the  dreadful  time  of  Mary's  sickness  there  two  months  before. 

Before  daylight  of  the  13th,  started  Abumba  and  the  Galwa 
crew  back  to  Bitaga  for  thatch.  I  allowed  the  three  Fanwe  lads 
of  my  sister's  little  school  to  visit  their  villages.  Agonjo  ar- 
rived from  down-river  in  the  afternoon ;  and  Abumba  returned 
satisfactorily.  Glad  welcomes  all  around.  I  had  been  busy  all 
day  with  Monkami,  putting  in  door-frames  and  doors,  and  re- 
pairing broken  bamboo  walls.  But,  there  was  an  old  rubber- 
pit,  which,  in  the  darkness,  I  did  not  see.  I  fell  into  it,  and 
seriously  hurt  my  knee. 

The  next  day,  continued  busy  at  the  repairs.  But,  was  dis- 
pleased at  Agonjo's  commercial  traits.  He  had  brought  a  canoe 
of  people  who  had  fish  for  sale,  and  was  allowing  them  to  use 
the  house  for  that  purpose.  This  occupying  of  a  mission-house 
for  trade,  became  so  annoying,  with  its  noisy  adjuncts,  that  I 
publicly  rebuked  him,  and  ordered  the  fish-company  to  leave  the 
house. 


o 
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fa 


THE  TASK  ENDED  595 

Finally,  on  the  15th,  I  left  one  of  my  canoes  with  Agonjo, 
for  his  use;  sent  Abumba  to  gather  the  Fan  we  lads;  said  good-by 
to  Agonjo,  near  Mr.  Jones' ;  and,  with  the  combined  crews  of 
eleven  paddles,  entered  my  canoe,  and  hastened  homeward.  I 
had  never  traveled  so  rapidly,  by  either  oar  or  paddle.  The  6 
p.  m.  sun  set  on  the  way;  but,  the  crew  pulled  well  under  the 
moonlight.  And,  I  was  home  by  7  p.  m.,  and  frantically  wel- 
comed by  my  little  girl. 

In  the  evening  of  Sunday,  the  18th,  after  dark,  the  Ditala 
anchored  near  the  house,  and  a  M  pong  we  woman  came  ashore, 
to  spend  the  night  with  Anyentyuwa.  Such  visits  of  her  rela- 
tives and  friends  were  helpful  to  her  (as  she  had  no  fellowship 
with  the  Fail  we)  and  removed  some  of  the  loneliness  of  which 
Handi  had  complained.  (But,  Anyentyuwa  was  a  stronger 
character,  and  would  not  have  failed  me,  for  that  reason.) 

As  I  understood  that  the  vessel  had  freight  for  me,  I  justified 
my  unwillingness  to  receive  it  on  Sunday,  by  rising  at  3  a.  m. 
of  Monday ;  and,  watching  for  any  sign  of  movement  on  the 
vessel,  I  went  off  at  5  a.  m.,  and  brought  ashore  four  bags  of 
rice,  eight  boxes  of  goods,  twenty  boards,  and  a  small  mail.  On 
opening  the  boxes,  I  was  rejoiced  to  find  long-expected  shoes 
for  Mary,  her  underclothing,  a  little  wagon  and  other  play- 
things. Her  duck  came  off  with  six  little  ones.  I  tried  to 
work  at  laying  the  floorboards  of  the  new  prayer-room ;  but, 
my  knee,  as  the  result  of  the  accident  at  Agonjo's  the  week  be- 
fore, had  become  very  painful,  an  ulcer  having  formed.  I 
poulticed  it.  and  had  to  sit,  a  prisoner.      My  sister  also  was  sick. 

On  Sunday,  the  25th,  unable  to  walk  to  the  chapel,  I  held 
service  on  the  front  veranda.  But.  a  storm  arose ;  and  we  had 
to  remove  into  the  sitting-room  of  the  house.  Two  Fan  we  boys, 
Bakara  and  Biduli,  from  across  the  river,  came  drenched  with 
rain.  But,  in  the  afternoon,  while  sister,  in  my  place,  was  con- 
ducting Sabbath  school  in  the  chapel,  they  broke  into  one  of  the 
Galwas'  huts,  and  stole  their  fish.  During  all  the  remainder  of 
the  week,  T  was  confined  almost  to  my  chair.  But,  on  the  29th, 
the  swelling  began  to  discharge;  and,  as  a  result,  I  was  free 
from  pain. 

Saturday.  December  1,  being  pay-day.  and  "pay,"'  to  the 
employees,  meaning  more  than  an  employer's  comfort,  I  sat  in 
the  store-room,  and,  with  the  aid  of  Mbala  to  hand  me  articles 
from  the  shelves,  and  of  Anyentyuwa  to  skillfully  measure  off 
yards  of  cloth,  I  paid  the  month's  wages. 

Ovanga    ("Efifie"),    Ongamu's    wife,    who    was    visiting    at 


596  MY  OGOW'K 

another  Mpongwe  trader's,  Rapantyamba,  a  short  distance 
down-river  at  Walker's  old  place,  came  to  sew  for  herself  on 
Anyentyuwa's  sewing-machine,  expecting  to  stay  over  Sunday. 
But,  in  the  evening,  as  she  found  that  she  would  not  be  allowed 
to  use  the  machine  on  that  day,  she  changed  her  mind,  and  asked 
for  a  canoe  to  take  her  home. 

On  Monday,  the  3d,  the  Gambia  came,  bringing  Mbora. 
But,  during  all  that  week,  I  was  continuing  my  poulticing.  The 
discharge  was  favorable,  and  the  healing  process  began  even 
sooner  than  I  had  hoped  for.  So,  that,  on  Sunday,  the  9th,  I 
was  able  to  limp  to  chapel  and  to  Sabbath  school.  And,  on 
Monday,  the  10th,  I  resumed  work  in  the  prayer-room,  sitting 
in  a  chair,  and  directing  the  putting-up  of  doors,  etc.  My  sister, 
on  the  nth,  went  in  her  Evangeline,  on  an  itineration  to  Agonjo, 
to  whom  I  sent,  as  his  canoe-helper,  a  young  man  Ndambe,  and 
some  building  materials. 

Xext  day,  the  former  Fanwe  school-girl  Bilaga,  and  a  young 
(ialwa  girl,  came,  fleeing  from  Ntula's  village,  in  fear  of  a  fight, 
in  which  an  Akele  man  had  been  killed  and  two  others  wounded. 
This  was  just  before  morning-prayers;  afterwards,  came  two 
little  boys,  also  in  fear.  The  two  girls  remained  all  day  and 
the  following  night.  Two  young  men  who  the  evening  before, 
had  gone  up-river  with  a  white  man.  on  their  way  down-river  the 
next  day.  stopped  and  gave  me  a  letter  purporting  to  be  from 
Agonjo.  telling  of  troubles  which  the  people  of  Magenene  were 
making  him.  [It  afterward  proved  to  be  a  forgery,  concocted 
by  our  Roman  Catholic  enemies,  who  were  jealous  of  my  having 
established  a  Bible-reader's  out-station,  and  who  hoped  to 
frighten  me  into  closing  it.]  I  was  not  alarmed;  but,  just  at 
the  time,  it  did  disconcert  me.  even  though  (according  to  the 
habit  I  had  learned,  of  discounting  all  native  reports)  I  did  not 
fully  believe  the  letter  at  its  first  coming.  Later,  when  I  learned 
its  source.  T  quite  recognized  its  Jesuitism.  The  next  day.  Fri- 
day, the  14th.  my  sister  returned  from  Agonjo's;  there  had  been 
n<>  trouble  there. 

It  had  been  agreed  that  the  next  annual  meetings  of  mission 
and  presbytery,  to  occur  in  January.  1889.  should  be  held  at 
Talaguga.  Libreville  was  central,  and  Baraka  had  ample  quar- 
ters for  entertaining  the  entire  gathering  of  white  and  native 
members,  coming  from  the  extremes  of  our  field,  Benita,  ninety 
miles  north,  and  Talaguga.  275  miles  south.  I  had  been  travel- 
ing all  that  distance  annually  for  many  years,  and  I  had  asked 
the  brethren  to  do  me  the  justice  to  come  and  inspect  my  work. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  597 

I  did  not  know  how  many  would  come,  though  I  could  scarcely 
expect  as  many  as  usually  came  to  Libreville.  My  house  was 
small.  But,  hospitality  is  not  measured  by  the  size  of  one's 
house.  With  my  sister,  I  planned  for  possibilities,  and  made 
a  number  of  impromptu  bed-frames,  especially  for  the  native 
elders. 

As  Mbora  was  looking  toward  the  ministry,  on  Sunday,  the 
1 6th,  I  placed  the  superintendence  of  the  Sabbath  school  in  his 
hands.  Before  my  guests  should  come,  I  wished  all  the  records 
of  the  year  to  be  closed;  therefore,  I  went  to  Asange,  to  settle 
my  accounts  there.  Many  items  of  this  kind  I  had  attended  to 
during  the  week;  and,  by  Saturday,  the  22d,  I  felt  quite  elated 
at  my  success.  And,  on  Monday,  with  the  aid  of  Abumba  and 
Mbora,  took  account  of  stock  in  the  little  store-room. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  26th,  took  Mary  on  an 
excursion  to  her  Ozege,  and  allowed  her  to  bathe  to  her  full  de- 
light in  the  river.  I  had  never  before  allowed  this,  with  her 
former  attendants.  But,  with  my  perfect  faith  in  Anyentyuwa, 
I  felt  safe  for  my  child.  Her  governess  stood  near  her,  but  on 
the  deeper  water  side,  and  devoted  her  watchful  eyes  and  hands 
to  the  child's  play,  not  attempting  for  herself,  as  any  other  at- 
tendant would  have  done. 

JOURNEY   TO    KANGWE. 

There  were  still  parts  of  the  year's  accounts  to  be  settled,  at 
Kangwe,  before  the  coming  of  my  guests.  I  determined  to 
make  the  journey  with  no  stoppages.  Leaving  the  station  in 
my  sister's  hands ;  and  my  child  in  the  care  of  her  governess,  I 
started  down-river,  on  Thursday,  the  27th,  reaching  Agonjo's 
for  the  night.  At  the  noon  lunch  in  the  forest  next  day  I  had 
an  unusual  dinner;  the  remains  of  a  Christmas  mince-pie, 
onions,  and  a  pineapple.  And,  was  at  Andende,  early  in  the 
afternoon.  Mr.  Gacon's  room,  which  I  was  to  occupy,  was  not 
quite  ready  for  me.  Miss  Harding,  on  the  Hill,  seemed  sur- 
prised that  my  sister  had  not  come  with  me.  Next  day,  I  went 
to  the  trading-houses,  and  settled  my  accounts.  Mr.  Carrothers, 
of  Holt's  house,  was  at  Andende,  ill  with  fever.  In  the 
afternoon,  the  Akele  came;  and.  it  was  decided  that  he  should 
go  to  Cape  Lopez,  in  hope  of  reaching  a  physician  at  Libreville. 

The  next  morning.  Sunday,  the  30th,  he  was  carried  on  a 
cot  to  the  vessel ;  and,  Mr.  Good  went  with  him,  to  take  care 
of  him.  It  was  a  sad  sight.  I  feared  that  the  sick  man  would 
not  recover.      [He  did  not;  he  died  on  the  voyage.]      In  Mr. 


598  MY  OGOWE 

Good's  absence,  I  conducted  the  day's  communion  services,  bap- 
tizing eight  persons.  Miss  Harding  scandalized  the  occasion, 
by  disorderly  proceedings,  in  distributing,  at  the  close  of  the 
services,  picture-cards,  not  in  a  quiet  way.  but  by  holding-  an 
auction  for  chances. 

On  Monday,  settled  with  Agonjo,  the  accounts  which  he  had 
disputed  on  Saturday.  I  was  almost  on  the  point  of  a  break 
with  him,  because  of  his  demands  for  extras,  and  that  I  should 
provide  him  with  lights.  But,  he  receded.  My  man,  Re-Xjogo 
arrived  from  his  home,  with  a  new  man  Londo.  [Londo  be- 
came very  useful  and  reliable].  He  was  going  up-river,  with  a 
canoe-load  of  dried  fish,  for  sale  to  the  Fan  we. 

RETURN    TO    TALAGUGA. 

On  Tuesday,  January  i,  1889,  my  men  were  early  getting  the 
two  canoes  ready.  Two  of  them,  Mbala  and  Ogandaga,  had 
returned  during  the  night,  from  their  homes,  the  former  bring- 
ing his  wife,  Mwanyeno.  I  was  pleased  to  have  the  young  men 
bring  their  wives.  It  meant  that  they  expected  to  remain  with 
me.  Thus  was  relieved  much  of  the  discontent  that  had  marked 
the  earlier  years  of  Talaguga  life.  The  presence  of  the  young 
women  made  a  home-life,  not  only  for  their  husbands,  but  also 
for  the  entire  working  company.  They  helped  also  to  make  a 
living  for  themselves,  by  service  to  me,  in  sewing,  or  laundry, 
or  as  assistants  to  Anyentyuwa.  For,  while  I  placed  in  her 
hands  the  entire  responsibility  for  the  day-care  of  my  Mary,  I 
did  not  expect  her  to  do  all  the  child's  errands  or  to  furnish 
all  her  play ;  for  these  minor  duties  I  gave  her  the  Galwa  assist- 
ant. With  my  two  canoes  and  eleven  people,  we  were  accom- 
panied by  the  fish  canoe.  One  of  my  Galwas,  Mburu,  had  some 
fear  (I  did  not  know  why)  as  we  passed  a  village  of  my  former 
Akele  friend  Kasa's  people.  I  did  not  often  yield  to  such  fears ; 
I  expected  my  presence  to  be  a  sufficient  protection  anywhere. 
All  three  canoes  stopped  for  the  night,  at  an  Orungu  trader's, 
opposite  the  head  of  Xenge-sika  (the  "  Goree  "  Island). 

Xext  day,  all  three  canoes  started,  with  fine  progress.  A 
trader's  canoe,  in  fear  of  the  Fan  we  of  Agonjo' s  out-station, 
joined  my  company  and  passed  that  village  safely,  though  I 
stopped  there  to  pick  up  Xjega  and  Adza,  who  were  ready  and 
willing  to  go  back  to  school.  At  the  6  p.  m.  sunset  stopped  for 
the  night  at  Erere-volo!  Never  had  I  made  so  rapid  an  Ogowe 
journey  from  Kangwe.  A  usual  three  days'  distance,  accom- 
plished in  two. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  599 

On  the  following  clay,  Thursday,  the  3d,  we  passed  on  rapidly, 
not  stopping-  at  villages  (as,  of  course,  I  did  when  itinerating, 
for  preaching).  To  stop  to  eat  in  a  village  always  took  time. 
So,  we  ate  in  the  forest  beyond  Njomu.  The  crews  having 
done  so  well,  I  allowed  them  to  rest  there  two  hours.  Then, 
reaching  Talaguga  early  in  the  afternoon,  I  was  welcomed  by 
my  little  child's  ecstasies.  But,  I  had  to  make  a  protest  to  Re- 
Njogo,  about  his  fish.  It  was  all  right,  for  sale  to  the  Fanwe; 
but,  I  would  not  have  the  noisy  bargaining  on  my  premises; 
he  should  take  the  fish  and  sell  them  in  the  villages  himself. 

On  Friday,  the  4th,  I  had  a  serious  talk  with  Mbora,  who  was 
unwilling  to  go  on  his  itinerating  work.  And,  next  day,  when 
I  sent  a  canoe  and  crew  for  Anyentyuwa  to  visit  her  brother  at 
Xjomu,  I  expected  Mbora  to  join  it.  But,  he  still  wished  to 
argue  about  conditions.  I  was  unwilling  to  delay  the  canoe. 
So,  he  did  not  go  at  all.  He  said  many  unsatisfactory  things ; 
and  decided  to  leave  Talaguga  at  the  close  of  the  expected 
presbytery  meeting.  The  canoe  returned  that  same  day,  as 
Anyentyuwa  did  not  find  her  brother  at  home.  There  were  fifty 
people  at  chapel  services  on  Sunday,  the  6th.  I  did  not  ask 
Mbora  to  assist.  The  Oviro  passed  up,  bringing  news  of  Mr. 
Carrothers  death.  Next  day,  I  sent  a  messenger  to  Asange  to 
inquire  particulars  of  his  death  at  Manji-Orungu  (Cape  Lopez). 
Was  busy,  putting  up  a  variety  of  conveniences  for  the  presby- 
tery, whose  coining  I  was  looking  for  on  the  Falaba  which  was 
expected  in  a  few  days.  I  took  time  to  make  improvements  in 
the  neatness  of  the  grounds,  which  I  had  omitted  to  do  while 
occupied  with  the  more  strenuous  needs  of  house-building.  I 
rooted  up  stumps,  graded  the  walks,  and  smoothed  the  lawn  and 
flower-garden.  All  these  I  had  wished  to  attend  to  before.  I 
was  not  unmindful  of  esthetics.  But,  I  had  not  found  the  time, 
especially  during  the  previous  two  years,  when  I  had  had  such 
wretched  aid  in  the  care  of  my  child. 

Angwe's  people  came  for  him  on  Tuesday,  the  8th;  he  did  not 
wish  to  go;  so,  I  refused  them.  They  left;  but,  returned  at 
night,  and  took  him  away.  Though  I  had  fully  recovered  as 
to  my  knee,  evidently  there  was  something  wrong  in  my  system ; 
for,  large  abscesses  formed  on  a  thigh  and  on  each  breast.  It 
was  touching  to  observe  my  little  Mary's  tenderness  whenever 
she  came  to  me,  to  avoid  pressing  against  either  of  the  painful 
spots.  My  preparations  for  the  expected  guests  were  all  com- 
plete.    And,  now  I  feared  that  they  might  come  before  my  boils 


600  MY  OGOWE 

were  healed,  I  had  to  lie  on  my  back,  in  order  to  retain  in 
position  the  poultices  on  the  nipple  of  each  breast.  I  never  had 
known  how  painful  an  inflamed  breast  could  be.  I  quite  sym- 
pathized with  the  often  sore  nipple  of  young  mothers. 

On  Sunday,  the  13th,  the  Duala  came  and  landed  a  mail.  In 
it  was  a  book  for  Mary,  and  a  scrap-book  sent  her  by  little  Mary 
King,  daughter  of  a  friend  of  her  mother,  at  Barnegat,  N.  J. 

By  Friday,  the  18th,  my  boils  were  so  much  better,  that  I 
did  a  little  work  in  packing  a  box  of  native  curiosities  to  be  sent 
to  the  United  States.  And,  I  began  to  be  anxious  for  the  com- 
ing of  the  presbytery.  I  was  almost  well ;  everything  was  ready ; 
the  premises  in  fine  order.  When  would  the  expected  steamer 
come?  My  sister  gave  a  magic-lantern  exhibition,  on  Monday, 
the  21st,  in  the  chapel,  at  which  the  native  traders  and  their 
people  from  across  the  river  were  present. 

I  became  so  solicitous  about  the  non-arrival  of  my  expected 
guests,  that,  on  the  22(1,  I  sent  a  small  canoe  and  crew  of  three, 
to  go  rapidly  down  to  Kangwe,  to  inquire  the  news.  That  same 
day,  the  Gaboon  passed  up,  and  word  was  shouted  ashore  that 
the  Falaba  had  arrived  at  Lembarene  on  the  21st.  So,  I  was 
excited  with  the  prospect  of  the  vessel  reading  Talaguga,  in 
probably  a  day  or  two  later.  Agonjo  with  Okendo  (whom  i 
had  associated  with  him)  arrived,  to  report  their  having  finally 
occupied  the  out-station,  and  to  get  a  supply  of  goods  for  their 
current  expenses. 

On  Wednesday,  the  23d.  after  a  heavy  rain,  late  in  the  after- 
noon, came  the  Duala  (not  the  Falaba)  with  my  guests,  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  Marling  with  two  infants  and  two  servants;  Rev.  A. 
C.  Good,  and  his  boat  and  six  crew,  and  his  church  elder 
Yongwe;  Licentiate  Etiyani  and  Elder  Itongolo,  from  the 
Benita  region;  Elder  Owondo-Lewis  of  the  Gaboon  church; 
Mrs.  Ogden;  Mr.  J.  H.  Reading,  and  his  housekeeper  Njivo 
wife  of  Mbora;  and  Mr.  Menkel  and  his  little  daughter  Grace. 
1  promptly  went  off  to  the  steamer;  and,  with  my  boat  and  two 
canoes,  brought  all  the  visitors  and  their  luggage  ashore.  I  set 
the  church-bell  to  ringing  a  welcome.  After  all  were  ashore 
and  housed  (by  which  time  it  was  dusk)  I  hung  out  my  Chinese 
lanterns  on  the  veranda.  All  were  comfortably  located.  And, 
there  were  glad  welcomes,  and  hurried  telling  of  news.  It 
being  the  prayer-meeting  evening,  the  usual  meeting  was  held, 
though  somewhat  late.  And,  I  sat  up  late,  talking  with  Mr. 
Reading.  Njivo,  who  had  deserted  Mbora  a  year  previously, 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him;  would  not  go  to  his  house, 


THE  TASK  ENDED  601 

nor  allow  him  even  to  speak  to  her.  I  gave  her  lodging  with 
her  sister.  Njivo  had  no  legal  grounds  for  her  desertion  of  her 
husband.  She  was  wrong;  and  yet,  in  my  love  for  her,  I  pitied 
her.  The  marriage  had  been  an  unhappy  one.  I  blamed  myself 
for  having  urged  her  into  it. 

On  Thursday,  the  24th,  the  fatted  calf  was  killed  (in  the 
shape  of  a  goat).  And,  the  guests  were  allowed  to  look  around 
them,  before  beginning  the  discussions  of  mission  and  presby- 
tery.    Meeting  of  the  latter  began  in  the  afternoon. 

On  Friday,  the  25th,  sessions  were  held  all  day;  of  mission  in 
the  morning,  and  of  presbytery  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  very 
strenuous  work  for  me;  as,  besides  my  being  clerk,  there  were 
certain  duties  I  had  to  attend  to  as  host.  It  would  have  been 
impossible,  had  I  not  had  my  sister,  a  skilled  hostess,  into  whose 
hands  I  had  placed  all  the  food-supplies,  direction  of  servants, 
and  entire  liberty  of  arrangements;  and,  also,  as  I  was  relieved 
from  anxiety  as  to  my  Mary's  interests,  by  her  most  capable 
governess. 

On  Saturday,  the  sessions  of  both  bodies  continued  all  day. 
During  the  session  of  presbytery  Itongolo  was  licensed;  Licen- 
tiate Etiyani  was  ordained;  and  Mr.  Reading,  as  Licentiate,  ac- 
cepted a  call  from  the  Gaboon  church ;  and  presbytery  adjourned 
at  night. 

On  Sunday,  the  27th,  Mr.  Marling  went  early  to  the  villages, 
and,  by  his  fluent  use  of  the  Faiiwe  language  attracted  a  large 
crowd  who  came  with  him  to  chapel.  There,  both  he  and  Mr. 
Good  preached.  In  the  afternoon,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  ad- 
ministered (the  first  time  at  Talaguga).  I  presided  and  made 
the  address.  Air.  Good  baptized  (as  Talaguga  was  a  part  of 
his  parish),  and  Air.  Marling  distributed  the  elements.  In  the 
evening,  there  was  a  native  elders'  meeting. 

On  Monday,  the  28th,  sessions  of  mission  continued.  When 
our  meetings  were  held  at  Libreville,  and  there  was  no  oppor- 
tunity, for  two  or  three  weeks,  for  return  to  the  Ogowe,  Mr. 
Good  submitted  to  the  impossible,  and  remained  during  all  the 
sessions.  But,  at  Talaguga,  with  the  river  at  his  hand,  and  his 
Kangwe  only  a  day's  boat-ride  distant,  he  could  not  control  his 
restlessness.  He  declined  to  remain  longer;  and,  before  day- 
light of  Tuesday,  the  29th,  he  was  up,  loading  his  boat,  and  was 
off  with  his  crew,  Njivo,  and  Air.  Alenkel  and  his  little  daughter. 
The  rest  of  us  took  a  vacation  from  the  continued  strain  under 
which  we  had  been  driven,  and  went  for  an  excursion  to  Aiary's 
Ozege.     We  all  lunched  there.     I  remaining  there  with  Alary, 


602  MY  OGOWE 

Aziza  and  Nkengani,  for  her  to  enjoy  her  river  bath,  the  others, 
Mr,  Reading,  Rev.  Messrs.  Marling  and  Etiyani,  Mrs.  Ogden, 
and  Licentiate  Itongolo,  with  the  crew  went  on  to  inspect  the 
Asange  Post.  During  their  absence,  I  saw,  but  failed  to  catch, 
a  specimen  of  the  rare  Antimachus  butterfly. 

Mission  ended  its  sessions,  on  Wednesday,  the  30th.  I 
marked  my  boxes  for  the  United  States;  wrote  letters;  and, 
at  night  made  out  orders  for  my  next  six  months'  supply  of 
provisions,  etc.,  from  England  and  America.  On  the  31st,  my 
boat  was' loaded,  and  it  left  for  Kangwe,  with  Mr.  Reading, 
Rev.  Etiyani,  Licentiate  Itongolo,  and  Elder  Owondo.  My  re- 
maining employees  felt  lonely,  at  the  depletion  of  the  number 
of  visitors ;  of  the  latter,  there  being  only  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Marl- 
ing and  their  children  and  servants,  and  Mrs.  Ogden.  We  all 
walked  to  my  old  hill-side  cottage ;  thence,  I  took  my  visitors  to 
see  Mrs.  Nassau's  Pool,  up  the  course  of  the  brook. 

On  Sunday,  February  3,  there  was  a  goodly  company  of 
strangers  present  at  chapel.  I  had  not  supposed  that  the  Fafiwe 
would  come,  assuming  that  their  curiosity  had  been  satisfied  on 
the  previous  Sunday.  The  days  of  the  middle  dry  were  hot; 
but,  during  the  week,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marling,  in  the  Swan,  went 
itinerating. 

On  Thursday,  the  7th,  we  all,  except  Mr.  Marling,  went  on 
a  walk  around  the  entire  outline  of  the  Talaguga  property. 
My  boat  and  crew  returned  from  Kangwe.  As  they  brought 
word  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  any  river-steamer  going  to 
Libreville  until  near  the  end  of  the  month,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marl- 
ing felt  that  there  was  no  need  for  them  to  leave  Talaguga. 

On  Sunday,  the  10th,  there  was  a  good  attendance  at  chapel, 
that  was  unexpected ;  for,  I  had  seen  a  large  canoe-load  going 
a-fishing;  and,  Mr.  Marling  had  not  gone,  as  on  the  previous 
Sundays,  to  invite.  My  Mary  was  again  suffering  with  a  crop 
of  boils.  Had  expected  to  go,  on  Wednesday,  the  13th,  for  an 
excursion  to  Mary's  Ozege ;  but,  my  sister  was  not  well ;  and,  I 
too  lay  on  my  back  with  a  poultice  on  my  chest  over  a  boil. 

On  Friday,  the  15th,  in  her  Evangeline,  my  sister  went  to 
Kangwe,  to  escort  Mrs.  Ogden.  The  steamer  Basilic  passed 
up  in  the  morning  of  next  day.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marling,  in 
my  boat,  followed  it  to  the  Post,  in  order  to  inquire  news  from 
Libreville.  The  company  at  the  station  looked  very  small  and 
weak,  compared  with  the  crowd  of  the  previous  week. 

On  Sunday,  the  17th,  a  good  attendance  at  chapel.  In  the 
afternoon  Sabbath  school,  I  baptized  Mr.   Marling's  little  boy, 


THE  TASK  ENDED  603 

Cameron  Adams.  The  Marlings  were  preparing  for  leaving 
on  the  expected  Akele.  But,  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  19th, 
the  Gambia,  passing  up,  stopped  to  leave  a  letter  from  my  sister, 
which  said  that  she  would  arrive  on  the  20th.  Also,  Mr.  Mc- 
Taggart  on  the  Gambia  thought  that  the  Akele  was  up  the 
Ngunye.  Fearing  that  that  little  steamer  would  not  come  in 
time  for  the  Marlings  to  reach  Cape  Lopez  before  Sunday,  I 
engaged  the  Gambia  to  stop  for  them,  when  it  should  return 
from  Asange  on  the  morrow.  So,  about  10  a.  m.  that  vessel 
came,  and  took  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marling  and  their  children  and 
two  boy  attendants.  My  remaining  household  looked  very 
small.  But,  at  sunset,  the  Akele  unexpectedly  came,  towing  my 
sister  and  her  boat.  She  had  met  and  communicated  with  the 
Gambia,  and  had  been  overtaken  and  aided  by  the  Akele.  The 
story  of  her  rapid  return  was  interesting.  There  were  two  new 
Germans  on  the  vessel,  Messrs.  Czech  and  Haber,  who  came 
ashore  for  an  hour  in  the  evening.  When  the  vessel  came  down 
from  Asange  next  morning,  it  took  as  passenger  Malango,  the 
last  of  my  sister's  Kombe  pupils.  There  remained  only  Galwas 
and  Fanwe.  Then,  for  two  days,  there  was  clearing  away  of 
the  marks  of  our  visitors,  beds,  and  bedding,  and  food;  and  we 
returned  to  our  usual  family  routine.  The  presence  of  the 
mission  had  been  a  great  stimulation. 

On  Sunday,  the  24th,  an  unexpected  good  attendance.  Our 
visitors  being  gone,  I  had  supposed  that  the  Fanwe  had  nothing 
new  to  attract  their  attention.  Agon  jo,  Okendo,  and  their  peo- 
ple came  on  Tuesday,  the  26th,  to  get  their  month's  pay. 
Okendo  was  asking  for  advance  in  wages;  which  I  promptly 
refused.  My  Mary  made  another  forward  step  in  growth. 
Instead  of  her  regular  childhood  tumbler  of  milk  and  porridge 
immediately  on  awaking  in  the  morning,  she  was  first  dressed, 
and  then  came  to>  the  breakfast-table  with  the  rest  of  us. 

Next  day,  Agonjo  left;  and  the  two  lads,  Njega  and  Adza, 
having  completed  their  promised  time,  left  with  him,  to  return 
to  their  villages,  where  they  would  be  near  to  his  Sunday  ex- 
hortations. At  the  presbytery  meeting  in  January,  I  had  been 
appointed  chairman  of  a  committee  with  Mr.  Good,  to  set  off 
from  the  Kangwe  church,  two  separate  organizations,  one  at 
Tgenja,  about  fifty  miles  down  from  Kangwe,  and  one  at 
Wambalya,  about  fifteen.  I  was  to  go  down  to  Kangwe  at 
such  time  as  suited  Mr.  Good's  convenience.  When  on  March 
5,  the  Akele  brought  word  from  him,  for  me  to  join  him  a  week 
later,  I  was  suffering  from  boils  on  my  thigh.     But,  I  would  go, 


6o4  MY  OGOWK 

anyhow;  for  the  journey  and  boat  would  be  his.  I  could  He, 
even  with  the  boils ;  my  special  duty  was  to  direct  the  orderly 
and  parliamentary  erection  of  the  new  organizations  according 
to  church  law.  Notwithstanding  my  sore  leg,  I  went,  on  Fri- 
day, the  8th,  with  my  sister  in  her  boat,  to  take  Mary  to  her 
Ozege.  Her  dog  Don  persisted  in  following  us  along  the  river- 
bank  a  long  distance. 

On  Tuesday,  the  12th,  though  I  had  been,  for  a  week,  poul- 
ticing my  boils,  I  packed  for  the  journey,  which  involved  many 
details.  There  were  Mary's  clothing,  for  a  long  absence.  And, 
Anyentyuwa  needed  to  go  to  Libreville,  to  look  after  her  house- 
affairs,  which  she  had  left  unsettled  in  her  sudden  coming  to  the 
Ogowe.  I  planned  to  ask  kind  Mrs.  Good  to  take  care  of  my 
child  during  the  expected  ten  days  of  Mr.  Good's  and  my 
journey,  if  Anyentyuwa  should  have  to  leave  Kangwe,  by  what- 
ever river-steamer  might  be  going  to  Libreville,  before  my  re- 
turn. I  sent  to  Asange,  for  a  supply  of  goods  for  my  sister. 
who  was  to  have  charge  of  the  station  during  my  absence.  The 
messenger,  on  his  return,  brought  news  that  the  Falaba,  on  its 
way  up-river,  was  aground  near  Belambla ;  and,  that  Mr. 
Mooney  was  drowned. 

JOURNEY    FOR    CHURCH    ORGANIZATIONS. 

On  Wednesday,  the  13th,  in  my  boat,  off  at  6  a.  m.  sunrise, 
with  a  variety  of  baggage,  and  crew  of  eight,  and  my  Mary,  and 
Anyentyuwa  and  her  Iga.  Of  course,  there  were  to  be  stop- 
pages. At  Njomu,  for  Anyentyuwa  to  see  her  brother  Nyilino. 
As  we  were  passing  Nkogo,  I  was  allowing  the  men  to  rest  on 
their  oars,  as  we  were  drifting  with  the  current.  I  was  at  the 
tiller-ropes,  sitting  with  Anyentyuwa  and  the  two  children,  under 
the  thatch  covering  T  had,  as  usually,  made  against  rain  and  sun. 
1  was  chatting  with  them,  and  not  noticing  tilings  ashore.  My 
crew  looked  up,  saying.  "  Do  you  not  hear?  You  are  being 
spoken  to  from  shore."  I  looked  over  my  shoulder,  out  of 
the  boat's  stern,  to  the  village  we  had  just  passed.  A  man  was 
standing  at  the  landing,  holding  up  something  in  his  hand,  and 
was  shouting,  "  Come,  buy  meat !  come,  buy  meat !  We've  been 
down  to  Abange  Creek,  and  have  killed  two  men.  Come,  buy 
meat!"  The  thing  he  was  holding  was  a  human  arm,  he 
grasping  its  wrist  with  his  hand.  I  do  not  think  that  he  was 
calling  to  me.  T  do  not  believe  he  would  have  dared.  I  do 
not  suppose  that  he  saw  me  hidden  under  the  thatch.  He  evi- 
dently  was  calling  to  the  crew.     They  resumed  their  oars.     It 


THE  TASK  ENDED  605 

was  the  most  open  display  I  had  ever  seen  of  Fanwe  cannibalism. 
At  Ngvvilaka,  to  see  Mr.  Wheeler,  Mr.  Jones'  successor.  At 
Agonjo's  by  10.30  a.m.  was  rejoiced  to  meet  a  Fafiwe  in- 
quirer, for  enrolment  into  the  class.  After  our  noon  meal,  I 
took  Agonjo  and  the  inquirer  with  me.  Thus,  I  had  ten  pad- 
dles, instead  of  six  oars,  and  traveled  very  rapidly.  At  Mbomi, 
to  inquire  for  a  Goree  trader  "  James,"  who  had  with  him,  as 
his  wives,  two  cousins  of  Anyentyuwa.  That  was  not  his  place; 
but,  I  found  them  at  Osamu-Kita.  She  went  ashore  to  see  them ; 
but,  she  was  not  well  received  by  him.  She  returned  with  a  sad 
story  of  the  slavery  in  which  they  allowed  themselves  to  live. 
We  found  the  Falaba  still  aground ;  it  was  endeavoring  to  lighten 
itself,  by  discharging  its  government  cargo  into  the  little  Gambia 
and  canoes  alongside.  I  found  two  packages  of  mail  for  Tala- 
guga.  I  divided  them,  taking  my  share,  and  leaving  the  re- 
mainder to  go  on  to  my  sister,  when  the  Falaba  should  succeed 
in  moving.  I  tried  to  make  arrangement  with  the  captain,  Wat- 
kins,  for  Anyentyuwa,  as  a  prospective  passenger  to  Libreville. 
But,  he  was  not  very  obliging.  Farther  on,  the  crew  were  en- 
thusiastically singing  a  boat-song.  I  was  not  listening  particu- 
larly to  it.  I  was  always  pleased  that  they  sang;  for,  then  they 
rowed  better.  And,  I  could  not  always  hear  the  words  that  were 
used.  But,  I  noticed  that  Anyentyuwa  was  very  uncomfortable. 
On  my  asking  her  what  was  the  matter,  she  hesitated ;  and,  then 
said  that  the  song  was  a  very  obscene  one.  She  did  not  say  what 
were  the  words.  I  ordered  the  crew  to  be  silent.  They  seemed 
surprised.  I  told  them  that  T  would  have  a  rebuke  for  them, 
when  we  should  reach  Kangwe.  She  told  me  privately  that  she 
felt  that  the  song  was  sung  on  purpose  to  insult  her.  (I  knew 
that  most  of  my  employees  had  ill-will  toward  her,  because  of 
her  superiority  as  a  Mpongwe,  and  because  of  the  authority  I 
sometimes  gave  her,  as  a  woman,  over  them.)  We  reached  the 
Andende  beach  at  7  p.  m.,  dark,  and  cold,  and  rainy.  No  one 
there  to  meet  us,  or  to  welcome,  or  to  tell  us  where  to  go  to. 
Presentlv.  a  little  boy,  bearing  our  voices,  came  and  said  that 
Mr.  Good  had  left  word  that  we  were  to  come  to  his  house  on 
the  Hill.  Then,  the  French  teacher,  Mr.  Carmien,  gave  us  a  wel- 
come:  and  Mr.  Gacon  followed.  The  boy  having  a  lantern,  I 
sent  him  as  guide,  with  Anyentyuwa,  Iga.  and  Alary  carried  by 
one  of  the  crew.  Then,  I  waited  at  Andende,  until  all  the  lug- 
gage was  carried  and  piled  in  the  dining-room ;  and,  then  sent 
to  the  Hill  certain  pieces  which  I  knew  would  be  needed  there 
at  once.     The  school-boys,  afraid  of  leopards,  were  unwilling 


6o6  MY  OGOWE 

to  carry  anything  for  me  on  the  long,  dark  path  through  the 
forest  to  the  Hill.  Then,  I  dismissed  my  tired  crew.  At 
Andende  was  awaiting  me  a  mail  that  had  just  arrived  by  the 
Duala,  with  a  lot  of  freight,  boxes  of  cloth,  dried  codfish,  and 
other  things  to  be  examined  and  stored.  Then,  tired  with  the 
long  day,  I  walked  lamely  up  the  dense,  dark  path  alone.  I  was 
welcomed  at  Mr.  Good's ;  and,  I  found  my  Mary  happy,  playing 
with  Albert  Good's  young  tamed  bush-cat  (a  civet,  or  perhaps, 
genet).  While  I  ate  my  supper,  Anyentyuwa  gave  Mary  her 
bath  for  the  night.  And,  then  I  followed  a  long  talk  with  Mr. 
Good  about  his  plans  for  our  journey,  suggestions  for  the  pro- 
posed two  new  churches,  and  nominations  for  the  Elderships, 
etc.,  etc.  Also,  as  to  the  probabilities  of  steamers  for  A- 
nyentyuwa.  In  case  of  her  having  to  leave  while  we  should  be 
away,  I  asked  that  Mrs.  Good  would  care  for  my  child  during 
the  few  days  until  we  should  return.  She,  in  her  generosity 
was  quite  willing.  But,  he  refused  to  allow  her  to  assume  any 
additional  care,  and  insisted  that  Anyentyuwa  should  not  go  on 
the  expected  Falaba  (in  company  with  Miss  Harding  who  was 
leaving  the  Mission)  ;  but,  should  wait  for  the  Duala  expected 
to  leave  later  on  the  23d ;  by  which  time  he  assumed  that  we 
would  have  returned.  Of  course,  I  assented.  As  to  the  time  of 
return,  the  boat,  crew,  plans,  and  all  were  his;  I  was  only  a  pas- 
senger. If  we  failed  to  return  at  the  date  himself  had  named, 
the  entire  responsibility  lay  with  him.  Then,  I  sat  up,  still  later, 
reading  my  mail.  My  right  thigh  was  painful,  with  a  large 
phlegmon. 

Next  day,  when  a  heavy  rain  diminished,  T  went  with  A- 
nyentyttwa  and  the  two  children,  to  Andende,  to  put  away  lug- 
gage, to  divide  hers  and  mine,  to  take  what  I  needed  for  my  jour- 
ney, and  to  put  in  a  separate  pile  what  she  needed  on  the  Hill. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good  followed  us;  she  was  packing  the  food-box 
for  the  journey.  I  investigated  the  matter  of  the  obscene  boat- 
song.  I  had  assumed  that  a  certain  Ataka  was  the  leader.  I 
was  amazed  to  find  that  it  was  Paul  Agonjo!  They  all  denied 
that  the  words  had  any  reference  to  Anyentyuwa  (perhaps  that 
was  true)  ;  and  some  of  them  denied  that  there  was  any  obscene 
meaning.  But,  I  then,  as  ever  afterwards,  with  my  utter  faith 
in  her,  believed  her  word  against  any  number  of  persons,  na- 
tive or  foreign.  It  was  a  very  ugly  discussion.  (They  almost 
all  became  her  enemies.)  T  gave  them  directions  about  carry- 
ing her  baggage  up  the  Hill.  (When  I  returned  ten  days  later, 
I  was  told  that  two  of  them  had  refused.) 


THE  TASK  ENDED  607 


THE  JOURNEY. 

We  knew  that  the  journey  would  be  with  rain,  at  least  once 
every  twenty-four  hours.  Mr.  Good  started  his  boat  about  10 
a.  m.  of  Thursday,  the  14th,  and  he  went  around  the  island  on 
some  errands  to  Lembarene.  I  took  along  my  box  of  cloth, 
which  I  put  ashore  at  Mr.  Letz's,  for  it  to  be  taken  to  Talaguga 
by  the  Akele ;  and  engaged  passage  for  Anyentyuwa  on  the 
Duala,  whenever  it  should  go  down-river.  And,  at  H.  &  C, 
Mr.  Good  engaged  passage  for  Miss  Harding  to  go  on  the  soon- 
expected  Falaba.  On,  down-river,  to  pick  up  Elder  Yongwe. 
Ate  in  the  boat.  At  Oranga,  I  landed  two  of  the  three  of  my 
own  people  (passengers)  to  their  homes.  On  to  Igenja,  eat- 
ing only  a  lunch  in  the  boat;  and  landed  after  dark.  My  thigh 
was  paining  me  very  much.  Was  welcomed  by  Awora  and 
other  former  employees.  Mr.  Good  had  a  hearty  supper  pre- 
pared, the  enjoyment  of  which  was  marred  by  the  numerous 
mosquitoes. 

The  next  day,  Friday,  the  15th,  the  Oviro,  on  its  way  up- 
river,  stopped  for  wood.  Mr.  Deemin  came  ashore,  and  told 
us  about  the  Roman  Catholic  priests  at  Cape  Lopez  buying 
slaves.  As  walking  was  painful  for  me,  I  sat,  and  very  many 
old  friends  came  to  salute.  After  a  good  bath,  I  felt  more  com- 
fortable. I  held  a  private  consultation  with  Elder  Yongwe, 
Awora,  and  Mamba,  separately,  about  the  meaning  of  my  crew's 
boat-song.  They  all  justified  me  in  my  interpretation  of  it.  In 
the  afternoon,  meeting  did  not  begin  until  5  p.m.  I  preached 
a  sermon,  called  a  congregational  meeting,  and,  according  to  the 
Book,  organized  fifty-two  members  from  the  Kangwe  first 
Ogowe  church,  into  a  second  Ogowe  church.  Then,  nomina- 
tions were  made  for  elders ;  and,  Awora,  Abumba,  and  "  Sim- 
eon "  (a  protege  of  Mr.  Good's)  were  elected.  I  felt  happy  that 
two  of  those  men  had  had  their  first  instructions  from  me,  in 
my  Kangwe  days.  Then  Mr.  Good  ordained  and  installed  them. 
On  Saturday,  the  16th,  my  boils  kept  me  in  my  room,  whither 
came  many  visitors ;  while  Mr.  Good,  as  moderator,  was  holding 
session  examinations.  In  the  afternoon,  I  preached  a  prepara- 
tory sermon. 

On   Sunday,   the   17th,  the  Lord's  Table  was  spread   in  the 

.  morning ;  one  man  and  three  women  were  baptized  by  Mr.  Good. 

In  the  afternoon  meeting  I  baptized  a  babe,  while  Mr.  Good  was 

off   preaching   in   a   Faiiwe   village.     I    had   many   applications 

from  former  employees  to  return  to  my  service.     In  the  evening, 


608  MY  OGOWE 

I  sat  alone,  from  choice,  with  many  thoughts  of  memory,  under 
the  starlight,  and  listening  to  the  tropic  leaves,  shaking  under  a 
soft  wind.  I  thought  of  the  changes  in  that  Igenja  town,  dur- 
ing the  past  ten  years.  A  village,  once  heathen,  now  so  quiet 
and  civilized  and  respectful;  with  good  houses;  and  our  hospi- 
table reception. 

On  Monday,  the  18th,  Mr.  Good  had  the  boat  ready  early. 
I  had  supposed  that  we  would  go  at  once  to  Wambalya,  for  the 
church  organization  there,  in  order  to  be  back  at  Kangwe  by 
his  date,  the  23d.  But,  instead  of  that,  he  loaded  the  boat  with 
plenty  of  food,  for  an  itineration  into  the  Three  Lakes.  That 
was  an  added  trial  to  me. 

He  stopped  to  eat  and  preach  at  a  village  Lambe  (where  I 
remembered  I  had  stopped  for  the  same  purpose,  with  my  sister 
and  Licentiate  Kongolo,  ten  years  before).  A  lad  in  that  vil- 
lage, a  member  of  the  inquiry  class,  had  his  hand  wounded  by 
a  gun.  It  was  soon  evident  that  Roman  Catholic  influence  was 
strong  in  that  village.  Crossing  to  the  left  bank,  to  a  Fanwe 
village  near  friend  Azaze's  old  Nandi-Po  (to  whom  I  sent  a 
present  of  a  gun  and  powder,  in  thanks  for  his  aid  in  collecting 
gorilla  specimens),  Mr.  Good  went  ashore  to  preach.  Those 
Fanwe  were  very  savage-looking,  and  very  dirty;  their  women 
were  searching  each  other's  heads  for  vermin,  and  eating  the 
insects !  On  to  Oranga,  by  4  p.  m.  Mr.  Good  crossed  to 
Ngomu,  on  the  left  bank,  to  preach.  [Our  mission's  successors, 
the  Paris  Evangelical  Society,  have  now  a  station  at  Ngomu ; 
and.  the  Igenja  church  is  removed  there.]  I  remained  in 
Oranga,  in  Simbuve's  nice  house,  where  he  gave  me  a  comfort- 
able room,  in  which  I  could  bathe  my  thigh  with  hot  water. 
He  had  been  a  former  employee,  and  like  many  others,  had 
sometimes  been  disobedient,  and  even  disrespectful,  and  had  de- 
serted me.  But,  not  a  single  one  of  them,  in  meeting  me  in 
subsequent  years,  retained  any  grudge  against  me,  or  failed  to 
give  me  a  welcome  and  kind  attention  in  their  own  homes.  (I 
have  felt  that  they  were  not  largely  to  blame  for  that  past. 
Nor  myself,  I  had  not  refused  them  food,  or  failed  to  give  them 
sufficient  of  a  certain  kind.  But,  at  that  time,  varieties  of  food 
iverc  not  to  be  had.)  There  was  a  meeting  held  in  the  even- 
ing. And,  visitors  came  to  see  me.  Azaze  came  with  a  present, 
and  thanked  me  for  the  gun.  Two  of  my  people,  from  Igenja, 
finding  that  the  journey  was  to  be  into  the  lakes,  left,  and  went 
directly  to  Kangwe.  (It  would  have  been  well  had  I  gone  with 
them.)      I  wrote  by  them  to  Anyentyuwa  and  Mary. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  609 

On  Tuesday,  the  19th,  Mr.  Good  entered  the  lakes  Onanga, 
Ogemwe  and  Ezanga,  by  their  exit  at  Njomu.  I  pass  over  the 
record  of  those  painful  days  in  the  boat,  the  19th,  20th,  21st. 
Neither  the  journey  nor  the  work  was  mine.  I  was  a  helpless 
burden.  In  the  night  of  the  21st,  by  the  upper  entrance  to  the 
lakes,  at  the  village  of  Ompomofiwana  (whose  Roman  Catholic 
inhabitants  fully  carried  out  what  their  priest  taught  them,  i.  e., 
to  be  discourteous  to  Protestants)  my  phlegmon  began  to  dis- 
charge. 

On  Friday,  the  22d,  in  the  hot  morning  sun,  and  with  my 
headache,  the  boat  went  down-river  several  miles  to  Wambalya. 
There,  while  Air.  Good  was  busy  with  Elder  Yongwe,  I  was 
placed  in  a  comfortable  house  of  a  young  man  Ambamani,  where 
I  bathed ;  and  the  boil  was  easier,  though  my  headache  was 
worse.  The  Akele  passed  down;  but,  it  brought  no  news  of 
the  Falaba,  or  whether  Miss  Harding  had  gone.  Communion 
bread  from  Airs.  Good,  and  letters  from  my  sister  (forwarded 
from  Kangwe)  were  awaiting  us.  I  had  many  visitors.  The 
organization  meeting  was  held  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  third 
Ogowe  church  was  constituted ;  and  three  men  were  elected 
elders ;  an  old  man  Mamba,  and  two  others  in  their  prime  of 
life,  Re-Montigo  and  Ntyanga.  I  was  not  acquainted  with  them; 
the  latter,  in  his  heathen  days,  had  been  chief  of  the  village, 
from  which  Xguva  was  rescued  in  1879. 

By  Saturday,  the  23d,  I  felt  almost  well  again ;  for,  I  was 
free  from  headache,  and  could  walk  a  little,  as  the  phlegmon 
was  well  discharged.  The  Jeanne-Louise  passed  down.  At 
first  sight,  I  thought  it  was  the  Falaba;  and,  then.  I  wondered 
where  was  the  latter  vessel,  and  what  she  was  doing.  And,  I 
was  becoming  solicitous  about  the  appointment  for  Anyentyuwa's 
sailing.  Mr.  Good  had  insisted  that  she  should  not  go  until  he 
returned ;  and.  yet,  himself  had  named  the  Duala  as  the  vessel 
for  her.  with  its  probable  date  of  the  23d.  Here  was  the  23d ; 
but.  by  his  own  delays  in  the  lakes,  he  was  not  yet  returned  to 
Kangwe!  I  do  not  know  why  he  delayed  in  Lake  Ezanga;  nor 
did  I  make  any  protests.  When  we  left  Ogemwe  Lake  on  the 
20th,  we  could  have  passed  through  Lake  Onanga,  and,  by  the 
second  entrance  from  the  Ogowe.  could  have  emerged  into  the 
river,  and  could  have  been  at  Wambalya  that  very  day ;  could 
have  attended  to  our  third  church  organization  on  the  21st;  and 
could  have  been  back  at  Kangwe  on  the  22d. 

On  Sunday,  the  24th.  there  were  dark  clouds  and  wind ;  and, 
when  we  saw  that  a  heavy  rain  was  coming,  people  gathered  into 


6io  MY  OGOWE 

the  church-building  for  refuge,  though  it  was  not  yet  church 
time.  While  standing  outside  the  door,  I  saw  the  Duala  pass- 
ing down.  I  waved  a  friendly  hand  to  the  company  of  men  and 
women  on  the  deck ;  and,  two  handkerchiefs  responded.  They 
were  Miss  Harding  and  Anyentyuwa!  The  morning  service 
was  interrupted  in  its  solemnity  by  people  straggling  in  late. 
Ten  adults  were  baptized,  six  of  whom  were  women.  The 
collection  was  an  exciting  scene ;  to  see  the  beads,  tumblers, 
plates,  yards  of  cloth,  etc.,  etc.,  pushed  into  the  bushel-basket. 
(There  was  no  metal  currency  in  the  Ogovve,  at  that  time.) 
Aziza  came  to  complain  against  me,  because  (on  my  report  to  Mr. 
Good  of  her  habit  of  lying)  on  Saturday  session  examination, 
he  had  refused  her  baptism.  When  I  gave  her  Anyentyuwa  as 
my  witness,  she  said  she  would  fight  her!  I  had  known  of 
Aziza's  untruth  myself.  And,  I  remembered  that  one  day  little 
Iga  had  come  to  her  mother,  in  wide-eyed  horror,  exclaiming, 
"O!  Mama!  Aziza  will  teach  Mary  to  tell  lies!"  Not,  I  be- 
lieved, that  the  young  woman  would  deliberately  teach  my  child 
to  be  false ;  but,  Iga,  child  as  she  was,  had  been  so  truthfully 
trained  by  her  mother,  that  she  feared  that  Aziza's  habits  of 
untruth  would  be  a  bad  example  for  Mary. 

After  the  services,  when  I  told  Mr.  Good,  of  the  two  ladies 
being  on  the  Duala,  he  was  very  much  disconcerted.  So  was  I. 
Not  that  I  feared  that  my  child  would  not  be  tenderly  cared 
for  by  kind  Mrs.  Good,  during  the  interval  of  two  days;  but, 
because  it  would  be  done  against  her  husband's  wish,  even 
though  the  vessel  had  delayed  one  day  later  than  Mr.  Good's 
own  date  for  it. 

The  next  day,  his  displeasure  against  Anyentyuwa  continued. 
And  the  15-mile  journey  to  Kangwe  was  not  a  pleasant  one.  At 
last,  when  1  was  faint  with  hunger,  the  boat  stopped  at  a  planta- 
tion in  Kenje  Greek,  at  the  hut  of  a  Galwa  slave;  he  was  kind,  re- 
membering me  from  my  Kangwe  days.  Then,  we  emerged  into 
the  Ajumba  branch  of  the  Ogowe.  Leaving  the  boat  and  crew 
at  the  Nkami  side  of  Kangwe  Hill.  Mr.  Good  and  I  clambered 
up  the  path  to  the  rear  of  the  house.  T  saw  my  child  sitting  in 
a  doorway,  and  unaware  of  my  arrival  until  I  spoke.  And,  then, 
her  glad  welcomes !  Again  and  again  during  the  afternoon,  she 
was  repeating  to  me.  "  My  dear  father  comes  to  me!  "  (Prob- 
ably the  echo  of  some  kind  assurance  of  Mrs.  Good  that  "  father 
would  come.")  T  was  given  by  Mrs.  Good  a  frightful  leopard- 
story,  more  details  of  which,  Anyentyuwa  gave  me  when  she 
returned  some  months  later:     All  the  native  ladies  were  very 


THE  TASK  ENDED  6n 

careful  about  their  daily  baths.  In  most  villages,  there  were 
small  thatch  enclosures,  in  the  rear  of  the  huts,  where  that  bath- 
ing is  done,  morning  and  evening.  At  Mr.  Good's,  Anyentyuwa 
had  taken  the  two  children  with  her  one  evening,  for  her  own 
and  their  bath,  into  a  little  out-house  of  that  kind.  She  always 
carried  a  lantern  at  night.  While  in  the  out-house,  she  per- 
ceived the  strong  odor  of  a  leopard,  and  felt  sure  that  one  was 
near.  Most  bravely  she  did  not  frighten  the  children ;  but,  tell- 
ing them  to  cling  close  by  her,  she  hurried  over  the  distance  of 
more  than  one  hundred  feet  to  the  dwelling,  up  the  veranda  steps, 
and  into  the  house.  She  told  Mrs.  Good  her  suspicions.  And, 
in  a  few  minutes,  there  was  a  fearful  commotion  on  that  very 
veranda.  Mr.  Good  had  a  very  large  mastiff,  "  Dick."  The 
dog's  fierce  barks  were  mingled  with  a  leopard's  growls.  And, 
there  was  a  series  of  heavy  tumbles,  as  the  two  animals  fought. 
All  doors  and  windows  had  fortunately  been  closed.  But,  the 
front-room  windows,  opening  on  to  that  veranda,  extended  low, 
almost  to  its  level.  There  was  only  the  thinness  of  the  panes 
of  glass  separating  those  desperately  fighting  beasts  from  the 
terrified  women  and  children  in  the  house ;  for,  the  shutters  had 
not  yet  1>een  closed.  Presently,  the  fighting  ceased ;  and,  the 
only  sounds  were  the  whines  of  the  dog.  Mrs.  Good  ventured 
to  open  the  door;  and.  the  brave  animal  stood  there,  torn  and 
bloody.  The  leopard  had  gone.  The  next  day,  its  bloody 
tracks  were  followed  into  the  forest.  That  lantern  in  Anyentyu- 
wa's  hand  had  been  my  child's  protection.  Leopards  fear  a 
light.  The  beast  had  probably  been  lying  in  wait  under  the 
house.  (All  our  houses  were  built  clear  from  the  ground,  on 
posts,  from  three  feet  to  six  feet  high.) 

TO    TALAGUGA. 

Wednesday,  the  27th.  Much  was  to  be  gained  by  early  starts 
on  journeys.  But.  the  crew  was  so  slow,  to  come  from  Andende 
to  carry  my  boxes  from  the  Hill,  that,  at  6.30  a.  m.  leaving  Mary 
still  asleep,  I  went  all  the  way  to  Andende  to  call  the  men.  On 
the  way.  T  met  the  only  faithful  one,  Londo.  He  had  called  the 
others;  but.  they  were  slow  to  follow.  I  had  suspended  Agonjo 
from  his  Scripture-reading  work ;  but,  he,  rather  than  be  dis- 
missed entirely,  had  offered  to  come  back  to  his  former  ordinary 
work  as  a  laborer  at  Talaguga,  until  I  could  regain  my  confi- 
dence in  him.  He  handed  me  a  letter  written  to  me  by  Anye- 
ntyuwa at  Lembarene  trading-house,  on  Saturday,  the  23d 
(whither  she  had  that  day  been  taken  by  my  crew,  to  await  the 


612  MY  OGOW.E 

going  of  the  Duala).  I  hasted  back  to  the  Hill;  ate  a  hasty 
breakfast ;  took  my  child  ;  and  with  her  hurried  back  to  Andende ; 
urged  the  loading  of  the  boat;  and  actually  was  off  by  8  a.  m.! 
T  had  eleven  in  the  crew.  So.  relieving  myself  of  my  usual  task 
at  the  rudder,  I  called  Agonjo  to  take  it ;  and  devoted  myself  to 
Mary.  At  dusk,  for  the  night,  at  a  native  trader's  house,  on  the 
Goree  Samba's  old  site,  opposite  the  head  of  Nenge-sika  Island. 
My  little  girl  was  so  tired  and  sleepy,  by  long  confinement  in  the 
boat,  and  no  little  companion,  that  I  stayed  by  her  bed,  and 
allowed  Agonjo  to  hold  evening-prayers. 

In  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  28th,  Mary  had  a  little  strip 
of  pretty  cloth,  which  the  village  women  claimed  as  theirs. 
There  was  an  unpleasant  investigation,  as  if  she  had  stolen,  as 
charged  by  the  women.  She  calmly  said  she  had  found  it  at 
Kangwe.  And,  the  crew  sustained  her  statement.  Doubtless, 
the  women  had  had  a  piece  from  the  same  bolt  of  cloth.  My 
little  girl  was  always  truthful ;  and,  I  never  even  suspected  her  of 
theft.  The  day  was  hot;  but,  the  thatch  over  the  stern  protected 
daughter  and  myself.  The  full  river  was  stiff  in  its  current,  and 
progress  was  slow ;  but.  I  hoped  to  reach  Erere-volo  for  the 
night.  But,  an  accident  happened  with  a  rudder-pin.  Fortu- 
nately, we  were  near  the  Falaba,  which  was  still  aground  where 
it  was  two  weeks  previously.  Captain  Watkins  compensated  for 
his  discourtesy  of  that  time,  by  having  his  engineer  forge  a  new 
staple  for  me.  This  was  a  good  fortune,  worth  the  loss  of  time. 
Hope  of  reaching  even  Nkogo  failed ;  and,  after  dusk,  we 
reached  the  lower  landing  of  Ompom-Isosa.  The  Bakele  were 
not  hospitable,  and  gave  me  only  a  tumble-down  hut.  I  blamed 
Ndambe  my  own  messenger  for  having  accepted  it  as  good 
enough  for  me.  I  ordered  all  my  belongings  to  be  carried  back 
to  the  boat.  We  dropped  down-river  a  few  hundred  yards,  built 
a  camp-fire  in  the  forest  for  my  men;  and  Mary  and  I  slept  in 
the  boat,  not  very  comfortably. 

Next  day,  Friday,  the  29th.  as  Agonjo  and  his  Fafiwe  had 
been  set  ashore  at  Magenene,  for  him  to  gather  his  belongings, 
there  remained  only  nine  paddles.  To  devote  myself  to  my 
child,  I  called  one  of  them  to  the  rudder.  Though  that  left  only 
eight  paddles,  we  made  better  progress  than  on  the  preceding 
dav.  At  the  lower  landing  of  Bitaga,  I  allowed  Mary  to  play 
ashore  awhile.  In  the  hope  of  reaching  Talaguga  that  day.  I 
again  took  the  rudder;  and  the  nine  paddles  worked  enthusias- 
ticallv.  The  boat  flew!  We  reached  our  home  at  candlelight. 
Our  coming  being  seen,  the  Chinese  lanterns  were  lighted  for  a 


THE  TASK  ENDED  613 

welcome;  but,  my  tired  little  girl  had  been  sleeping  for  two 
hours.  After  discharging  the  boat,  and  putting  things  away,  I 
sat  up  late,  hearing  my  sister's  reports,  and  telling  her  mine. 

On  Sunday,  the  31st,  a  large  number  of  Fafiwe  were  at  chapel. 
I  tried  to  induce  them  to  take  charge  of  and  remove  to  their 
villages  a  certain  Fail  we  man,  who  had  wandered  on  to  the  prem- 
ises during  my  absence,  whom  Ntula  had  thrown  into  the  forest 
to  die.  He  had  been  a  care  and  a  nuisance  to  my  sister.  But, 
they  would  not  take  him. 

On  Monday,  April  1,  Mary's  attendant,  Mbala's  young  wife, 
Mwanyeno,  had  a  big  wash  of  her  garments  soiled  during  our 
two  weeks'  absence.  I  held  a  reckoning  with  my  crew.  As  I 
had  given  them  liberty  either  to  wait  for  me  at  Andende  during 
the  days  while  I  was  away  with  Mr.  Good,  or  to  go  to  their 
homes  and  return  in  time,  I  intended  to  pay  them  full  wages  for 
all  those  days,  as  a  present.  I  did  so  to  all,  except  three;  and, 
of  those  three,  I  dismissed  two,  for  the  boat-song  offense. 

Next  day,  Agonjo  and  Okendo  and  their  people  came  for  their 
month's  wages.  The  following  day  they  left,  taking  as  passen- 
gers some  five  of  my  people.  But,  a  Fanwe  lad,  Ngwa,  brought 
by  Agonjo,  remained  to  work  and  study.  Our  remaining  com- 
pany seemed  small. 

On  Friday,  the  5th,  instead  of  the  one  large  phlegmon  of  the 
lake  journey,  I  had  numerous  small  boils.  But,  as  they  were 
diminishing  in  size,  I  felt  encouraged.  People  from  Njomu 
came  to  sleep  for  the  night,  and  left  their  canoe  in  my  care,  they 
to  carry  their  trade-goods  through  the  forest  back  into  the 
Interior. 

By  Wednesday,  the  10th,  I  was  confined  to  the  house,  using 
frequent  hot  water  applications  instead  of  poultices.  And,  my 
sister  also  was  suffering  from  neuralgic  pains.  Several  of  the 
employees  also  were  sick.  I  began  almost  to  suspect  that  boils 
were  contagious.  For  years,  I  had  not  had  so  few  employees, 
and  so  many  of  them  sick.  I  had  accepted  Agonjo's  offer  to  re- 
sume work  as  a  day  laborer  at  Talaguga,  the  while  I  held  him 
under  suspension  from  his  Scripture-reading  work.  And,  I  sent 
Okendo  and  his  ten  men  to  keep  the  Magenene  out-station  tem- 
porarily. 

On  the  18th,  Ntula  came  to  sell  iguma.  I  needed  it;  but,  I 
refused  to  buy  from  him,  because  of  his  having  cast  away  the 
sick  man,  for  whom  I  was  still  caring. 

At  sunset  of  Friday,  the  19th,  in  face  of  a  coming  storm,  the 


r>i4  MY  OGOWE 

Duala  whistled;  and,  I  went  off  to  it,  thinking-  that  possibly 
Anyentyuwa  was  already  returning.  I  found  Ombagho  and  a 
mail.  Also,  a  number  of  white  traders,  Mr.  Allam,  general  agent 
of  the  H.  &  C.  house,  from  Libreville,  and  Messrs.  Jones,  Letz, 
Kutz,  and  Chef  du  Poste,  Mons.  Du  Val.  On  Sunday,  the  21st, 
a  good  attendance  of  Fanwe.  Xtula  came  to  ask  for  the  man 
whom  he  had  thrown  away,  and  promised  to  take  care  of  him. 

The  Fanwe,  who  had  left  their  canoe  in  my  care  on  the  5th, 
emerged  from  the  forest  on  the  23d,  and  resumed  them.  Elder 
Abumba  conducted  the  prayer-meeting,  as  I  stayed  with  my 
Mary. 

On  Thursday,  the  24th,  some  Fail  we,  from  near  Asange. 
stopped  to  see  my  house.  They  asked  me  for  liquor!  It  was 
their  ignorance.  All  other  white  men,  traders,  government  of- 
ficials, travelers,  and  Roman  Catholic  priests  used  liquor.  Why 
did  not  the  American?  My  sister  returned  from  a  three  days' 
itineration.  Pawa,  wife  of  Elder  Abumba,  was  attending  to 
my  clothes-mending,  during  the  absence  of  Anyentyuwa.  But, 
even  she  was  sick,  on  May  1.  Some  fifteen  Fanwe  were  at 
chapel,  on  Sunday,  the  5th.     Heard  that  they  had  shot  a  leopard. 

On  Friday,  the  10th,  for  the  first,  in  a  long  while,  I  was  free 
from  the  pain  of  boils.  I  resumed  work  on  the  manuscript  of 
my  neglected  revision  of  the  Benga  grammar. 

With  Agonjo,  I  went  on  Saturday,  the  nth,  to  the  villages 
toward  Asange.  I  sent  to  one  of  the  trading-houses,  and  bought 
for  Mary  a  food-dish,  on  whose  cover  was  the  form  of  a  gorilla, 
especially  made  for  the  African  market.  She  was  much  amused 
with  it;  and,  it  became  one  of  her  treasures  on  the  table. 

On  Sunday,  the  12th,  my  Faiiwe  neighbors  did  not  come  to 
chapel,  as  they  were  awaiting  an  expected  attack  by  the  Bindubi 
clan.  Sent  Elder  Abumba,  with  two  men,  down-river,  on  a  few 
days'  itineration. 

On  Wednesday,  the  15th,  I  completed  the  writing  of  the 
"  Story  of  Anyentyuwa."'  [The  revelation  of  missionary  in- 
justice to  that  lady  was  so  astonishing,  that  the  American  Tract 
Society,  to  which  I  offered  the  manuscript  some  years  later, 
begged  me  not  to  publish  it.  lest  it  injure  the  cause  of  missions.] 

On  Sunday,  the  19th.  a  large  attendance  of  Fanwe  at  chapel, 
under  the  escort  of  the  woman  Nyamba.  I  was  entirely  free 
from  my  boils.  After  dark  of  Tuesday,  the  21st,  I  heard  the 
whistle  of  the  Duala.  The  night  was  threatening  with  rain. 
At  the  steamer.  1  found  Rev.  Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teisseres,  the 
delegates  from  the  Paris  Evangelical  Society.     The  vessel  was 


THE  TASK  ENDED  615 

anchored  in  a  bad  place ;  so,  she  took  up  her  anchor,  and  moved 
up  to  a  safer  place.  But,  then  the  anchor  broke,  and  the  vessel 
drifted  in  the  swift  current  down  near  to  some  dangerous  rocks, 
before  the  crew  could  rig  another  anchor.  The  next  day,  the 
22d,  the  Duala's  anchor  was  fast  among  rocks,  and  she 
could  not  raise  it ;  so,  she  cut  the  cable,  leaving  the  end  fast  to 
a  buoy,  with  the  expectation  of,  at  some  future  day,  recovering 
the  anchor.  But,  the  buoy  was  too  light,  and  the  whole  line 
sank.  In  the  afternoon,  I  took  the  two  visitors  a  walk  to  the 
hill-side  cottage  and  to  Mrs.  Nassau's  Pool.  On  Thursday,  they 
went,  preferably  in  a  canoe,  as  far  as  Njoli  Island,  to  visit  in 
the  villages.  And  on  Friday,  they  went,  also  by  canoe,  to  visit 
Asange  Post.  And.  on  Saturday,  the  25th,  very  early  in  the 
morning,  at  their  wish,  I  aroused  a  crew  under  Agonjo,  and  by 
5  a.  m.,  my  agreeable  guests  started  to  return  to  Kangwe. 

By  Monday,  the  27th,  I  was  again  working  on  the  final  copy 
of  the  manuscript  of  my  revision. of  the  Benga  grammar.  My 
Mary  felt  the  loss  of  the  protecting  care  of  her  "  Ma  Janie  " ; 
for.  she  told  me  that  the  house-boys  did  not  treat  her  kindly  in 
their  afternoon  plays. 

Agonjo  returned  on  Thursday,  the  30th,  from  Kangwe ;  but, 
with  no  mail,  nor  any  news  from  Gaboon.  I  was  much  disap- 
pointed. Before  daylight  of  Saturday,  June  1,  Okendo,  who 
had  come  on  Friday,  for  his  month's  wages,  left  with  Agonjo; 
the  former  to  visit  his  sick  mother,  and  the  latter  to  bring  his 
wife. 

On  Monday,  the  3d,  the  Duala  passed  up;  but,  no  signals  for 
me.  I  was  very  much  disappointed  that  there  was  not  a  word 
of  news,  even  from  Kangwe.  And,  at  night,  I  was  annoyed  at 
Elder  Abumba's  request  for  increase  in  wages ;  and,  at  Mbala's 
asking  leave  of  absence  for  a  month,  the  while  that  I  was  espe- 
cially needing  him  to  stay  in  charge,  when  I  should  be  away  at 
the  Kangwe  communion  in  July. 

On  the  5th,  my  household  was  not  in  good  health.  I  was  bil- 
ious ;  Mary  with  a  cold  in  her  head ;  one  man  with  an  abscess  in 
his  ear;  another  with  fever;  another  with  a  cold.  The  effect, 
probably,  of  the  cool  dry  season ;  for,  the  rains  were  light,  no 
more  thunder;  river  falling:  skies  dull;  and  nights  cold. 

The  Akclc  brought  me  a  large  mail  on  Saturday,  the  8th;  and, 
in  the  afternoon,  my  sister  returned  from  an  itineration. 

On  Tuesday,  the  nth,  I  gave  Elder  Abumba  a  crew  of  two 
men,  to  go  to  Igenja,  on  a  two  weeks'  absence,  for  his  session 
duties  in  the  second  Ogowe  church. 


616  MY  OGOWE 

On  Saturday,  the  22(1,  went  in  the  Swan,  with  Mary  to 
Asange  Post.  Happened  to  arrive  at  the  meal  hour,  when 
many  Frenchmen  were  at  their  table,  as  a  good-by  feast  to 
Messrs.  Kerraoul  and  Gazengel,  who  were  about  to  leave,  and 
Mons.  Du  Val  to  take  their  place.  We  were  invited  to  the  table. 
But,  Mary  was  so  awed,  that  I  declined.  So,  Mons.  Du  Val 
kindly  sent  out  a  little  table  with  cakes  and  tea  and  jelly.  Unex- 
pectedly early,  Elder  Abumba  returned,  bringing  a  new  employee, 
Angeka.  Also,  Elder  Simeon  and  crew,  to  sell  produce  at 
Asange,  stopped  over  Sunday.  There  was  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Reading  that  tried  my  friendship,  in  his  detention  of  Anyentyuwa 
at  Libreville.  This  extreme  disappointment  so  oppressed  me 
that  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I  went  through  the  services  of 
Sunday.  On  Monday,  the  24th,  I  was  busy  getting  together 
our  clothing  for  Mary's  and  my  journey  for  the  27th.  I  con- 
cluded to  sell  Don ;  for,  his  howling  at  all  church-bells,  and  at 
the  singing  at  daily  prayers,  had  become  too  annoying.  Sold 
him  to  Mbigino  for  $1.00. 

JOURNEY. 

I  prepared  for  a  long  absence ;  for  the  double  object  of  attend- 
ing the  quarterly  communion  at  Kangwe,  and  then,  to  go  into 
the  lakes,  on  a  gorilla-hunt.  Some  years  before,  I  had  promised 
my  friend  Thomas  G.  Morton,  M.D.,  to  send  him  a  gorilla  brain, 
for  examination  in  comparative  anatomy.  I  had  hired  my  native 
friend  Azaze,  at  Ngomu,  to  hunt  for  me.  But,  if  he  obtained 
any,  I  was  too  far  away  at  Talaguga ;  and,  since  Mr.  Reading's 
departure  from  Kangwe,  there  was  no  one  there  to  receive  or  pre- 
pare the  specimens.  So,  I  decided  to  take  a  vacation.  I  had 
had  none,  for  years.  None  of  my  other  journeys  had  been  holi- 
days. They  were  full  of  responsibility,  care  and  anxiety.  This 
journey  should  be  a  leisurely  one,  into  the  lakes,  without  an 
exacting  program,  and  to  be  followed  under  convenience  and  not 
necessity.  On  Thursday,  June  27th,  leaving  at  Talaguga  young 
men,  whom  I  regarded  as  reliable,  in  my  boat,  with  my  sister, 
and  Mary  and  her  Mwanyeno,  and  crowded  with  luggage  and 
crew  and  passengers,  a  start  was  made  after  our  noon  meal. 
Stops,  as  usual:  at  Njomu;  at  Bitaga;  and  beyond  Ngwilaka. 
And,  stopped  at  Agonjo's  (whom  I  had  restored),  to  let  off 
three  Faiiwe  school-boys,  and  for  the  night. 

Next  day,  Friday,  I  had  still  five  of  my  own  crew,  and  three 
passengers  (of  course,  they  paddled  too).  By  4.30  p.  m.,  we 
were  at  Andende.     There  were  no  people  at  the  landing;  for, 


THE  TASK  ENDED  617 

they  were  all  in  the  church,  at  preparatory  service.  Leaving 
most  of  my  luggage  at  Andende  we  went  to  stay  on  the  Hill. 

Mbala  annoyed  me  by  insisting  on  following  Mwanyeno.  Of 
course,  she  was  his  wife;  but,  temporarily,  she  was  my  employee 
with  Mary,  and  was  to  sleep  in  Mrs.  Good's  girl's-house,  where, 
of  course,  he  could  not  go.  On  Saturday,  Mwanyeno  said  she 
was  sick,  and  Mbala  wanting  to  leave  at  once  to  go  to  his  town, 
and  she  was  conniving  with  him.  So,  I  bade  her  to  go  and  not 
return.     Then,  Mbala  was  humble;  and,  they  both  stayed. 

Had  such  a  headache  that  I  was  not  able  to  preach  for  Mr. 
Good  in  the  afternoon.  Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teisseres  (at 
.Andende)  were  all  of  courtesy  and  politeness,  both  on  my  arrival 
and  during  my  stay. 

On  Sunday,  the  30th,  we  all  were  at  church.  Though  weak, 
I  preached,  and  assisted  Mr.  Good  in  the  sacraments.  And,  in 
the  afternoon  missionary  conference,  added  remarks  to  his  ad- 
dress. Azaze  arrived  from  Oranga  with  a  dead  enormous  male 
gorilla.  Valuable  as  it  was  to  me,  I  waited  until  Monday  to 
begin  my  work  on  the  carcass. 

On  Monday,  we  all  went  to  the  Andende  landing  to  see  the 
gorilla.  Some  time  before  that,  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Teis- 
seres, he  had  slighted  the  idea  of  a  gorilla  being  dangerous,  and 
said  that  lie  thought  that  a  man  attacked  by  one,  should  fight  it 
with  his  fists,  just  as  he  would  a  human  assailant.  That  morn- 
ing, as  we  looked  at  the  enormous  fearfully  ugly  beast  (the 
largest  I  ever  saw)  Air.  Teisseres  was  so  awed  that  he  would  not 
touch  it.  I  skinned  and  decapitated  it,  took  off  the  top  of  the 
skull,  and  got  out  the  brain.  But,  it  was  softened,  by  the  two 
days'  time  from  Oranga  to  Kangwe,  and  was  worthless  for 
Doctor  Morton's  purposes.  Nevertheless,  I  paid  Azaze  my 
promised  $20,  and  added  $10  to  keep  up  his  interest  to  obtain 
me  another.  In  the  afternoon,  I  intended  going  with  Air.  Good, 
on  some  errands  to  the  Lembarene  trading-houses.  But,  Alary 
was  so  disappointed  at  not  being  allowed  to  go,  that,  as  I  would 
not  leave  her  in  tears,  I  came  back  to  her. 

The  next  day,  Tuesday,  the  2d,  in  my  own  boat  and  with  my 
own  crew,  I  went  to  Holt's  Inenga  house,  for  a  bargain  of  cloth 
with  Air.  Deemin ;  also,  for  guns,  ammunition,  kettles,  and  rum 
(for  preserving  my  expected  gorilla  in  the  lakes).  Alary  went 
with  me.  and  was  amused  at  hippopotami  in  the  river ;  and,  at 
Air.  Deemin's,  with  an  English  fox-terrier  and  her  three  pup- 
pies (one  of  them  subsequently  became  hers),  a  porcupine,  and 
a  chimpanzee.     We  returned  to  a  fine  dinner,  to  which   Airs. 


6i8  MY  OGOWE 

Good  had  invited  the  two  French  clergymen,  and  the  two 
French  teachers  from  Andende.  Mr.  Good  was  not  well,  with 
an  on-coming  fever.  Mr.  Allegret  had  his  camera,  and  offered 
to  take  our  photographs.  For  this  purpose,  Mary  was  specially 
dressed  in  her  best ;  and,  my  sister  said  that  she  would  take  care 
of  her  on  the  side  porch,  until  the  sun  should  suit  Mr.  Allegret. 
Shortly  afterward,  I  heard  a  thud  and  a  scream.  I  found  that 
Mary  had  been  left  to  play  with  the  other  children;  romping  on 
a  bench  near  the  edge  of  the  porch  (that  had  no  rail)  the  bench 
had  tilted,  carrying  her  to  the  ground  three  feet  below,  and  bruis- 
ing her  forehead,  head,  and  thigh,  and  covering  her  dress  with 
the  contents  of  a  basin  of  Mrs.  Good's  yeast.  A  long  time  was 
required  to  quiet  her  and  to  re-dress  her.  In  the  meantime, 
Albert  was  photographed ;  and,  then  Mary  had  two  sittings. 
But,  neither  were  satisfactory  to  me ;  she  could  not  divest  her 
face  of  the  look  of  fear.     At  night,  Mr.  Good  was  sick  in  bed. 

I  am  not  superstitious,  and  did  not  believe  in  the  "  premoni- 
tions "  (muscular  movements)  of  the  natives.  But,  several 
times  in  my  life,  I  have  had  presentiments  of  what  was  to  occur. 
So  strong  and  vivid  the  impression,  that  I  was  as  positive  that 
the  event  would  occur  as  if  some  one  had  told  me  it  was  actu- 
ally occurring.  That  night,  I  awoke  with  a  strong  impression 
that  Anyentyuwa  had  either  come  that  day,  or  would  be  met  by 
us  on  the  morrow,  in  my  expected  start  down-river  to  the  lakes. 
I  was  positive  that  she  would  be  with  me  on  the  excursion; 
otherwise,  I  would  not  have  planned  to  take  Mary  with  me. 
And,  I  spent  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  Wednesday,  in  ar- 
ranging our  baggage  at  Andende.  By  noon,  Mr.  Good  was 
very  much  worse.  About,  2  p.  m.  Anyentyuwa  suddenly  ap- 
peared by  a  small  canoe  from  Holt's  Inenga  house,  having  ar- 
rived Tuesday  night,  by  the  Gaboon.  Mary  was  overjoyed. 
At  once,  with  her  and  her  Ma  Janie  in  my  boat,  I  went  to 
inenga,  to  get  her  luggage  and  Iga.  And,  returned  in  the  even- 
ing. I  was  intensely  relieved,  to  have  her  back  again  in  her 
care  of  Mary.  She  had  come  from  Libreville  by  the  Elobi  to 
Cape  Lopez,  and  thence  by  the  Gaboon  to  the  Ogowe.  Messrs. 
Allegret  and  Teisseres  had  been  with  Mr.  Good  all  afternoon, 
prescribing  for  him;  and,  they  remained  with  him  all  night.  It 
was  a  severe  attack  of  malignant  fever,  such  as  he  had  had  once 
before. 

On  Thursday,  the  4th,  I  gave  up  my  lake  holiday,  until  Mr. 
Good  should  be  better.  Anyentyuwa  went  by  canoe  to  Inenga 
for  some  of  her  goods  she  had  forgotten.     On  Friday,   I  did 


THE  TASK  ENDED  619 

nothing;  waiting-.  Read  "Little  Lord  Fauntleroy."  I  sent  one 
of  my  men  to  fish.  He  caught  only  a  few,  which  I  divided  be- 
tween him,  Mary,  Albert,  and  Iga.  At  night,  there  was  an  ex- 
citement at  Andende,  two  Fanwe  attempting  to  kidnap  one  of 
the  school-boys.  I  remained  awake,  to  be  of  any  service.  On 
Saturday,  the  6th,  Mr.  Good's  symptoms  were  thought  to  be 
slightly  better. 

On  Sunday,  the  7th,  Mary  went  with  me  to  church.  I 
preached.  But,  Mr.  Gacon  was  the  only  other  white  person 
present.  Mrs.  Good,  of  course,  was  with  her  sick  husband ; 
Mr.  Carmien  had  gone  to  Lembarene,  to  summon  the  French  doc- 
tor ;  but,  the  latter  was  away  at  Cape  Lopez,  escorting  the  sick  ex- 
Commandant  Labastie.  My  sister  had  a  severe  cold,  and  could 
not  be  present  also  at  the  afternoon  Sabbath  school.  Just  at 
close  of  school,  the  new  Commandant  Possilet  called  at  Andende. 
Mr.  Good  seemed  much  better.  The  slight  improvement  in  his 
condition,  making  it  possible  for  him  to  travel,  gave  hope  for  his 
life,  if  only  he  could  get  away  from  Africa.  So,  on  Monday, 
Mr.  Jones,  of  H.  &  C.  house,  was  sent  for,  to  consult  about 
probable  steamer  dates.  And,  Mrs.  Good  began  to  pack  for  a 
journey  to  the  United  States.  But,  Mr.  Good  had  not  yet  as- 
sented. He  could  leave  the  care  of  the  station  with  our  guests, 
Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teisseres,  who  were  not  yet  ready  to  make 
their  own  Interior  journey,  as  they  were  waiting  for  Count  De 
Brazza.  But,  who  would  take  charge  of  the  three  churches? 
It  was  a  very  trying  situation.  Mrs.  Good  asked  me,  "  Won't 
you  be  willing  to  take  charge  of  them,  as  you  did  once  before?  " 
"  Certainly ;  but,  you  remember  that  Mr.  Good  was  very  dissat- 
isfied with  my  superintendence  of  them.''  "  I  know ;  but,  won't 
you  do  it?"  "Certainly,  if  Mr.  Good  wishes  it."  I  never 
have  known  why  he  did  not  request  me.  But,  I  could  not  en- 
dure the  sight  of  Mrs.  Good's  distress.  It  was  not  a  time  for 
resentments.  Putting  aside  all  other  personal  feelings,  I  offered 
to  Mr.  Good  to  attend  to  the  churches,  if  he  would  go,  and  save 
his  life.  He  consented.  We  anxiously  watched  his  changing 
symptoms  during  the  three  following  days. 

On  Friday,  July  12,  after  his  baggage  had  been  sent  to 
Andende,  (whence  my  boat  took  them  to  Lembarene),  he  was 
carried  down  the  Hill  on  a  cot.  And,  the  Gambia  came ;  and, 
escorted  by  Mr.  Teisseres,  he  left  on  that  little  steamer  for  Cape 
Lopez.  We  came  back  to  the  Hill,  feeling  lonely  and  sad.  I 
made  final  arrangements,  on  Monday,  the  15th,  for  my  holiday 
in  the  lakes. 


620  MY  OGOWE 

I  had  invited  Mr.  Gacon  to  accompany  me  as  he  was  a  good 
marksman.  On  the  Monday  noon,  while  hunting  near  Inenga, 
he  had  shot  a  hippopotamus.  It  is  well  known  that  the  body 
always  sinks,  and  does  not  float  again  for  several  hours.  If  in 
a  quiet  lake,  it  will  probably  rise  at  the  same  spot,  and  the  hunter 
watches  for  it.  But,  if  in  a  river,  the  body  will  certainly  be  car- 
ried with  the  current,  and  will  be  found  at  some  lower  point. 
When,  Mr.  Gacon  went,  six  hours  later,  to  look  for  it,  he  was 
told  that  it  had  already  been  found  floating  by  people  of  Dakar 
village.  They,  claiming  it  as  abandoned  property,  had  towed  it 
to  their  village  landing.  At  night,  Air.  Gacon  went  there,  seized 
it,  and  brought  it  to  Andende. 

GORILLA-HUNTING. 

On  Tuesday,  the  16th,  I  was  early  at  Andende;  and  found 
great  excitement  about  the  hippo.  The  Dakar  people  had  called 
the  commandant,  charging  Mr.  Gacon  with  theft,  and  had  en- 
listed the  aid  of  their  Roman  Catholic  priest  against  the  Protes- 
tant missionary.  Mr.  Gacon  seemed  at  ease.  He  left  the  affair 
to  be  settled  by  the  French  authority.  And,  he  started  with  me  at 
8  a.  m..  in  my  Nelly-Howard,  with  Mary  and  her  governess  and 
Iga.  ,  On  the  way,  we  met  the  Dakar  people  and  the  command- 
ant going  to  Andende.  The  people  wanted  Mr.  Gacon  to  go 
back,  for  the  judgment.  He  seemed  to  think  that  the  judgment 
would  be  in  his  favor;  and,  I  had  no  interest  in  the  affair. 
So,  we  went  on  our  way.  But,  the  paddling  was  slow,  with  a 
crew  of  only  six,  and  passengers,  and  a  variety  of  baggage. 
Stopped  at  Aveya's  village  to  eat,  and  to  get  his  brother 
Ampamba  as  guide.  At  one  of  the  Wambalya  villages,  Elder 
Yongwe  gave  us  a  leg  of  goat-mutton.  Into  Lake  Onanga 
through  the  second,  or  lower  entrance  from  the  river.  My 
objective  point  was  Okendo's  Scripture-reading  out-station  in 
Lake  OgC'nme.  ( On  my  restoring  Agonjo  to  his  out-station 
work,  his  temporary  substitute,  Okendo,  had  been  transferred 
to  Mr.  Good's  care,  who  had  placed  him  in  the  lake.)  Seeing 
that  we  could  not  reach  his  place  before  night,  we  stopped  at 
dusk  in  a  little  sandy  cove  of  an  island  a  few  miles  distant  from 
him.  It  was  a  romantic  place;  we  sat  a  long  while  talking 
around  the  camp-fire.  I  had  my  tent  for  Anyentyuwa  and  the 
two  children:  a  cot-bed  with  mostquito-nets  for  myself;  and  Mr. 
Gacon  had  his  net  and  a  rubber-blanket  on  the  ground. 

On  Wednesday,  the  17th,  we  were  early  at  Okendo's.  He 
was  not  just  then  at  home.     But,  the  villagers  were  expecting 


THE  TASK  ENDED  621 

us.  (I  had  sent  word  in  advance;  and,  the  Christian  man,  Osa- 
mu-wa-mani,  had  built  a  hut  for  us.)  After  Okendo  came,  our 
goods,  and  the  hut,  and  my  tent  were  arranged.  Mr.  Gacon 
went  out  alone  to  hunt ;  and  returned,  having  seen  tracks  of  go- 
rillas, but  not  the  animals  themselves. 

The  story  of  the  following  five  days,  Thursday,  Friday,  Sat- 
urday, Monday,  and  Tuesday,  of  my  gorilla-hunting,  I  have  told 
in  detail  in  my  "  In  an  Elephant  Corral  "  (Neale,  19 12)  :  How 
we  went  each  day,  sometimes  with  too  many  noisy  guides;  saw 
gorilla  tracks ;  one  day,  where  the  grass  where  they  had  been 
lying  was  still  marked  by  the  outlines  of  their  forms ;  another 
day,  where  we  saw  one  disappearing  from  a  plantation ;  another 
day,  when  we  made  a  frantic  rush  through  a  jungle,  where  our 
guide's  dog  had  found  and  was  attacking  a  gorilla  mother  and 
her  child.  But,  though  we  thus  saw  the  animals,  in  our  close 
pursuit  of  them,  we  did  not  succeed  in  capturing  any.  On  Sun- 
day, the  21st,  we  heard  news  from  the  natives  that  Mr.  Good 
had  obtained  passage  from  Cape  Lopez  to  Libreville.  I  held 
preaching  services.  During  the  day,  a  woman  fainted,  making 
some  confusion,  it  being  feared  lest  her  life  was  in  danger.  In 
the  evening,  the  villagers  were  dancing  and  drumming,  in  some 
incantations  for  driving  away  the  spirit  of  a  recently  dead  slave, 
who  was  believed  to  be  annoying  a  certain  woman. 

My  failure  to  obtain  a  gorilla  during  the  five  days'  hunting 
would  not  have  prevented  continuing  my  effort.  But,  on  one  of 
those  days,  I  had  fallen  over  a  log,  and  injured  my  knee.  So, 
on  Wednesday,  the  24th,  we  left  Okendo's ;  and,  going  slowly, 
took  our  noon  meal  near  the  Bird  Islands,  a  rookery  of  hundreds 
of  pelicans.  Mr.  Gacon  shot  six,  while  we  rested  there  all  the 
afternoon,  and  Mary  bathed  in  the  lake,  from  a  small  sandy 
beach.  The  feathers  of  the  birds  Anyentyuwa  kept  for  a  pillow, 
and  the  meat  the  crew  dried. 

The  next  day,  Thursday,  we  stopped  at  various  places.  But, 
the  journey  had  ceased  to  be  a  pleasure.  My  knee  was  too  pain- 
ful for  me  to  hold  the  rudder ;  and  the  crew  would  not  obey  Mr. 
Gacon.  And,  on  emerging  into  the  Ogowe,  I  happened  to  meet 
one  of  my  people  coming  from  Kangwe,  who  said  that  my  sister 
was  sick.  After  dark,  we  reached  Elder  Yongwe's  village  Elovi, 
for  the  night,  and  were  kindly  entertained  by  him.  But,  I  went 
to  bed  with  a  fever  chill.  On  Friday,  the  26th,  after  a  long 
patience  with  the  crew,  I  again  took  the  rudder,  and  quietly  told 
them  that  there  would  be  no  stops,  even  if  we  had  to  travel  all 
night,    until    we    reached    Andende.     That   stirred    them;    and, 


622  MY  OGOWE 

thence  on,  they  pulled  well,  reaching  Kangvve  by  6.30  p.  m. 
Sending  Anyentyuwa  and  the  children  in  advance  up  the  Hill,  I 
remained  to  discharge  the  boat.  On  the  Hill,  I  found  my  sister 
sick  with  bilious  congestion  of  the  liver,  and  with  a  heavy  cold 
that  had  settled  in  the  glands  of  the  throat. 

Though  my  knee  was  still  quite  painful,  I  had  to  go  to 
Andende  to  look  after  our  luggage.  And,  I  sent  to  Lembarene, 
to  inquire  about  steamer  probabilities.  The  traders  were  still 
very  kind  and  obliging  in  giving  me  passage  and  towage.  On 
Sunday,  the  28th,  I  preached  to  a  tolerably  good  congregation ; 
and  held  Sabbath  school.  My  sister  was  better ;  and  I  consid- 
ered the  possibility  of  her  being  well  enough  to  leave  her  on  the 
following  Wednesday;  for,  it  was  important  that  I  should  be 
at  Talaguga,  in  the  limit  of  time  I  had  named  to  Elder  Abumba. 
whom  I  had  left  there  in  charge.  (Mr.  Good's  sickness  had 
altered  my  calculations.) 

Three  of  my  people  deserted  on  Monday,  leaving  me  rather 
short  of  a  crew.  (Desertions  were  always  more  frequent  in 
the  cool  dry  season,  June—  Septem1>er ;  for,  at  that  time,  were  the 
excitements  in  the  villages,  of  camping,  fishing,  and  plantation- 
making.  )  I  was  troubled  also  about  the  uncertainty  of  our 
Ogowe  mission's  future.  Though  I  kept  within  the  legal  limit 
of  a  "  school,"  by  the  irregularity  of  the  times,  places,  and  per- 
sons taught  by  myself  or  my  sister  (so  that  French  was  not 
taught  at  Talaguga).  there  was  some  ill-feeling  on  the  part  of 
the  Lembarene  commandant.  For,  our  Roman  Catholic  enemies 
made  constant  misstatements  against  me.  And,  the  demands  of 
the  French  government  were  becoming  more  insistent.  At 
Kangwe.  the  law.  in  regard  to  the  teaching  of  French  was  fully 
kept  by  Mr.  Good.  But,  he  was  hampered  by  the  priests  of  the 
adjacent  Roman  Catholic  mission,  who  tore  up  the  Scriptures 
and  other  school-books  which  they  found  in  his  school-children's 
hands  in  their  villages.  While  in  health  and  before  he  went 
away  sick,  he  had  openly,  in  presence  of  sister  and  myself,  advo- 
cated handing  the  Ogowe  stations  over  to  the  French  brethren 
(who  said  that  they  did  not  wish  them,  and  preferred  that  we 
should  remain;  as  they  were  planning  for  the  Kongo).  At  a 
communion  season,  when  my  sister  congratulated  him  on  the 
ingatherings  of  that  day,  he  had  said,  in  my  presence.  "  Miss 
Nassau,  I  do  not  consider  that  a  single  one  of  these  has  come  to 
Christ  through  me.  You  and  your  brother  and  others  were 
teaching  them  ten  years  before  I  came.  I  wish  to  get  away  to 
some  new  place,  where  I  shall  not  build  on  another  man's  foun- 


THE  TASK  ENDED  623 

dations."  [His  acknowledgment  that  my  work  ante-dated  his 
was  just.  Later,  he  obtained  his  own  wish,  in  the  Batanga  In- 
terior.] 

TO    TALAGUGA. 

By  Wednesday,  July  31,  my  sister  was  recovered  sufficiently 
to  make  it  safe  for  me  to  leave  her;  though  she  did  not  feel 
ready  for  a  boat- journey.  So,  I  started  with  Anyentyuwa  and 
the  two  children.  Though  the  water  was  low,  and  the  banks 
were  out,  I  had  learned  the  routes  so  well,  that  we  had  no  dif- 
ficulty in  getting  around  them.  The  crew  pulled  admirably; 
and,  for  the  night,  we  stopped  on  a  sand-bank  below  Nenge- 
sika  Island.  A  passing  canoe  from  Xgwilaka  brought  word  from 
Agonjo  that  his  child  was  sick.  And,  an  hour  later,  himself, 
wife,  and  child  stopped  on  their  way  down ;  and  then  proceeded 
on  their  way.  ( More  than  even  in  civilization,  the  natives, 
if  sick  in  a  strange  place,  were  anxious  to  get  "home"  among 
their  own  people.)  Resuming  our  journey  on  Thursday, 
August  1,  there  was  the  stop  for  lunch  at  Belambla.  And,  then, 
with  splendid  rowing,  another  stop  at  Agonjo's,  to  see  my  sis- 
ter's three  Fafiwe  lads.  And,  then,  for  the  night,  on  the  sand- 
bank near  Xgwilaka.  With  some  slow  progress  on  Friday,  we 
came,  for  the  night  stop,  at  Anyentyuwa's  brother's. 

On  Saturday,  the  3d,  taking  the  last  stretch,  we  were  at  our 
Talaguga  home  just  before  noon.  Elder  Abumba  reported  that 
all  was  well,  excepting  the  loss  of  one  of  Mary's  kittens  and  one 
duck.  He  gave  accounts  of  attempted  trespassing  by  the  Fafiwe, 
and  his  efficient  stoppage  of  them.  Also,  of  a  little  Fafiwe  boy 
whom  he  had  rescued  from  being  murdered,  under  a  charge  of 
witchcraft. 

On  Sunday,  the  4th.  there  was  a  large  delegation  present  at 
chapel.  I  sent  Elder  Abumba,  on  Wednesday,  the  7th,  with 
boat  and  crew  to  Kangwe,  for  my  sister. 

I  was  conscious  that  my  more  than  eight  years  of  continuous 
pioneering  work  was  exhausting  me.  I  had  hoped  that  the  mis- 
sion or  the  board  would  recognize  the  conditions  of  the  situation, 
and  that  they  would  have  sent  some  one  to  be  my  associate  and 
successor,  to  relieve  me  when  my  health  should  no  longer  per- 
mit me  to  remain.  I  heard  with  satisfaction  of  the  arrival  at 
Libreville  of  two  new  missionaries.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  B.  B.  Brier, 
and  was  expecting  their  coming  to  the  Ogowe  at  any  early  date; 
where  the  question  would  be  decided  as  to  their  location,  whether 
at  Kangwe  or  at  Talaguga. 


624  MY  OGOWE 

Passing  canoes  always  shouted  their  news.  It  was  wonderful 
how  all  sorts  of  news  was  thus  picked  up.  A  canoe  of  Gal  was, 
on  Thursday,  the  8th,  reported  that  a  man  from  Oranga  had 
arrived  at  Kangwe,  with  word  that  Mr.  Brier  would  probably 
not  come.  Later,  I  learned  that  Mr.  Reading  (whose  friend- 
ship for  me  had  gradually  been  reduced  to  a  minimum)  had 
given  the  new  missionaries  pessimistic  impressions  of  the  Ogowe, 
and  had  influenced  them  to  desire  to  go  to  Batanga. 

Mr.  Reading  was  a  remarkable  man,  in  the  almost  hypnotic 
influence  he  had  exercised  over  me.  I  had  opened  the  way  for 
him  to  come  to  Africa.  He  came  to  be  our  treasurer.  We 
never  had  a  more  efficient  one.  His  accounts  were  perfect  to  a 
day.  He  and  I  were  great  friends.  He  was  an  excellent  ad- 
ministrator and  business  agent.  I  relied  on  him.  And,  he  could 
induce  me  for  almost  anything.  Mrs.  Reading  was  a  most 
spiritually-minded  Christian  lady.  Her  quiet  influence  pre- 
vented his  commercial  traits  from  becoming  too  dominant.  But, 
when  he  returned  to  Africa  without  her;  was  all  alone  at  Baraka 
station,  as  treasurer,  not  only  of  that  station,  but  of  the  entire 
mission,  his  commercialism  overcame  him.  He  began  to  engage 
in  trade.  It  was  a  strict  rule  of  the  board,  that,  in  order  to  prove 
to  the  natives  our  singleness  of  purpose,  we  should  engage  in 
nothing  that  would  bring  us  pecuniary  gain,  outside  of  our  sal- 
aries. Mr.  Reading's  doings  aroused  the  jealousy  of  an  English 
trader  at  Libreville,  who  sued  him  before  the  French  magistrate, 
for  trading  without  a  license.  He  was  proved  guilty,  and  was 
fined.  Then,  he  took  out  a  license ;  and  continued  trading.  The 
scandal  became  so  great  that  individual  missionaries  appealed  to 
me,  as  clerk  of  mission,  to  report  the  matter  to  the  board. 
And,  there  were  complaints  of  other  undesirable  matters.  The 
board,  on  reception  of  my  letters  (while,  of  course,  they  would 
be  just  to  Mr.  Reading,  not  to  dismiss  him  without  giving  him 
opportunity  to  defend  or  explain)  immediately  ordered  him  to 
come  to  Xew  York,  and  make  answer.  And,  at  once,  had  sent 
Rev.  W.  C.  Gault  (who  was  on  furlough  in  the  United  States 
with  Mrs.  Gault)  to  leave  Mrs.  Gault,  and  shortening  his  fur- 
lough, to  hasten  to  Libreville,  and  take  charge  of  the  treasurer's 
office  in  Mr.  Reading's  absence.  My  action  aroused  Mr.  Read- 
ing's bitter  enmity.  Xo  enmity  is  greater  than  that  of  broken 
friendship.  He  used  all  means  to  pervert  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brier. 
They  fell  under  the  same  bland  hypnotic  influence  that,  for  so 
many  years,  had  blinded  me.  As  new  missionaries,  they  be- 
lieved all  his  statements,  and  were  sure  that  right  was  wrong, 


THE  TASK  ENDED  625 

and  vice  versa.  As  to  Batanga,  the  mission  had  hitherto  dis- 
tinctly refused  to  send  there  any  white  missionary;  its  officially 
recognized  line  of  progress  being  to  the  south,  and  interior-ward, 
through  the  Ogowe. 

On  Sunday,  the  nth,  had  a  good  assemblage  in  the  chapel,  in 
the  morning.  In  the  evening,  I  had  a  solemn  conversation  with 
Anyentyuwa.  So  exemplary  had  been  her  conduct  during  the 
year  that  she  had  been  in  the  Ogowe,  that  I  offered  to  restore 
her  to  church-membership  at  any  one  of  the  three  Ogowe 
churches.  She  said  that  she  would  rather  go  to  Libreville,  and 
be  restored  by  the  church  that  originally  had  disciplined  her. 

So  low  was  the  river,  that  the  usual  steamers  were  unable  to 
bring  their  necessary  supplies  even  to  the  trading-houses.  One 
white  man  from  Asange  came  to  me  to  get  provisions,  his  own 
being  exhausted.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  15th,  while  I  was  tak- 
ing Mary  to  enjoy  her  bathing  at  the  old  landing-place  at  the 
brook's  mouth,  my  sister  arrived,  very  sick,  not  able  to  walk 
from  the  boat.  She  brought  a  mail,  with  bills  of  my  expected 
provision  supply. 

I  sent  Elder  Abumba  to  the  villages,  to  buy  eggs  and  fowls 
for  my  sister,  at  any  price;  and  also,  with  a  net,  to  try  and  catch 
some  fish.  My  principle  against  the  use  of  tobacco  caused  me 
much  hardship;  and,  even  ill-will  among  the  natives.  On  my 
journeys,  I  had  to  take  a  cumbersome  supply  of  all  sorts  of  goods 
to  suit  the  caprice  of  natives.  Had  I  taken  simply  a  20-lb. 
bundle  of  tobacco  leaves  (as  others  did)  I  would  have  had  no 
trouble  or  failure  to  obtain ;  and,  the  natives  would  have  been 
better  pleased.  Without  tobacco,  I  have  given,  under  stress  for 
my  child  or  sister,  half-a-dollar  for  an  egg.  Abumba  returned 
with  five  eggs,  no  fowls,  and  three  fish.  My  sister  enjoyed  the 
fish. 

On  Sunday,  the  18th.  I  had  a  bad  headache,  and  could  not 
preach.     Elder  Abumba  held  a  service. 

By  Monday,  the  19th,  my  sister  was  much  better.  How  Mary 
enjoyed  her  bath  in  the  river! 

On  Thursday,  the  22d,  sent  Londo  and  crew  in  a  canoe  to 
Kangwe.  to  get  a  missing  box  from  the  United  States,  of  cloth- 
ing for  Alary,  which  I  supposed  to  be  lying  at  Lembarene. 
Another  white  man  from  Asange  sent  to  borrow  some  food.  I 
was  able  to  spare,  as  I  was  expecting  a  supply ;  and,  I  would,  in 
any  event,  share  with  those  men ;  for,  they  had  been  most  gen- 
erous to  me  in  the  matter  of  free  transportation  of  myself  and 
family  and  goods.     In  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  23d,  I  had 


6_>6  MY  OGOWE 

sent  Elder  Abumba  in  the  Swan,  to  Njomu,  to  bring  back  Anye- 
ntyuwa,  whom  I  had  permitted  to  visit  her  brother  on  the  21st. 
She  returned  in  the  afternoon,  the  boat  leaking  badly,  having 
struck  a  sunken  log.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  Mrs. 
Nassau's  pretty  little  boat. 

EXCURSION  TO  BITAGA. 

Mary's  birthday  fishing  excursion  had  necessarily  been  delayed 
by  my  sister's  sickness.  She  being  well  again,  the  anniversary 
was  arranged  for  Tuesday,  the  27th.  We  reached  Bitaga  about 
4  p.  m.  My  sister  landed,  and  went  with  a  few  of  her  things 
to  the  village,  where  a  German  trader  told  her  that  the  water  in 
the  lagoon  was  so  low  that  the  boat  would  not  be  able  to  enter; 
and  also  that  there  were  very  few  fish.  Nevertheless,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  entering  a  short  distance,  and  found  a  camp-ground 
that  wras  sufficiently  good,  though  not  equal  to  our  former  island 
spot.  I  hastily  discharged  the  boat,  put  up  the  tent,  and  sent 
the  boat  for  my  sister,  who  however  preferred  to  remain  over- 
night in  the  village.  Shortly  after  our  coming,  Londo,  in  his 
canoe  arrived  from  Kangwe  with  the  box  supposed  to  contain 
Mary's  shoes.  He  immediately  went  out  with  his  net;  and,  in 
an  hour,  returned  with  fish.  Early  next  morning  my  sister 
joined.  I,  in  my  cot,  with  a  net,  had  not  slept  well,  being  dis- 
tressed by  the  moans  of  the  children  in  their  tent  with  Anye- 
ntyuwa.  (They  had  no  net;  I  had  supposed  the  tent  sufficient.) 
I  borrowed  them  a  net,  for  the  following  night.  Fanwe  came 
to  see  us ;  but,  not  as  many  as  on  former  occasions.  The  day 
was  devoted  to  amusement.  My  crews  were  fishing,  eating,  and 
sleeping:  the  two  children  playing,  flinging  stones  in  the  water, 
and  sailing  their  little  boats. 

On  Thursday,  the  29th,  amusements  were  continued.  The 
boy,  Ombagho  had  become  an  unruly  lad,  troublesome,  and  even 
disrespectful.  1  punished  him;  but,  not  sufficiently;  and  he  con- 
tinued his  impertinence.  In  the  evening,  one  of  the  men,  in 
going  to  the  water-side,  almost  trod  on  a  six-foot  snake.  The 
two  children  had  been  playing  on  that  path,  and  on  that  very 
spot,  only  a  short  time  before.  My  sister  returned  to  the  village. 
Next  morning,  the  boat  was  loaded  up;  and,  with  the  usual  stops, 
we  were  at  home  comfortably,  late  in  the  afternoon. 

On  Saturday,  the  precious  box  being  opened  revealed  the 
needed  shoes,  a  silver  spoon,  and  other  gifts  from  my  uncle 
Rev.  Dr.  S.  M.  Hamill  and  my  brother-in-law,  Rev.  Dr.  A.  (Jos- 
man.     Ombagho  continued  his  offenses,  and    1  notified  him  of 


THE  TASK  ENDED  627 

dismissal.     There  were  circumstances  which  made  the  case  espe- 
cially difficult,  as  he  was  a  pet  of  my  sister. 

JOURNEY    TO    THE    CHURCHES. 

On  Monday,  September  9,  leaving  three  men  in  charge,  the 
start  was  made  late  in  the  afternoon.  Elder  Abumba  and  wife, 
and  two  in  the  canoe ;  and  my  sister,  and  my  family,  with  a 
crew  of  six  in  the  boat.  Mary  had  had  a  cold  for  some  days. 
For  the  night,  at  Magenene,  leaving  most  of  the  luggage  in  the 
boat,  beds  were  arranged  in  the  house. 

On  Tuesday,  the  10th,  lunch  was  at  a  favorable  spot  in  the 
forest,  where  the  children  found  vines  from  which  to  swing,  and 
roots  on  which  to  climb  and  sit.  We  were  at  Andende  before 
sun-down.  Immediately  sending  my  household  to  the  vacant 
Good  house  on  the  Hill,  a  long  time  was  spent  in  sending  loads 
thither,  and  waiting  for  the  carriers  to  return.  Only  two  of 
Mr.  Good's  people  at  Andende,  Ndaka  and  Ogula,  volunteered 
to  aid  me.  There  was  some  confusion  about  the  boxes  of  food 
and  bundles  of  bedding.  Eating  a  hasty  supper,  I  hasted  down 
to  Andende,  and  at  9  p.  m.  went  around  the  island,  to  the  Ger- 
man house,  where  were  lying  some  of  my  new  supplies.  T 
got  from  them  milk  and  flour,  for  the  needs  of  my  household 
during  my  expected  absence  down-river.  The  German  clerk, 
Mr.  Korlany  was  very  helpful.  I  was  back  again  on  the  Hill 
by  midnight. 

'  On  Wednesday,  the  nth,  Elder  Abumba  went  down-river, 
to  await  my  coming.  As  moderator  pro  tern.,  I  wrote  up,  from 
Mr.  Good's  notes,  the  minutes  of  his  last  meeting  with  the 
Igenja  session,  and  the  roll  of  the  Igenja  inquiry  class,  so  as  to 
be  ready  for  session-work  when  I  should  arrive  there. 

On  Thursday,  the  12th,  leaving  some  of  my  crew  for  service 
on  the  Hill,  I  went,  with  a  crew  of  only  four.  Mary  was  almost 
petulant,  in  her  desire  to  go  with  me,  and,  as  she  was  not  very 
well,  I  started  with  an  unhappy  memory.  At  Aveya's,  I  made 
plans  with  him  for  a  gorilla-hunt  in  October.  From  Elovi, 
Elder  Yongwe  accompanied  in  his  canoe.  After  passing 
Oranga,  met  a  former  employee,  Re-Njogo,  with  a  canoe-load 
of  fantastically-dressed  women,  going  on  a  dance-excursion. 
At  Igenja,  Elder  Awora  gave  me  a  comfortable  room  and  easy 
bed. 

On  Friday,  the  13th,  morning-prayers  in  the  church;  visits 
from  former  employees  and  their  wives  and  children;  receiving 
gifts  for  the  monthly  concert  collection.     As  eggs  were  almost 


628  MY  OGOWE 

impossible  to  be  obtained  from  the  Fan  we  at  Talaguga  (unless 
rotten),  I  made  special  effort  to  buy  a  supply  for  Mary  and  my 
sister.  Teaching-  young  people  to  spell ;  and,  with  Elder  Awora, 
going. over  the  inquiry  roll,  to  verify  their  names,  their  stand- 
ing, character,  and  acceptability  for  baptism.  Also,  I  studied 
the  minutes  of  the  third  church,  to  be  ready  for  it.  a  few  days 
later.  Late  in  the  afternoon.  Rev.  Mr.  Allegret,  who  was  mak- 
ing a  journey  of  his  own,  came  from  Kangwe  with  a  letter  from 
my  sister,  and  "  notes  "  from  Mary  and  Iga.  that  somewhat  re- 
lieved my  anxiety.     At  night,  held  a  session  meeting. 

On  Saturday,  the  14th,  continued  the  session  meetings.  I 
offended  some  applicants  by  my  position  on  a  certain  rule  of 
presbytery  requiring  ability  to  read  the  Bible  (with  certain  ex- 
ceptions) as  a  condition  for  baptism.  They  went  away  saying, 
"  Well,  we'll  wait  for  Mr.  Good !  "  I  faithfully  enforced  the 
rule.  For.  a  native  in  a  heathen  village,  in  daily  view  of  heathen 
practices,  where  he  or  she  was  the  only  Christian,  with  no  Sun- 
day, no  church,  no  ten  commandments,  without  the  Bible,  had 
only  prayer  as  a  means  of  grace :  and,  the  probability  of  his 
standing  was  small.  But,  with  ability  to  read  the  Bible,  the 
means  of  grace  were  much  enlarged. 

I  also  declined  to  enrol  in  the  class  little  boys  and  girls ;  they 
were  too  utterly  under  the  control  of  their  heathen  parents  to 
obey  any  Christian  life;  they  did  not  even  know  what  "class" 
meant,  except  that  enrollment  in  it  was  a  distinction.  I  refused 
to  examine  for  baptism,  young  men  and  young  women  of  that 
very  place,  who,  alongside  of  Elder  Awora's  day-school,  had 
made  no  effort  to  learn  to  read.  All  this  vexed  them ;  and.  they 
would  not  come  to  the  afternoon  prayer-meeting.  (I  still  think 
that  their  action  justified  mine.)  But,  I  was  rejoiced  at  the 
return  to  the  table,  of  my  best  and  most  devoted  former  em- 
plovee  Mamba,  who  had  been  under  suspension,  for  intemper- 
ance. But  for  that  weakness.  I  would  have  made  him  an  elder. 
[He  is  still  living;  but,  his  love  for  liquor  has  been  his  un- 
doing.] Elder  Awora's  wife's  father  was  sick;  he  was  a  class- 
member.  On  Sunday,  the  15th.  during  the  opening  services  in 
the  church,  a  wail  was  raised  in  the  adjacent  village  over  his 
sudden  death. 

On  Monday,  the  1 6th.  James,  an  employee  of  Mr.  Good,  came 
with  his  wife  Dombina;  he  wished  to  put  her  away,  though  he 
admitted  that  he  had  no  justifiable  ground.  And.  another  young 
man.  who  had  been  summoned  for  an  offense,  came;  but,  ses- 
sion   had    adjourned.     I    made    a   point    with    the   people    that 


THE  TASK  ENDED  629 

"  church  "  was  greater  than  business,  and  "  session-meeting- " 
greater  than  personal  convenience.  Women  came  in  the  after- 
noon, stirred  by  my  urging  the  duty  of  learning  to  read. 

On  Tuesday,  the  17th,  just  as  I  was  about  to  start,  there 
passed  two  steamers ;  and  I  hoped  for  mail,  but  they  shouted  that 
there  was  none.  Stopped  at  several  villages  to  teach  members 
of  the  class  living  there.  And,  the  same  at  Oranga,  where  I 
stopped  for  the  night. 

Spent  Wednesday,  the  18th,  teaching  class-members  in  the 
villages.  At  Ngomu,  where  my  hunter-friend  Azaze  followed 
me  from  his  old  village,  vexed  that  I  had  not  spent  the  night 
with  him.  At  Aningo-arevo,  the  people  were  too  busy  with 
their  plantation-cutting,  to  listen  to  me.  At  Izyuwa,  Elder 
Ntyanga  was  not  at  home;  but  a  young  mother  received  us. 
At  "  England,"  was  not  pleased  with  the  dirty  look  of  the  place. 
At  Elovi,  taught  two  lads ;  but,  the  women  did  not  think  that 
they  could  learn.  There,  a  letter  was  handed  me  from  my  sis- 
ter, brought  by  Agon  jo.  I  still  was  anxious  about  my  Mary, 
though  the  letter  said  that  she  was  well.  Finally,  established  my- 
self at  Ovimbyano  village,  in  Ambamani's  comfortable  house. 

On  Thursday,  the  19th,  wrote  letters  to  my  sister,  Anyentyuwa, 
Mary,  and  Iga,  to  have  them  ready  to  be  taken  by  the  messenger 
whom  I  expected  next  day  from  Kangwe,  with  the  communion- 
bread.  Also,  wrote  instructions  to  Licentiate  Mbora,  whom  Mr. 
Good  had  located  down-river  in  the  Nkami  (Mbora's  own)  tribe. 
Children  and  class-members  came  to  learn  to  read.  At  night, 
I  sat  up  late  reading  the  story  in  the  Philadelphia  Press,  of  the 
terrible  disaster  of  the  flood  at  Johnstown,  Pa.  I  could  not 
sleep  for  a  long  while,  with  thoughts  of  the  drowned  children 
and  the  agony  of  their  parents.  I  placed  myself  and  my  Mary 
in  their  circumstances !  And,  to  this  mental  distress,  was  added 
the  pain  of  an  eye-worm. 

On  Friday,  the  20th,  the  three  ruling  elders  came;  but,  there 
was  no  formal  meeting  of  session ;  only  an  examination  and 
revision  of  the  class-roll.  Mr.  Allegret  joined  me.  Session  in 
the  afternoon ;  but,  applicants  few,  and  very  ignorant.  In  the 
evening, -the  Kangwe  messenger  arrived,  bringing  also  a  mail. 
Another  session  in  the  evening.  Continued  session,  at  intervals, 
all  day  of  Saturday,  examining  the  applicants  especially  on  their 
reading.  Was  disappointed  that,  from  the  lakes,  and  other  quar- 
ters, people  deliberately  had  stayed  away,  for  fishing,  or  planta- 
tion-cuttings, or  mournings  over  sickness  or  death.  Aziza  and 
her  husband  Ogandaga  applied;  but,  she  was  still  ugly-mouthed 


630  MY  OGOWE 

about  the  fact  of  her  sins  of  lying  having  been  exposed  by 
Anyentyuwa. 

On  Sunday,  the  22d,  there  was  mourning  in  Elovi  village  over 
a  man  near  to  death.  Even  the  elders  came  late  to  church. 
Had  a  long  talk  in  the  evening  with  Elder  Yongwe  about  native 
customs. 

On  Monday,  the  23d,  Mr.  Allegret's  boat  started  in  advance 
of  mine.  I  rarely  ascended  the  river's  main  branch.  I  pre- 
ferred the  smaller,  called  the  Ajumba.  I  was  at  Kangwe  Hill 
by  4  p.  m.  ;  and,  reaching  the  hill-top,  I  entered  the  house  un- 
seen and  unannounced.  I  came  on  my  Mary  suddenly,  as  she 
was  sitting  alone  in  the  parlor,  crying.  Her  cry  was  changed 
to  a  scream  of  joy.  And,  then  I  went  with  her  to  my  old  bam- 
boo house,  where  we  surprised  Anyentyuwa.  Next  day,  I  was 
busy  entering  church-records,  and  making  up  accounts. 

I  needed  rest,  on  Wednesday,  the  25th,  but  I  had  to  write, 
though  interrupted  by  friendly  visits  from  Messrs.  Allegret, 
Teisseres  and  Gacon. 

On  Friday,  the  27th,  took  my  sister's  boxes  around  the  island 
to  H.  &  C.  house  at  Lembarene,  for  her  return  to  Talaguga  at 
her  convenience  by  steamer.  And  held  church-session  meetings 
in  the  afternoon  and  at  night.  And.  also,  all  day  of  Saturday. 
At  noon,  a  mail  came.  It  contained  an  important  letter  to  the 
mission,  from  Secretary  Gillespie,  that  required  me  to  go  at  once 
to  Libreville  for  a  called  meeting  of  mission,  in  regard  to  the 
Reading  affair.  An  immense  burden  of  duty  was  flung  on  to 
me,  as  I  was  clerk  of  mission.  And,  I  was  having  charge  of  the 
two  Ogowe  stations  !  What  should  I  do?  I  must  go  to  Gaboon! 
But,  how  about  my  little  daughter?  I  was  not  willing  to  leave 
her,  for  weeks,  with  my  sister,  even  if  she  were  well  enough  to 
undertake  the  work.  So,  I  must  take  the  child  with  me  to 
Gaboon!  But  all  our  clothing  was  lying  at  Talaguga,  and  I 
must  make  a  hasty  trip  thither  for  it.  and  also  to  inform  the 
young  men  I  had  placed  in  charge  there  for  only  one  month, 
that  they  would  have  to  "  hold  the  fort  "  for  at  least  another 
month.  In  the  evening,  I  sent  one  of  my  men,  Re-Mondo,  to 
the  French  house  at  Lembarene,  to  inquire  whether  their  launch 
Brazza  was  soon  going  up-river.  He  was  so  frightened  by 
hippos  on  the  way.  that  he  lost  the  letter,  came  back,  and  in  his 
shame,  did  not  immediately  report  to  me !  T  had  found  that 
I  could  obtain  passage  to  Cape  Lopez,  on  the  Duala,  of  the  morn- 
ing of  Thursday,  October  3.  I  called  my  people  together,  and 
asked  them  whether  it  would  be  possible  for  them  to  take  me  to 


THE  TASK  ENDED  631 

Talaguga  on  Monday,  September  30,  and  bring  me  back  on 
Wednesday,  October  2,  making  in  three  days  a  journey  that  had 
always  taken  a  week.  The  idea  fired  Elder  Abumba  with  en- 
thusiasm. He  said  "  Yes."  If  I  would  go  in  a  canoe  rather 
than  boat,  and  take  no  baggage  or  freight  of  any  kind,  and  give 
all  the  eight  men  standing  instead  of  short  sitting  paddles,  he 
would  promise  to  bring  me  back  in  time.  The  plans,  with  Anye- 
ntyuwa  and  the  two  children  were  exciting. 

Sunday,  the  29th,  was  a  pleasant  day,  with  a  quiet  communion 
service.  But,  after  the  evening  meeting,  I  was  very  tired. 
Nevertheless,  at  night,  I  sat  up  packing  the  necessary  food  for 
the  next  day's  run. 

RUSH    TO    TALAGUGA    AND    BACK    AGAIN. 

With  very  little  sleep,  I  was  up  by  3.30  a.  m.  of  Monday,  the 
30th,  awakened  my  crew,  and  sent  them  with  the  few  necessary 
boxes  to  Andende,  for  Elder  Abumba  to  load  up  in  the  canoe. 
I  followed  two  hours  later,  to  see  that  everything  was  ready; 
Anyentyuwa  with  the  two  children  came  clown  soon  afterwards. 
And,  we  were  off  by  the  6  a.  m.  sunrise,  in  high  spirits,  that 
were  somewhat  dampened  by  our  having  to  turn  back  for  Mary's 
jug  of  drinking-water,  that  had  been  forgotten  by  the  same 
stupid  Re-Mondo.  Finally,  we  were  off  by  6.30  a.  m.  With 
the  eight  long  paddles,  over  which  the  men  bowed  in  wide 
sweeps,  and  so  little  baggage,  we  made  splendid  progress.  Hav- 
ing eaten  no  breakfast,  we  stopped  early  at  10  a.  m.  for  the  mid- 
day meal,  on  a  sand-bar,  near  the  Island  "  factory."  And.  then 
made  a  thrilling  run  to  Magenene,  at  Agon  jo's  house  by  7  p.  m. 
In  all,  eleven  hours  of  paddling,  at  the  rate  of. three  miles  per 
hour  against  a  4-mile  current.  The  canoe  had  flown.  We  had 
been  favored  with  no  rain. 

On  Tuesday,  October  1,  taking  Agonjo  for  a  ninth  paddle, 
we  were  off  by  7  a.  m.  Ate  our  noon  meal  with  Anyentyuwa's 
brother  at  Njomu;  and,  making  only  a  short  stop  at  Chief  Nze's, 
were  at  Talaguga  before  5  p.  m.  !  A  wonderfully  rapid  journey; 
and  comfortable,  except  that  we  four  passengers  were  wet  with 
the  water  that  had  splashed  over  the  low  gunwales,  and  our 
limbs  were  stiff  by  sitting  cramped  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe. 
All  was  well  at  Talaguga.  There  were  no  ugly  questions  for 
me  to  settle.  At  once,  a  hasty  inspection  of  the  premises ;  then, 
a  busy  paying  of  the  month's  wages ;  then,  supper ;  then,  evening- 
prayers;  then,  my  tired  little  child  to  be  bathed  by  her  devoted 
nurse,  and  put  to  bed  by  her  loving  father.     Then,  I  gathered  all 


632  MY'OGOWE 

the  clothing,  etc.,  etc.,  needed  for  the  expected  stay  in  Libre- 
ville, and  Anyentyuwa  packed  them.  I  had  memoranda  to  make, 
and  directions  to  write;  and  did  not  go  to  bed  until  long  after 
midnight. 

1  was  up  at  4  a.  m.  of  Wednesday,  the  2d.  And,  we  were  all 
ready,  and  off  by  6  a.  m.  With  only  a  stop  at  Chief  Nze's,  the 
admirable  paddling  brought  us  to  Agonjo's  for  our  11  o'clock 
meal.  There  he  landed ;  but,  1  took  in  his  place,  the  two  lads 
Njega  and  Adza.  The  wind  opposed,  making  some  trouble- 
some waves.  Nevertheless,  our  progress  was  good.  I  feared 
some  storm-clouds.  But,  we  safely  reached  Andende  before  7 
p.  m.  Leaving  Mary  with  Anyentyuwa  for  her  supper  there,  I 
hurried  to  the  Hill,  and  ate  with  my  sister,  telling  her  the  news. 
Then,  back  to  Andende,  to  change  wet  garments.  And,  we  re- 
sumed our  journey  again  at  9  p.  m.  ;  for,  it  was  necessary  to 
sleep  that  night  at  the  German  trading-house,  because  the  Duala 
was  to  make  an  early  morning  start.  We  were  there  by  10  p.  m. 
(I  retained  with  me,  as  attendants,  Njega  and  Adza.)  The 
white  man  in  charge  had  already  gone  to  bed.  It  took  me  some 
time  to  get  him  aroused ;  he  was  not  in  a  very  good  humor  in 
receiving  us.  In  the  increase  of  the  number  of  traders,  and  the 
growing  sharpness  of  their  competition  in  trade,  something  was 
lost  of  the  sense  of  fellowship  which  had  distinguished  the  white 
men  of  ten  years  previous.  The  German  house  had  ceased  to 
transport  without  charge.  There  was  a  fare  on  their  boats,  and 
a  rate  for  lodging  and  boarding  in  their  houses.  (Later,  the 
other  houses  followed.)  This  was  right,  I  was  grateful  for  all 
the  liberality  of  the  past;  and,  quite  willing  to  pay  for  anything, 
that  would  save  me  from  my  former  exposed  boat- journeys. 
But,  I  regretted  the  loss  in  courtesy  that  followed  the  change, 
particularly  on  the  part  of  the  Germans. 

VOYAGE    TO    CAPE    LOPEZ    AND    LIBREVILLE. 

I  arose  by  5  a.  m.  of  Thursday,  the  3d,  and  awakened  my  com- 
pany, hurried  to  collect  our  loose  baggage ;  and  were  off  with 
the  Duala  by  6.30  a.  m.  There  was  rain  and  wind  and  tornado 
clouds,  the  real  beginning  of  the  rainy  season.  But,  in  the  little 
cabin,  we  were  comfortable.  So  restful,  after  the  previous  six 
days  of  rush  and  hurry  and  loss  of  sleep.  1  sat  with  the  chil- 
dren or  read.  Usually,  the  river-steamers  did  not  travel  at 
night.  But,  the  Duala  had  run  so  well,  that  when  night  came, 
we  were  in  the  cross-creek  Yambe  connecting  the  Ogowe  with 
Prince's  Bay  at  Cape  Lopez;  and  the  vessel  kept  on  her  way, 


THE  TASK  ENDED  633 

until  we  actually  emerged  into  the  bay.  Then,  she  anchored  for 
a  half  hour,  waiting  for  the  tide  to  rise.  At  the  earliest  moment 
that  the  pilot  would  allow,  she  proceeded  slowly  and  carefully 
over  a  long  shoal  with  only  four  and  a  half  feet  of  water.  It 
was  exciting  to  listen  to  the  call  of  the  lead-heaver,  as  at  any 
moment  I  expected  the  vessel  to  strike,  the  while  that  he  re- 
peated, "43^2  feet!  4^2  feet!"  We  anchored  safely  at  Manji 
Point  by  11  p.  m.,  and,  our  captain  went  ashore.  Next  morn- 
ing, a  boat  was  sent  for  us  and  our  goods,  and  we  were  ashore 
by  7.30.  at  the  German  house,  under  the  kind  care  of  Mr. 
Knoch. 

During  the  days  that  we  had  to  wait  for  some  northbound 
steamer  to  Libreville,  there  were  visits  to  me  by  former  and  new 
traders ;  the  arrival  of  steamers  going  south ;  the  departure  of 
river-steamers  going  up  the  Ogowe;  watching  the  children  play- 
ing on  the  sandy  beach;  and  seeing  a  tame  young  elephant  at 
the  French  house.  One  day,  while  Mary  and  Iga  were  making 
a  mud-house  on  the  beach,  a  native  standing  by  deliberately 
pushed  down  the  house  with  his  foot.  It  was  a  rare  act  of  native 
unkindness.  Perhaps,  he  thought  that  he  was  "  smart."  But, 
I  could  not  forget  my  child's  tears.  An  ocean-steamer,  Nubia 
came  in  from  the  north,  and  passengers  coming  ashore  mistook 
me  for  a  trader,  and  wished  to  buy  absinthe. 

Sunday,  the  6th,  was  a  quiet  day,  except  for  visitors  coming 
and  going.  No  opportunity  for  any  service  with  the  white  men ; 
and,  the  native  village  was  distant.  Finally,  on  Thursday,  the 
10th,  the  ocean-steamer  Coanza  came  in  from  the  south.  We 
boarded  her  early  in  the  afternoon ;  and  were  off  for  Libreville 
by  4  p.  m.  The  vessel  was  small  and  crowded.  And,  the 
crowd  was  a  disreputable  one,  drinking  and  gambling.  There 
was  no  place  where  I  could  escape  them ;  for,  on  deck  there  was 
rain,  and  the  little  saloon  was  redolent  with  liquor,  tobacco- 
smoke,  and  profanity.  The  only  safe  place  for  Anyentyuwa  and 
Mary  and  Iga  was  in  their  own  small  cabin.  Even  from  there, 
Anyentyuwa  cairie  to  tell  me  that  there  was  no  key  to  the  lock 
of  the  door  of  that  room,  and  that  the  steward  had  said  that  he 
could  not  find  it.  With  her  knowledge  of  ship's  white  passen- 
gers' dealings  with  native  women,  she  knew  wrhat  that  meant.  I 
went  to  that  steward :  and,  very  suddenly,  he  "  found  "  the  key. 
He  had  deliberately  lied;  with  evil  intent.  And  I.  in  my  berth 
was  cabined  with  a  drunken  man.  I  have  never  forgotten  the 
disreputable  Coanza.  The  vessel,  going  at  half  speed  the  eighty 
miles  from  Cape  Lopez  to  Libreville,  was  at  anchor  by  8  a.  m.  of 


634  MY  OGOWE 

Friday,  the  nth.  Rev.  W.  C.  Gault  came  in  a  boat  for  us. 
Rev.  Mr.  Brier  met  and  welcomed  us  on  the  beach;  and,  the 
teacher  of  French,  Mr.  Presset,  a  Swiss,  met  us  as  we  came  up 
the  path  to  the  Baraka  house.  After  the  confusion  of  finding 
baggage;  going  to  some  trading-houses;  resting;  and  reading  a 
very  depressing  mail,  the  day  closed  with  hymn-singing  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brier,  Mr.  Presset,  and  Mr.  Reading. 

Then,  on  Saturday,  the  12th,  began  a  three  weeks'  history, 
which  I  will  not  detail ;  for,  it  does  not  belong  to  my  Ogowe  days. 
And,  the  memory  is  yet  a  shameful  one,  of  amazing  duplicity 
and  apparent  courtesy.  I  still  have  only  respect  for  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brier.  They  were  not  unkind  or  discourteous  to  me  or 
Mr.  Gault;  though  I  knew  that  Mr.  Brier  was  devoted  to  Mr. 
Reading's  cause,  believing  him  to  be  the  victim  of  an  unjust 
assault.  How  he  could  believe  that,  I  can  understand,  remem- 
bering that  I  had  formerly  been  subject  to  Mr.  Reading's  hyp- 
notism. Mr.  Reading,  our  host,  was  bland  and  courteous,  and 
at  table  most  entertaining.  But,  all  the  while,  between  times, 
there  were  secret  plots  and  conspiracies  to  induce  the  board  to 
retain  him  at  Baraka.  So  apparently  subsidized  were  all  the 
Mpongwe  employees  and  most  of  the  church-members,  that  none 
of  them  (not  even  the  elders)  would  salute  Mr.  Gault  and  me. 
We  were  boycotted.  Only  two  persons  besides  Anyentyuwa 
sympathized  with  us,  my  good  old  Mrs.  Sneed,  the  former 
Liberian  nurse  of  my  two  children  at  Benita,  and  "  Julia  Green  " 
a  Bible-woman.  Njivo,  Mr.  Reading's  housekeeper,  was  en- 
tirely under  his  control.  But,  daily,  when  she  emerged  from  the 
secret  plots,  her  love  for  me  asserted  itself,  and  she  betrayed 
the  plans  of  Messrs.  Reading  and  Brier  to  her  sister,  who  in- 
formed me  and  Mr.  Gault.  In  the  called  mission  meetings, 
Mr.  Reading  did  not  dispute  Secretary  Gillespie's  official  sum- 
mons to  return  to  New  York ;  he  recognized  it  as  imperative. 
But,  as  to  all  other  points  of  mission  appropriations,  arrange- 
ments, and  decisions,  our  meeting  went  only  one  way.  I  was 
chairman,  and,  of  course,  had  no  vote.  Mr.  Gault  would  make 
a  motion,  and,  without  a  second,  it  would  fail.  But,  all  motions 
made  by  Mr.  Reading  would  be  carried  by  the  votes  of  Messrs. 
Reading  and  Brier.  The  meeting  was  a  wearisome  parlia- 
mentary farce  of  a  constant  2  to  1.  That  2  to  1  vote  reversed 
the  mission's  policy,  and  appointed  Mr.  Brier  to  commence  a 
station  at  Batanga.  The  only  points  that  could  not  be  voted 
against  were  the  two  orders   from  the  board,  that  Mr.   Gault 


THE  TASK  ENDED  635 

should  take  Mr.  Reading's  place  as  treasurer;  and,  that  the  lat- 
ter should  go  to  New  York  to  answer  the  charges  made  against 
him.  Until  steamers  should  come,  by  which  he  and  Mr.  Brier 
could  go  northward,  and  I  return  south,  I  had  the  companion- 
ship of  only  Mr.  Gault,  my  child,  and  her  governess,  and  Mrs. 
Sneed  and  Mrs.  Green.  I  went  to  the  foreign  stores  to  obtain 
better  supplies  than  I  could  get  in  the  Ogowe.  With  Mr.  Pres- 
set's  aid,  I  tried  to  obtain  from  the  French  a  deed  for  Anye- 
ntyuwa  of  the  premises  on  which  her  house  stood.  One  day. 
on  the  line  of  secret  information,  word  came  that,  on  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday,  at  the  regular  church  services  there  were  to  be 
farewell  exercises,  at  which  only  Mr.  Reading's  "  friends  "  were 
to  be  admitted,  and  in  which  Elder  Owondo  was  to  praise  Mr. 
Reading  and  denounce  me  and  Mr.  Gault.  Mr.  Gault  and  I 
wrote  a  note  of  respectful  protest  to  Mr.  Brier,  deprecating  the 
carrying  of  personal  differences  into  the  pulpit.  In  the  evening, 
he  called  us  aside,  and,  thanking  us  for  our  friendly  warning,  said 
he  would  modify  his  plans.  He  was  a  good  man;  but,  he  was 
being  powerfully  influenced.  On  Saturday,  the  26th,  Mr.  Gault 
took  possession  of  the  treasurership ;  but,  he  called  my  attention 
to  the  fact  that,  when  he  entered  the  office,  he  discovered  that 
Mr.  Reading  had  removed  all  the  books,  bills,  accounts,  etc.,  of 
his  own  official  doings.  On  the  Sunday,  Mr.  Gault  and  I  sat  in 
the  church,  ostracized  in  a  pew  by  ourselves;  but,  Owondo- 
Eewis'  proposed  address  was  omitted. 

On  Thursday,  the  31st,  'Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brier,  and  Mr.  Read- 
ing with  Njivo,  left,  on  the  Kisanga,  to  go  to  Batanga.  The 
latter  went  to  be  Mrs.  Brier's  assistant  in  her  expected  mother- 
hood. Mr.  Reading  took  a  quantity  of  building  materials  and 
workmen ;  a  site  was  selected  in  Batanga  at  the  only  safe  land- 
ing-place, Bongaheli,  near  the  trading-houses,  on  ground  by  the 
church,  at  the  mouth  of  Luma  Creek.  There  the  mission-house 
was  erected;  and  also  a  neat  three-roomed  house  for  Njivo. 
[Subsequently,  after  Mr.  Brier's  death,  the  station  was  removed 
\]/z  miles  farther  north  to  the  present  Ehikihiki ;  but,  Njivo's 
house  remained;  and,  later,  with  some  additions,  it  became  my 
sister's  "  Evangeline  "  cottage.] 

After  those  three  weeks  of  unfriendly  machinations,  it  was 
such  a  relief  and  restful  change,  when  Mr.  Gault  gathered  us 
in  the  Baraka  sitting-room  for  family-prayers.  On  Sunday, 
November  3,  T  preached  both  sermons,  English  and  Mpongwe. 
The    audience    was    grood.     An    incubus    seemed    lifted.     The 


636  MY  OGOWE 

Mpongwes  acted  as  if  they  had  awaked  from  a  dream ;  and  began 
to  recognize  their  Christian  duties.  But,  I  never  forgot  that 
month  of  humiliation  to  which  they  had  subjected  me. 

In  the  evening  of  Monday,  Mr.  Gault  called  a  meeting  of  the 
church-session,  to  consider  Anyentyuwa's  application  for  re- 
moval of  her  ex-communication.  He  politely  invited  me  to  be 
present.  But,  I  declined.  I  had  known  too  much  of  white 
domination  of  the  native  elders  at  Gaboon.  I  wished  her  restora- 
tion to  be  on  her  own  merits,  and  not  as  a  favor  to  me.  Before 
she  went  to  the  session,  she  told  me  that  she  was  ready  to 
acknowledge  the  errors  of  her  common-law  marriages,  but  that 
she  would  insist  on  her  innocence  of  Mr.  Walker's  original 
charge  on  which  the  session  had  suspended  her  seven  years  be- 
fore. I  urged  her  to  say  all  that  to  the  session.  She  did. 
And,  they  restored  her;  thus,  condemning  themselves  for  that 
cruel  suspension.  [She  never  married  again;  and  maintained 
her  Christian  character  virtuously,  in  the  face  of  much  false- 
hood, to  the  end  of  her  life.]  Finally,  on  Wednesday,  the  6th, 
the  ocean-steamer  Bonny  came  in  from  the  north,  on  its  way 
to  Cape  Lopez.  I  was  anxious  to  get  back  to  my  neglected 
Ogowe.  We  gathered  together  our  possessions,  packing  late 
into  the  night. 

RETURN    TO    CAPE    LOPEZ    AND    THE    OGOWE. 

On  Thursday,  November  7th,  we  were  up  early,  and  goods 
sent  to  the  beach  by  7  a.  m.  A  half-hour  later,  with  Mary. 
Anyentyuwa,  Iga,  and  the  Fan  we  lads,  I  was  at  the  German 
house,  where  Messrs.  Lubcke  and  Letz  had  very  kindly  offered 
the  use  of  their  boats,  one  for  our  luggage,  and  one  for  our- 
selves. We  boarded  the  Bonny  in  style.  Captain  Glasscock  and 
the  purser  and  doctor  were  very  attentive.  I  felt  almost  lost 
under  the  new  sensation  of  courtesy  and  kindness.  As  the 
Bonny  entered  Prince's  Bay,  next  morning,  Friday,  the  view- 
was  enlivening,  of  two  other  ocean-steamers,  and  (most  fortu- 
nately) the  Duala.  Air.  Knoch  took  us  ashore  to  his  house. 
On  Saturday,  the  Qth,  late  in  the  afternoon,  we  all  boarded  the 
Duala,  After  crossing  the  bay.  the  vessel  anchored  for  the 
night  in  Yambe  Creek.  And,  on  Sunday  night,  anchored  past 
Ngumbe. 

On  Monday,  the  nth,  it  was  more  than  homelike,  it  was 
thrilling,  as  we  passed  Igenja.  Oranga,  Elovi,  and  other  places 
to  recognize,  and  to  be  given  shouted  welcomes  by  men,  women, 
and    children    ashore.     We    were    at    the    Lembarene    German 


THE  TASK  ENDED  637 

house  by  sunset.  A  native  dug-out  and  a  crew  of  eight  Kru- 
men  were  kindly  given  to  take  us  to  Kangwe.  But,  the  dug- 
out lay  very  low  in  the  water,  the  current  very  strong,  the  night 
dark  and  threatening.  I  did  not  think  it  safe.  Going  ashore 
with  my  company,  at  the  Aguma  house  landing,  we  walked 
around  the  head  of  the  island,  to  Eyenano  town,  where  the  dug- 
out followed  ns.  My  Mary  attracted  great  attention.  While 
waiting  for  the  Kru-men,  a  church-member,  Ombega.  politely 
offered  us  a  house  for  the  night.  But,  in  the  quieter  water  of 
the  smaller  branch,  we  resumed  our  journey;  and,  were  at 
Andende  by  8  p.  m.,  where  Mr.  Allegret  gave  us  every  kindness 
of  supper  and  beds.  The  next  morning,  we  removed  to  the  Hill 
house,  and  adjusted  ourselves. 

On  Wednesday,  the  13th,  I  gave  the  French  brethren  an  out- 
line of  the  affairs  at  Baraka ;  and  went  to  all  the  trading-houses 
on  business,  and  to  seek  for  towage  to  Talaguga.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  of  Thursday,  the  14th,  Mr.  Deemin  of  Holt's,  noti- 
fied that  the  little  Oviro  would  take  me  on  Friday  morning. 
That  required  that  we  should  be  at  his  house  overnight,  as  the 
distance  from  Kangwe  to  Inenga,  three  miles,  was  too  far  to 
be  made  in  the  morning.  I  hasted  with  our  various  baggage ; 
and,  with  only  five  crew,  a  long  time  was  occupied  in  sending  it 
to  the  Andende  boat-landing.  Finally,  with  my  household,  I 
left  the  Hill  at  8.30  p.  m.,  and  made  the  start  from  Andende  an 
hour  later.  The  night  was  dark,  the  current  strong,  and  five 
oars  were  weak  for  the  Nelly-Hozvard.  Njega,  holding  a  lan- 
tern over  the  boat's  side,  to  light  the  way,  fell  asleep,  and  lost 
the  lantern.  We  did  not  reach  Mr.  Deemin's  until  10.30.  But, 
he  received  us  very  cordially,  and  gave  us  the  best  of  his  lodg- 
ing. 

The  next  day,  Friday,  the  15th,  we  were  early  on  board  the 
Oviro,  our  boat  being  towed.  Mary  felt  at  home;  for,  though 
the  vessel  was  small,  she  could  move  about,  and  was  not  con- 
fined to  one  spot,  as  in  the  boat.  Near  Ngwilaka,  Mr.  Wheeler 
of  Asange  was  taken  on  board.  He  had  been  held  captive  by 
the  Ngwilaka  Fanwe,  but  had  just  escaped.  Stopping  for  the 
night  at  Fura,  opposite  Nkogo,  we  slept  ashore  at  a  Mpongwe 
trader's  house.  And  the  following  day,  on  the  Oviro,  were 
landed  early  in  the  afternoon  at  our  home ;  whither  my  sister 
had  returned  during  my  absence.  There  was  much  that  was 
new  to  be  seen  and  told  of  in  the  happenings  during  my  ab- 
sence of  more  than  two  months. 

On  Sunday,  the  17th,  there  were  no  Fanwe  at  chapel.     But, 


638  MY  OGOWE 

two  canoe-loads  of  them  came,  just  as  we  were  dispersing;  and 
Elder  Abumba  addressed  them  in  the  prayer-room.  Then,  there 
were  several  busy  days,  entering  memoranda  of  the  previous 
three  months ;  opening  boxes  of  newly  arrived  supplies ;  enter- 
ing accounts ;  repairing  houses  and  paths.  Mary  was  not  well ; 
she  was  cutting  some  lower  molar  teeth. 

On  Sunday,  the  24th,  there  were  thirty  Fanwe  present  at 
chapel.  While  we  were  at  services,  the  Duala  came  with  a  hogs- 
head of  freight.  She  did  not  whistle  for  me,  as  she  would  have 
done  on  other  days.  The  captain  sent  it  ashore  to  my  boat- 
landing.     I  left  it  lie  there  until  Monday  morning. 

My  sister  had  decided  that,  when,  in  the  end  of  December  we 
should  go  to  Libreville  for  the  annual  meetings,  she  would  close 
her  work  in  the  Ogowe.  She  was  packing  her  goods,  and  I 
was  sending  them,  on  passing  vessels,  to  Kangwe  or  Lemba- 
rene,  to  await  there  our  own  coming  when  I  should  make  my 
church-tour  in  December. 

On  Wednesday,  the  27th,  spent  some  time  on  the  hillside, 
with  Mary,  in  her  mother's  cottage,  putting  the  kitchen  in  re- 
pair, and  gathering  Avocado  pears  and  mango  plums  from  the 
trees  I  had  planted.  But,  I  had  to  cut  down  my  original  palm- 
oil  tree  (the  very  first  at  Talaguga)  which  had  grown  too  near 
the  kitchen. 

On  Saturday,  the  30th.  the  Falaba  anchored ;  and  Mr.  Allam, 
General  Agent  of  H.  &  C.  came  ashore  with  Mr.  Gacon.  Some 
of  my  sister's  trunks  were  sent  off.  Mr.  Gacon  inspected  a  site 
for  a  saw-mill.  After  ten  years  of  effort  with  Secretary  of  the 
Board  Lowrie,  and  refusal  by  him.  on  the  ground  that  industrial 
work  in  foreign  missions  was  too  secularizing;  I  had  continued 
my  efforts  with  his  successor.  Secretary  Gillespie,  who  admitted 
the  desirability  of  industrial  work,  but  required  that  I  should 
obtain  the  co-operation  of  the  entire  mission.  Mr.  Good  pre- 
vented that.  So.  Mr.  Gacon  and  I.  on  our  private  responsibility 
and  with  our  own  funds  decided  to  build  a  little  saw-mill,  utiliz- 
ing the  water-power  of  the  mountain  brook.  [Later,  he  built  a 
dam  that  gave  a  good  power,  by  which  a  circular  saw  was  run, 
and  boards  were  actually  made.] 

On  Sunday,  December  1.  a  collection  of  over  fifty  people  in  the 
chapel.  During  the  week,  I  was  looking  ahead  toward  the  end 
of  the  year;  gathering  clothing  and  supplies  for  the  tour  of  the 
churches,  and  thence  to  Libreville;  and  arranging  for  the  work 
and  food  of  those  T  should  leave  in  charge  during  my  absence. 

On  Sunday,  the  8th,  there  were  only  two  or  three  Fanwe  at 


THE  TASK  ENDED  639 

morning  services.  But,  there  were  many  at  Sabbath  school. 
In  their  canoes,  they  had  come  from  down-river,  for  sales  and 
purchase.  Of  course,  they  did  not  know  the  days  of  the  week. 
Finding  that  it  was  "  God's  Day,"  they  remained,  for  the  sake 
of  Monday  morning;  and,  in  the  meanwhile,  pleased  their  curi- 
osity by  coming  into  Sabbath  school. 

I  had  a  serious  conversation  with  Anyentyuwa :  The  going 
away  of  my  sister  would  leave  me  in  an  unprecedented  situation. 
In  the  civilization  of  America,  a  widower  or  bachelor  may  live 
in  his  home  alone  with  an  unmarried  woman,  his  housekeeper; 
there  is  no  suspicion  of  immoral  sexual  relations.  And,  Mrs. 
Grundy  makes  no  remarks.  But,  in  the  heathenism  of  Africa, 
there  are  many  Mesdames  Grundy.  It  was  to  be  assumed,  by 
the  natives,  that  any  man  and  woman,  living  alone  in  the  same 
house,  were  "  man  and  wife."  A  very  easy  assumption  in 
a  country  where  "  marriage "  existed  without  ceremony.  I 
studied  the  points  in  my  situation.  ( 1 )  I  believed  that  I  was 
called  of  God  to  Africa,  and  that  nothing  but  ill-health  would 
justify  my  leaving,  even  temporarily.  I  was  not  in  very  ill 
health.  (2)  Earlier  missionaries  had  left  the  work,  fearing  that 
their  little  children  could  not  live  in  Africa.  I  had  proved  that 
they  could ;  and,  I  had  stayed,  with  my  little  child,  at  my  work. 

(3)  I  had  solemnly  promised  my  wife,  in  1884,  that  neither  she 
nor  I  should  part  with  our  expected  child  (as  I  had  done  with 
my  former  children)  during  its  infancy.  That  promise  was  as 
sacred  to  me  as  any  I  had  ever  made  to  God.  I  would  as  soon 
have  denied  Him,  as  break  it.  "  Infancy  "  continues  to  the  close 
of  the  seventh  year.      Mary  was  only  five  and  one-half  years. 

(4)  1  was  a  soldier.      As  faithfully  as  the  boy  who 

"  stood  on  the  burning  deck. 
Whence  all  but  him  had  rled." 

whose  story  had  enthused  me  in  childhood,  I  would  stay  by  Tala- 
guga  until  I  was  relieved  by  the  mission  that  had  sent  me  there. 
It  was  wrong  that  Mr.  Brier  had  been  taken  from  me.  But,  I 
knew  no  other  duty  than  to  remain  at  my  post.  (5)  While  my 
sister  was  with  me.  the  presence  of  Anyentyuwa  in  my  household 
as  my  child's  governess,  was  not  suspected  of  evil.  But,  now  that 
my  sister  was  going,  what  should  1  do?  Should  I  retain  A- 
nyentyuwa  ?  (  a  )  I  knew  what  the  heathen  would  think.  They 
would  assume  that  she  was  my  "  wife."  They  suspected  all 
missionaries;  and,  would  not  have  felt  hurt  if  their  suspicions 
were  true.     So,  I  did  not  care  for  their  judgment,      (b)  I  knew 


640  MY  OGOWE 

what  the  traders  would  say.  Some  of  them  had  their  native 
mistresses,  held  more  or  less  openly.  We  had  rebuked  them. 
Now,  would  they  point  at  me?  Yes,  probably.  But,  only  in 
rude  joke.  They  knew  and  respected  me ;  and  they  would  knozv 
that  their  unkind  joke  was  a  lie.  So,  I  disregarded  them,  (c) 
All  the  native  Christians  knew  and  believed  in  me.  None  of 
them  would  doubt  me ;  though  a  few  at  Gaboon,  who  were  jeal- 
ous of  her,  would  gossip;  the  while  in  their  hearts  they  knew 
they  were  false,  (d)  I  did  not  think  of  the  possibility  of  any 
suspicion  being  entertained  by  my  mission  associates. 

So.  I  said  all  this  to  Anyentyuwa,  and  asked  her  whether  she 
intended  to  leave  me.  Her  answer  made  her,  for  me,  the  noblest 
living  woman  of  that  time:  "I  know,  Dr.  Nassau,  more  and 
better  than  even  you  do,  what  people  will  say  of  us.  To  those 
who,  as  a  solution  of  the  situation,  will  expect  you  to  ask  me  in 
marriage,  I  will  say  that  I  would  not  marry  you  even  if  you 
should  ask  it.  Not  because  I  would  not  feel  honored  by  the 
relation ;  but,  out  of  respect  for  you.  I  know  perfectly  well  the 
American  hatred  for  my  race.  You  would  be  ostracized  by  your 
own  relatives.  But,  I  will  stay  with  you.  I  love  Mary ;  and, 
you  cannot  take  care  of  her,  alone.  People  may  say  what  they 
please.  Some  of  the  missionaries  cannot  say  of  me  worse  than 
they  already  have  done,  though  I  am  again  in  the  church.  I 
think  it  will  be  a  service  to  God,  if  I  can  be  of  some  aid  to  you.'' 
With  my  memory  of  those  noble  words,  no  one  will  doubt  that 
thenceforward,  to  the  end  of  her  life  (fourteen  years  later)  no 
woman,  white  or  black,  more  than  she,  represented  to  me,  the 
highest  mark  of  truth  and  virtue.  And,  when  a  fatal  disease 
made  her  incapable  of  supporting  herself,  T  gave  her  an  annuity, 
and  built  a  pretty  little  house  in  which  she  could  comfortably 
die.  For  this,  I  was  criticized.  I  only  replied  that,  while  I 
valued  the  respect  of  my  fellow  men.  I  placed  a  prior  value  on 
my  own  self-respect.  I  would  have  despised  myself  had  I  done 
less  for  the  lady  who  did  so  much  for  my  child  in  my  year  of 
need. 

TO  KANGWE. 

On  Monday,  December  9,  Elder  Abumba  was  to  go  with  me, 
for  his  duty  in  the  Igenja  session.  But.  he  was  to  return  imme- 
diately to  Talaguga,  as  one  of  those  in  charge  while  I  should  be 
in  Libreville.  With  his  canoe,  and  a  kongongo  load  of  my  sis- 
ter's property,  and  my  own  boat  and  crew,  with  my  sister;  Jane, 
wife  of  Gasita;  and  Mary.   Anyentyuwa  and   fga,  starting  just 


THE  TASK  ENDED  641 

before  noon,  and  escaping  a  threatening  storm,  we  were  at 
Magenene  for  the  night.  The  next  day,  we  reached  Andende, 
by  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  The  French  gentlemen  all 
happened  to  be  absent  at  the  Lembarene  houses.  There  was  the 
usual  long  time  in  having  our  many  pieces  of  baggage  carried 
to  Kangwe  Hill. 

TOUR    OF    THE    CHURCHES. 

On  Thursday,  the  12th,  everything  seemed  to  go  crooked.  I 
had  risen  early,  in  order  to  have  all  baggage  ready;  but,  my 
crew  were  slow  in  coming  to  carry  the  burdens  to  the  boat  at 
Andende.  And,  an  ugly  discussion  arose,  at  the  very  last,  with 
Ogula,  Air.  Good's  trusted  native  assistant.  I,  too,  had  trusted 
him,  placing  in  his  care,  some  of  Anyentyuwa's  cooking  utensils, 
in  a  house,  of  which  he  had  the  key.  Those  utensils  she  found 
in  use,  in  one  of  the  men's  kitchens.  Who  had  taken  them? 
And,  why?  Among  some  of  the  tribes,  it  was  allowable  for  any- 
body to  use  anyone's  tools.  But,  the  "  upper  "  tribes  (Mpongwe, 
etc.)  resented  that  use  by  an  "inferior"'  (Galwa,  etc.)  tribe. 
Anyentyuwa  resented  it.  I,  too.  resented  it;  for,  she  was  a  part 
of  my  family;  and,  he  had  broken  my  trust  in  him.  I  could 
have  forgotten  the  matter,  if  Ogula  had  been  truthful  in  his  ex- 
planation of  it.  But,  he  was  not  even  respectful ;  he  was  in- 
solent. I  never  was  able  to  recover  confidence  in  and  respect 
for  him ;  though  he  became  a  Licentiate,  and  is  living  to-day, 
useful  in  the  Ogowe  churches.  And,  Anyentyuwa  herself  was 
trying,  that  day.  She  was  always  trying  on  journeys  and  special 
occasions.  The  excellent  lady  and  devoted  friend  had  only  one 
fault.  But,  it  was  a  fault  that  always  tries  me  in  plans  with 
others.  She  was  never  ready.  I  was  always  ready,  in  advance. 
She  always  had  something  to  be  done  just  at  the  last.  Yet, 
when  done,  it  was  wonderful  how  efficient  she  was  the  remainder 
of  the  journey. 

Finally,  leaving  my  sister  on  the  Hill,  I  was  away  with  my 
company.  My  hope  was  that  we  would  eat  our  noon  meal  at 
Wambalya,  the  home  of  some  of  the  crew;  thus  they  would  have 
an  opportunity  to  see  some  of  their  relatives.  But,  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  morning  had  left  an  evil  spirit.  They  were  slow. 
We  ate  in  the  forest.  Then,  when  I  did  stop  at  WTambalya  to 
land  Gasita's  wife,  four  of  the  crew  jumped  ashore  to  see  their 
people.  They  were  so  long  in  returning,  that,  for  the  last  one, 
I  pushed  off  without  him.  (He  followed,  with  Elder  Yongwe, 
later.)      The  day  was  threatening  with  clouds;  but,  we  reached 


642  MY  OGOWE 

Igenja,  before  rain  fell.  Elder  Awora  was  sick,  and  had  failed 
to  prepare  places  for  us.  His  two  companions  Mangiarina  and 
Daniel,  were  not  hospitable  to  me,  and  gave  us  very  poor  huts. 
Besides  being  poor,  they  were  apart,  making  it  necessary  for 
Mary  and  me  to  separate.  The  room  in  which  we  ate  our  sup- 
per was  open  on  one  side.  Rain  and  wind  beat  into  it ;  and  a 
pest  of  winged  ants  came  in  clouds  attracted  by  our  light.  I 
thought  over  the  discourtesy  and  unkindness  that  gave  me  and 
my  child  such  poor  entertainment,  while  good  lodging  in  closed 
houses,  with  kerosene  lamps,  and  other  comforts,  had  been  re- 
served for  my  crew;  for  the  expectation  of  Mr.  Allegret  (who 
was  not  coming)  ;  and  for  Elder  Yongwe.  I  went  to  bed  de- 
pressed with  the  annoyances  of  the  day. 

On  Friday,  the  13th,  I  rose  early,  and  sent  word  to  Elder 
Abumba  and  my  friend  Mamba,  in  their  village,  a  few  hundred 
yards  distant,  asking  that  they  provide  me  better  lodging  than 
I  had  in  Nkolo.  Then  Mangiarina  and  Daniel,  with  apparent 
astonishment,  asked  my  reason  for  leaving  them !  I  sharply 
rebuked  them,  and  left.  I  never  knew  the  reason  for  their  treat- 
ment of  me.  Perhaps,  because  I  did  not  follow  Mr.  Good's 
precedents ;  perhaps,  because  they  disliked  Anyentyuwa's  supe- 
riority. I  never  could  divest  that  village,  of  that  unpleasant 
memory.  Elder  Abumba  and  Mamba  gave  us  every  considera- 
tion. Eggs,  plantains,  iguma,  fowls,  etc.,  were  brought  for  sale. 
Mary  had  a  fat  little  baby  to  play  with.  Visitors  gathered  in 
from  Oranga.  At  night,  a  small  audience  in  the  church ;  and 
afterward  a  session-meeting. 

Saturday,  the  14th.  was  a  continuously  busy  day:  Church- 
session  all  morning;  writing  up  records;  receiving  and  recording 
church  contributions  (not  cash)  ;  buying  for  myself,  until  4 
p.  m.  ;  when  preparatory  service  was  held.  In  the  evening,  a 
wild  pig  had  been  caught  in  a  trap;  I  bought  a  leg  for  two  bars 
of  soap.      Public  meeting  at  night,  followed  by  session. 

On  Sunday,  the  15th,  in  the  morning,  there  were  two  adult 
baptisms.  Anyentyuwa  partook  of  the  communion ;  the  first 
since  her  restoration.  In  the  evening  came  a  storm  that  pre- 
vented any  service. 

Before  leaving,  on  Monday,  I  went  to  see  sick  Elder  Awora. 
He.  in  shame  at  the  manner  in  which  I  had  been  treated,  prom- 
ised that  he  would  have  an  addition  built  to  his  house  for  my 
special  accommodation,  before  my  return  at  the  next  quarter. 
With  stoppages  we  came  to  "  Liverpool  "  for  the  night.  There 
were  very  good  quarters  in  Oselowe's  house.     I  had  promised 


THE  TASK  ENDED  643 

the  crew,  that  I  would  save  them  the  trouble  of  discharging  the 
boat,  if  they  would  agree  to  guard  the  goods  by  sleeping  in  the 
boat.  They  agreed.  But,  they  broke  their  bargain;  and,  late 
at  night,  I  had  to  have  them  carry  all  the  luggage  to  my  hut. 

The  next  day,  on  to  Lambe;  to  a  Fafiwe  town ;  and,  to  Oranga, 
where  I  would  stop,  fearing  a  coming  storm.  But,  just  then, 
in  my  desire  to  buy  senjele  dried  fish,  which  were  for  sale  at 
Azaze's  new  village,  in  the  mouth  of  the  lake-exit,  I  ventured 
to  first  go  there.  Delayed  by  the  bargaining  for  the  fish,  we 
were  caught  in  the  tornado  at  its  worst,  as  we  re-crossed  the 
river.  The  boat's  canvas  canopy,  that  was  our  constant  protec- 
tion from  sun,  became  a  great  danger,  and  had  to  be  rapidly 
torn  down.  Like  a  sail,  catching  the  wind,  it  would  have  cap- 
sized us.  Then,  we  had  to  sit  in  the  driving  rain,  which  was 
terrifying  with  the  incessant  thunder  and  lightning.  Mary  was 
thoroughly  frightened.  Arrived  at  Oranga,  Simbuve  gave  us 
good  quarters ;  but.  we  were  uncomfortable  for  lack  of  dry  bed- 
ding. So,  we  remained  there  all  the  next  day,  the  18th,  washing 
and  drying  clothes.  Mwanyeno,  one  of  Mary's  former  atten- 
dants, was  there ;  and  the  child  found  pleasure  in  renewing  ac- 
quaintance. My  hunter  friend  Azaze  came  to  see  me.  And,  I 
had  time  to  write  up  session  documents. 

The  following  day,  Thursday,  the  19th,  resuming  the  boat; 
while  at  our  meal  in  the  forest,  a  French  gunboat  passed  up. 
When,  later,  I  reached  Izuwa  village  of  Elder  Ntyanga,  of  the 
third  church,  to  consult  him  on  church  matters,  he  had  gone, 
summoned  by  that  gunboat,  for  the  settlement  of  a  difficulty  of 
one  of  his  people  with  some  Bakele.  At  Ovimbyano  we  were 
well  located  in  Ambamani's  house. 

On  Friday,  the  20th,  Aziza  was  there,  and  came  to  tell  me  of 
her  husband  Ogandaga's  unfaithfulness  to  her.  Elder  Re- 
Montigo  brought  applicants  for  the  inquiry  class,  and  for  bap- 
tism. On  Saturday,  the  21st,  the  elders  were  so  late  in  assem- 
bling, that  our  session  meeting  was  hurried.  At  the  close  of  the 
afternoon  preparatory  service,  a  storm  was  coming  up ;  Mary 
came  to  me  in  tears,  alarmed  lest  her  governess,  who  had  gone 
visiting  at  the  other  end  of  the  village,  should  be  caught  in  it. 
It  was  a  long  time  before  my  little  girl  outgrew  the  fear  in- 
spired by  the  Oranga  incident.  Many  cases  of  discipline,  and 
of  examination  for  baptism  came  in  the  evening.  Too  late; 
session  had  adjourned.  I  had  been  waiting  for  them  two  days. 
That  they  came  at  the  last  hour  seemed  to  me  to  show  lack  of 
interest. 


644  MY  OGOW'K 

On  Sunday,  the  22d,  the  entire  morning  was  dark  and  lower- 
ing and  cloudy.  But,  I  was  not  sure  whether  the  darkness  was 
caused  by  clouds,  or  by  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  that  was  due  that 
day. 

,  On  Monday,  the  23d,  our  start  was  delayed  by  a  wordy  quar- 
rel which  Aziza  precipitated  on  Anyentyuwa.  The  former  was 
attempting  to  fulfill  her  threat  of  a  year  previous,  to  have  "  a 
fight  "  with  the  latter.  I  had  no  interest  in  the  discussion.  Nor 
would  Anyentyuwa  degrade  herself  by  a  public  quarrel.  But, 
she  defended  the  statements  she  had  made  at  that  time,  as  to 
Aziza's  untruth.  With  slow  pulling,  we  did  not  reach  Andende 
until  near  sunset.  And,  it  was  7  p.  m.  before  I,  the  last  of  all, 
finally  reached  the  Hill  house. 

The  next  day,  there  were  errands  at  the  Lembarene  houses ; 
especially  to  inquire  as  to  probabilities  of  some  steamer  that 
would  take  us  to  Cape  Lopez  for  Libreville,  not  before  Monday, 
the  30th.  so  that  I  might  be  free  from  anxiety  and  uncertainty 
in  attending  to  the  church  services  of  Sunday,  the  29th. 

Wednesday,  the  25th.  The  only  notice  of  the  day  was  that 
we  had  a  duck  for  dinner. 

On  Thursday,  the  26th,  with  Mr.  Gacon,  I  went  to  all  the 
trading-houses,  taking  to  the  German  a  number  of  my  sister's 
boxes  prepared  for  the  United  States,  and  to  settle  accounts  for 
the  year.  Mary  wished  to  go,  and  came  as  far  as  Andende 
landing.  But.  when  she  saw  some  threatening  clouds,  she  pre- 
ferred to  go  back  to  the  Hill.  At  the  German  house,  it  was  fi- 
lially decided  that  the  Duala  would  wait  for  me  and  my  company, 
until  5  a.  m.  of  Monday,  the  30th.  So,  I  felt  at  ease  to  arrange 
for  my  Sunday  services.  At  Holt's,  there  was  a  crowd  of 
Faiiwe  who  had  been  making  disturbances  on  the  premises. 
Mr.  Deemin  had  four  little  puppies,  my  story  about  which,  when 
1  told  Mary  on  my  return,  made  her  regret  that  she  had  not 
braved  the  thunder-cloud  and  gone  with  me.  Session  meetings 
were  held  on  Friday,  the  27th;  but.  there  were  few  applicants. 
On  Saturday,  the  28th.  after  the  afternoon  preparatory  service, 
there  was  held  a  congregational  meeting,  at  which.  Paul  Agonjo. 
who  had  brought  his  letter  from  the  third  church,  was  elected 
a  ruling  elder.      In  the  evening,  he  was  ordained  and  installed. 

For  Sunday,  there  were  the  usual  communion  services. 
Three  adults  were  baptized.  At  night.  I  was  quite  sick  with 
headache,  and  retired  early,  after  gathering  together  a  few  last 
things  for  the  next  day's  journey.  I  slept:  but  not  soundly;  for, 
I   was  afraid  to  oversleep  the  hour  for  the  start  to  Lembarene. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  645 

In  all  my  Ogowe  life,  I  never  had  an  employee,  however  other- 
wise good,  on  whom  I  could  depend  to  awaken  me  at  an  early 
hour  for  a  journey.  /  always  had  to  shorten  my  sleep,  or  lie 
awake,  in  order  to  arouse  the  crew  and  superintend  the  loading 
of  the  boat. 

TO    CAPE    LOPEZ,    FOR    LIBREVILLE. 

Monday,  December  30th.  The  hour  for  us  to  be  at  the 
Duala  had  been  named  as  a  favor.  Therefore,  I  was  bound  not 
to  delay  the  vessel.  I  was  awake  at  2  a.m.,  dressed;  awoke 
the  entire  household;  and  began  to  load  the  boat.  I  had  hoped 
to  start  at  3.30  a.  m.  as  an  hour  was  required  for  the  row 
around  the  island ;  and,  then,  time  would  be  needed  to  ship  our 
baggage;  of  which  my  sister  had  a  good  deal.  But,  there  were 
delays;  at  the  very  last,  Mr.  Gacon  (who  was  to  return  the  boat, 
to  Andende)  could  not  find  his  needed  lantern.  Off,  by  4  a.  m. 
The  morning  was  not  very  dark ;  but,  it  was  a  sad  hour  for  my 
sister.  It  was  the  closing  of  her  ten  years  in  the  Ogowe.  Two 
of  her  special  friends,  Agonjo  and  Mamba  were  with  her.  We 
were  at  the  German  house  by  exactly  5  a.m.  But,  apparently, 
no  one  was  awake,  either  on  the  Duala  or  ashore.  My  arrival 
however  aroused  them.  And,  the  vessel  was  off  by  6  a.  m.,  with 
a  large  number  of  native  passengers,  a  full  load  of  its  own  trade- 
produce,  and  my  sister's  goods  and  effects.  All  the  way  down- 
river, in  passing  villages  where  she  was  known,  or  where  there 
were  her  former  pupils,  she  was  seen,  as  she  stood  on  deck ;  and 
there  were  repeated  good-by  salutations.  By  8  p.  m.  we  had 
passed  through  the  Yambe  cross-creek,  into  Prince's  Bay;  and 
anchored,  ready  to  cross  the  bay,  as  soon  as  tide  was  sufficiently 
risen.  Then,  the  vessel  safely  went  over  the  shoals,  under  the 
light  of  a  half  moon ;  and,  finally  anchored  near  the  German 
house.  Then,  I  lay  down  in  the  wheel-house ;  but,  I  did  not  dis- 
robe. 

The  little  dining-room  had  been  given  up,  as  a  "  ladies'  cabin  " ; 
there  slept  my  sister,  Anyentyuwa,  Mary,  and  Iga.  They  were 
late  in  vacating  the  room,  on  morning  of  Tuesday,  the  31st,  for 
the  cook  to  spread  breakfast.  After  breakfast,  we  all  landed  in 
my  sister's  Evangeline.  And,  Mr.  Knoch  welcomed  us.  Two 
Frenchmen,  a  doctor  and  a  sergeant  with  a  force  of  forty  lap- 
tots,  for  service  in  the  Interior,  had  been  lodging  at  his  house. 
But,  Mr.  Kuhtz  found  the  manners  of  the  sergeant  so  offensive, 
that  he  had  refused  him  further  lodgment,  though  he  allowed 
him  still  to  come  to  the  table.     At  noon,  while  we  were  at  the 


646  MY  OGOWE 

table,  an  incident  occurred.  The  sergeant's  negro  servant  came 
to  the  open  door;  his  master  noticed  him,  and  the  servant  re- 
plied, "  I've  got  it."  Presently,  the  sergeant  left  the  table, 
and  followed  him.  I  thought  nothing  of  the  incident,  until, 
later  in  the  afternoon,  I  was  told  a  horrible  story:  That  ser- 
geant had  commissioned  his  servant  to  obtain  for  his  sexual  use 
a  native  female,  specifying  that  "  it  "  should  be  a  young  girl. 
The  man  had  gone  into  the  villages,  with  money  in  his  hands. 
And,  heathen  parents  had  "  rented  "  to  him  their  little  daughter, 
a  child  of  about  ten ;  he  had  taken  her  to  a  room  in  a  house  near 
the  Post;  had  locked  the  door;  and  then  had  come  to  notify  his 
master.  That  master  left  our  company  at  the  table,  went  to  the 
room,  and  attempted  to  assault  the  child.  Her  screams  drew 
the  attention  of  men  near  by,  both  white  and  black,  who  broke 
into  the  house,  and  rescued  her.  When  I  heard  that  fearful 
tale,  I  went  to  Mr.  Knoch,  and  told  him  I  would  not  eat  with 
that  man  at  the  same  table,  but  would  wait  and  eat  at  the  chil- 
dren's second  table.  Mr.  Knoch  too  was  indignant  at  the  affair, 
and  sent  word  to  the  sergeant  not  to  come  again  to  his  table. 
When  the  man  came  to  remove  his  luggage,  Mr.  Knoch  re- 
ported to  me  that,  he  had  said  that  if  I  were  a  younger  man, 
he  would  challenge  me  to  a  duel,  for  the  insult  of  my  refusal  to 
eat  with  him ! 

On  Wednesday,  January  1,  1890,  Captain  Uzarski,  Mr. 
Kuhtz,  and  Mr.  Deemin,  celebrated  the  day  by  going  hunting 
out  on  the  prairie.  They  returned  next  day,  very  tired,  but  suc- 
cessful in  the  capture  of  a  wild  ox ;  of  which  they  gave  a  hind- 
quarter  to  Mr.  Knoch,  and  he  shared  with  us.  The  Duala  left, 
heavily-laden,  to  go  up-river,  taking  as  passengers,  the  two 
Frenchmen  and  their  forty  soldiers.  My  bill  with  Mr.  Kuhtz, 
for  the  passage  from  Lembarene  of  us  four  adults  and  my  sis- 
ter's freight,  was  $40.  He  made  no  charge  for  the  two  chil- 
dren, nor  for  our  attendants,  Gasita  and  his  wife  Jane. 

On  Friday,  the  3d,  Anyentyuwa  and  Jane  were  having  a 
washing-day;  they  seemed  to  be  very  much  amused  at  their 
tubs.  I  went  with  the  two  children  along  the  wide  beach  toward 
the  Post,  where  the  water  shoaled  very  gradually.  There.  I 
allowed  them  to  bathe.  To  be  in  water  was  one  of  Mary's 
greatest  happinesses,  from  her  infancy.  There  were  sharks  in 
the  bay.  Their  bodies  were  not  seen,  but  their  dorsal  tins  were 
distinctly  visible  as  they  moved  from  place  to  place.  They  could 
not  have  come  near  shore  over  the  shoal.  So,  it  was  safe  for 
the  children,  while  I  stood  by,  and  watched  the  position  of  those 


THE  TASK  ENDED  647 

fins.  In  the  afternoon,  Mr.  Knoch  sent  his  seine  farther  up  the 
bay.  I  disrobed,  and  went  into  the  water,  to  help  drag  the  net. 
I  worked  hard,  bathed  long,  and  swam  somewhat;  so  that  I  was 
rather  tired  in  the  evening.  We  were  anxiously  waiting  for 
some  steamer.  Absence  of  work  or  responsibility  was  some- 
thing strange  to  me,  after  my  years'  cares  at  Talaguga  and  the 
three  churches.  On  Saturday,  Mr.  Knoch  asked  me  to  hold  a 
religious  service  in  his  house  the  following  afternoon.  It  was 
a  very  unusual  request  on  the  part  of  a  trader.  My  sister  was 
feeling  better;  and,  she  had  some  singing  with  Mr.  Deemin,  she 
playing  on  her  baby  organ. 

On  Sunday  morning,  the  5th,  I  went  with  the  family,  to  the 
Orungu  village,  a  mile  distant.  The  walk  was  a  pleasant  one, 
along  the  beach,  the  tide  being  out.  I  preached.  But,  the  peo- 
ple showed  a  stolid  indifference.  Those  were  the  heathen  who 
had  "  rented  "  their  little  daughter.  In  the  afternoon,  about  3 
o'clock,  I  had  Service  in  Mr.  Knoch's  house.  But,  it  was  in- 
terrupted, both  in  the  beginning  and  at  the  end.  Just  as  we  were 
getting  ready,  a  sea-turtle  was  brought  for  sale.  The  excited 
curiosity  of  the  two  children  was  shared  by  most  of  their  elders. 
Turtle  is  very  fine  eating!  During  the  meeting,  the  Jeanne 
Louise  arrived  from  Nazareth  Bay;  and,  I  shortened  the  services. 

By  Tuesday,  the  7th,  the  daily  watching  for  a  steamer  was 
becoming  trying  to  my  sister,  who  was  not  well  enough  to  amuse 
herself,  as  I  (though  anxious  about  my  delaying  the  annual  meet- 
ings) was  doing.  But,  the  children  were  having  a  happy  play- 
time. At  the  cape,  the  anchorage  for  steamers  was  good. 
Though  the  beach  shoaled  very  gradually,  it  then  suddenly  sank ; 
so  that  vessels  could  anchor  very  near  to  the  shore;  and,  there 
were  no  rocks.  Ordinarily,  the  water  was  very  smooth  and 
quiet.  But,  storms  raised  large  waves.  Two  French  gunboats 
started  across  the  bay  to  go  to  Lembarene.  A  fierce  gale  of 
wind  came,  just  after  they  had  safely  crossed.  I  sat  on  the 
veranda  with  Mary,  and  watched  the  waves  pile  themselves  on 
the  beach,  only  a  few  rods  from  us. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  a  Mr.  Hervy,  agent  of  the  French 
firm  of  Daumas  &  Co.,  kindly  gave  me  and  Alary  a  ride  on  the 
bay,  in  his  sail-boat.  It  was  something  new  for  me  to  have  a 
sail-ride.  Almost  all  my  boating  on  the  Ogowe  had  been  done 
by  oar  or  paddle,  where  I  was  always  the  anxious  master.  That 
day,  I  was  an  irresponsible  guest. 

On  Thursday,  the  9th,  early  in  the  morning,  the  Elobi  was 
seen  coming  in.     Went  off  to  it  with  Mr.  Knoch.     It  was  going 


648  MY  OGOWE 

up-river.  There  was  such  uncertainty  about  any  expected 
steamer  that  could  take  us  north  to  Libreville,  and,  considering 
that  we  had  already  been  waiting  ten  days  at  the  cape,  I  engaged 
with  the  captain,  that  I  would  wait  five  days  for  his  return  from 
Lembarene,  when  he  would  be  going  to  Libreville.  This  farther 
delay  of  five  days  was  the  only  chance  that  was  known,  for 
getting  away  from  the  cape. 

Next  day,  at  noon,  an  English  steamer  was  seen  coming  in. 
The  French  customs  boat,  Mr.  Deemin  in  his  boat,  and  Mr. 
Knoch  and  I  in  the  Evangeline,  all  went  oft"  to  make  inquiries. 
It  was  the  ocean-steamer  Cameroons,  Captain  Clancy;  on  his 
way  to  Libreville !  I  was  in  a  dilemma.  I  had  promised  the 
captain  of  the  Elobi  to  wait  for  him.  But,  that  very  afternoon, 
my  sister  was  taken  sick  again ;  for  her  sake,  I  decided  to  go  on 
the  Cameroons.  At  once,  we  sent  some  two  dozen  pieces  of  my 
sister's  freight.  She  did  not  expect  ever  to  return  to  the  Ogowe, 
and  was  removing  her  furniture,  etc.,  for  storage  at  Libreville, 
ready  for  future  location. 

On  Saturday,  the  nth,  early,  our  baggage  was  sent  on  board, 
and  we  followed  with  our  parcels,  escorted  by  our  kind  friend 
Air.  Knoch.  I  took  with  me  a  live  sea-turtle,  as  a  present  for 
the  Baraka  table.  Anyentyuwa  remained  at  the  cape,  waiting 
for  a  steamer  to  take  her  south  to  Sette  Camma.  (  When  the 
French  officer  there,  in  the  spring  of  1888,  had  so  cruelly  or- 
dered her  to  Libreville,  for  trial  on  the  false  charge  of  theft,  she 
had  not  had  time  to  collect  wages  due  her,  nor  to  gather  goats, 
fowls,  and  other  property  she  owned.  And,  after  her  vindica- 
tion and  release  by  Governor  Ballay  from  an  unjust  imprison- 
ment, she  had  immediately  come  to  me  in  the  Ogowe.  Now, 
she  wished  to  go  to  Camma  to  claim  her  property.)  But,  there 
were  tears  at  the  parting;  and,  after  the  steamer  started,  Mary 
continued  crying  for  her  "  Ma  Janie  "  ;  she  said  that  she  "  felt 
lonely."  I  gathered  a  rug  and  a  pillow  on  the  deck;  and  there 
she  and  Iga  forgot  their  sorrows  in  sleep.  There  were  some 
unpleasant  fellow-passengers ;  the  offensively  bold  Portuguese 
Ignace,  who  had  been  the  real  thief,  for  whom  Anyentyuwa  had 
suffered ;  the  Frenchman  Louis  Dunot,  always  strangely  watch- 
ing; and  a  conceited  assistant  in  an  English-Loanda  astronom- 
ical expedition.  Was  disappointed  that  the  vessel  failed  to  reach 
Libreville  that  night. 

I  had  no  pleasant  memory  of  the  Cameroons  or  its  captain. 
Tie  had  not  been  at  all  courteous.  But,  on  anchoring  on 
Sunday,  the   12th,  he  provided  a  crew  for  my  company  in  the 


THE  TASK  ENDED  649 

Evangeline.     And,  he  sent  ashore  all  of  my  sister's  baggage, 
later. 

The  Mary-Nassau  was  entering  the  harbor,  at  the  same  time, 
having  come  from  Benita  with  Rev.  Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teis- 
seres,  who  had  been  inspecting  Bolondo  station  there.  It 
brought  also  the  native  elders  from  the  northern  churches.  It 
was  the  first  view  Mary  had  of  her  mother's  memorial  "  ship," 
since  she  was  old  enough  to  remember. 

A  month  was  spent  at  Baraka,  attending  to  various  businesses, 
while  waiting,  after  the  close  of  the  mission  and  presbytery  ses- 
sions, for  some  steamer  to  take  us  back  to  the  Ogowe.  In  the 
former  days,  I  had  been  independent,  and  used  to  return  in  the 
Hudson  to  Nazareth  Bay,  and  thence  up-river  in  my  own  boat. 
But,  with  my  Mary,  I  would  not  take  that  exposure.  Presby- 
tery sessions  began  on  evening  of  Tuesday,  the  14th.  On  Sun- 
day, the  19th,  I  preached  in  English,  and  Rev.  Ntaka  Truman 
in  Mpongwe.  He  scandalized  the  pulpit  and  the  day  by  a  per- 
sonal attack  on  Rev.  Mr.  Ibiya  of  the  Benga  tribe,  Corisco,  who, 
on  the  preceding  Sabbath,  had  denounced  the  sins  of  Mpongwe 
people.  The  next  day,  presbytery  warned  the  native  brethren 
against  personalities  in  the  pulpit. 

On  Tuesday,  the  21st,  the  Eboe  came  in,  and  I  went  off  with 
Mary,  to  make  inquiries  as  to  the  vessel's  probable  movements. 
A  white  child  was  a  rarity  on  the  coast,  and  she  was  much  no- 
ticed. On  Thursday,  the  23d,  presbytery  adjourned;  and,  I 
set  to  work,  as  stated  clerk,  to  write  up  records.  On  Saturday, 
the  25th,  at  sunset,  I  went  to  the  German  house,  to  inquire  after 
the  health  of  Mr.  Letz,  who  had  been  sick;  and,  found  that  he 
had  died  only  an  hour  previous !  I  was  very  much  distressed 
that  I  had  not  called  earlier  on  my  kind  friend. 

On  Sunday  morning,  I  preached  in  Mpongwe.  Mr.  Letz's 
funeral  was  at  sun-down.  With  a  memory  of  his  kindness  to 
us  all  in  the  Ogowe,  my  sister  had  made  a  wreath  of  flowers ; 
and,  in  the  church,  Mary  advanced  from  a  pew  with  it,  and  laid 
it  on  the  coffin  in  front  of  the  pulpit.  Lieutenant  E.  F.  Dom- 
ville  and  Air.  F.  W.  Ainy,  from  the  Magpie  of  the  British  navy, 
in  port,  were  at  the  funeral,  and  invited  us  to  visit  the  vessel. 
Next  day,  while  I  was  taking  a  walk  with  Mary,  we  met  those 
two  gentlemen;  and  they  repeated  their  invitation.  But,  we 
found  no  opportunity  to  accept  it. 

I  do  not  know  what  had  given  Mary  a  feeling  about  blood. 
On   February,   the    1st,   I   was  telling  her  the  story  of   "  The 


650  MY  OGOWE 

house  that  Jack  built."     Her  only  remark  was,  "  Did  the  blood 
come  out  "  of  the  dog  when  the  cow  tossed  him  ? 

During  the  following  days,  I  was  sick  with  fever.  On 
Thursday,  the  6th,  I  took  a  walk  with  Mr.  Presset  and  the  two 
children  to  the  Plateau  Botanical  Garden,  hoping  to  get  some 
plants  for  Talaguga.  But,  the  florist  was  not  in  his  office. 
For  the  first  time,  Mary  saw  guinea  fowls. 

RETURN    TO    THE    OGOWE. 

Finally,  on  Friday,  February  14,  the  Falaba  was  ready;  and 
I  and  my  company  went  on  board ;  bidding  my  sister  good-by 
on  the  beach,  and  leaving  her  in  Mr.  Gault's  care,  for  an  ex- 
pected steamer  to  England.  One  of  the  French  teachers,  Mr. 
Lesage,  was  also  on  board  the  Falaba.  As  soon  as  we  emerged 
from  the  estuary  on  to  the  ocean,  the  water  became  rough;  and, 
Alary  was  soon  suffering  with  nausea.  By  tea-time,  both  chil- 
dren were  asleep  from  exhaustion ;  and,  we  all  three  were  so 
sleepy  and  uncomfortable,  that,  without  disrobing,  we  went  to 
sleep  in  the  room  which  the  general  agent,  Mr.  Allam,  had  given 
us.     Gasita's  wife,  Jane,  was  not  of  much  use. 

The  next  day,  the  sea  was  still  rough,  with  opposing  wind; 
and,  poor  steering  by  the  Kru-man  at  the  wheel.  Captain  John- 
son was  sick  almost  the  whole  voyage.  But,  he  was  very  oblig- 
ing in  giving  Alary  milk  and  cakes  whenever  she  wanted.  She 
did  not  seem  to  care  for  the  bread  that  kind  Mrs.  Sneed  had 
sent  with  us.     Iga  and  I  ate  that. 

The  following  day,  Saturday,  the  15th,  we  entered  the  Ogowe, 
having  fortunately  met  it  with  a  high  tide.  Where  we  anchored 
at  night  among  the  mangroves,  the  mosquitoes  were  bad,  and 
got  inside  our  nets.  I  had  undressed  the  children,  but  kept  on 
my  own  clothing  for  emergencies.  On  Sunday,  the  16th, 
stopped  for  a  while  at  Angala ;  and,  then  on  to  ftango,  where 
we  waited  all  the  afternoon  for  the  coming  of  a  Nkami  pilot. 
On  Monday,  all  feeling  better.  The  children  were  excited  see- 
ing hippopotami  near  the  steamer.  By  night,  we  were  near 
Ngumbe,   Isagi's  place. 

Xext  day,  in  passing  Igenja,  the  captain  obligingly  whistled, 
slowed,  and  took  on  board  two  of  my  people.  Anchoring  for 
the  night  at  Oranga,  I  saw  my  friends  there,  among  others, 
Simbuve  and  Etendi.  The  next  morning,  the  latter  and  his 
wife,  and  two  other  of  my  people  joined  me.  It  was  pleasant 
to  be  recognized  as  we  passed  the  villages,  after  our  two  months' 
absence.     The  steamer  was  at  its  Aguma   (Lembarene)   house 


THE  TASK  ENDED  651 

• 
by  4  p.  m.  But,  we  had  to  wait.  I  had  hoped  that  Mr.  Alle- 
gret  would  have  had  the  mission-boat  waiting  for  me,  as  it  was 
known  that  the  Falaba  would  arrive  that  day.  I  sent  one  of  my 
men  to  run  around  the  head  of  the  island,  and  shout  across  the 
river  to  Andende.  An  hour  and  a  half  later,  Mr.  Allegret  came 
with  a  boat ;  and,  with  a  portion  of  our  belongings,  we  reached 
Andende  by  7  p.  m.  Rain  was  falling.  Mr.  Carmien  gave  some 
of  his  school-boys  to  carry  our  baggage  to  the  Hill.  Etendi 
made  tea.  Jane  warmed  water  for  Mary's  bath.  We  had  our 
supper.  And,  the  place  was  not  as  lonely  as  I  had  feared.  As 
Mr.  Good  had  not  returned  from  the  United  States  (though  I 
had  no  charge  of  the  station)  I  was  still  in  care  of  the  churches 
and  their  Bible-reading  work.  I  arranged  for  the  employment 
of  Elder  Yongwe,  Candidate  Ogula,  and  Re-Nyiko  in  that  work. 
On  Sunday,  the  23d,  preached  in  the  morning;  and  held  Sab- 
bath school.  The  good  little  girl  Iga  was,  for  some  reason, 
troublesome,  and  told  me  a  falsehood ;  for  which  I  rebuked  her. 
She  felt  the  rebuke  very  much,  and  cried  bitterly,  longing  for 
her  mother.  She  had  been  kindly  cared  for;  but,  I  had  not 
appreciated  how  she  was  missing  her  mother.  In  the  afternoon, 
about  5  p.  m.,  a  note  from  Mr.  Deemin  saying  that  the  Oka 
would  tow  me  the  next  day  if  I  was  on  hand  by  8  a.  m.  I  told 
my  young  men ;  and  they  all  promised  to  be  up  early.  After  the 
two  children  were  asleep  at  night,  I  gathered  my  goods  and  food 
for  the  journey.     But,  I  did  not  sleep  soundly. 

TO    TALAGUGA. 

On  Monday,  the  24th,  I  was  awake  at  1  a.  m.  And,  afraid 
to  go  to  sleep,  I  only  dozed  until  3  a.  m.  Then,  arose;  dressed; 
called  the  men;  sent  the  boxes  to  the  boat;  later,  awoke  Mary. 
And,  near  6  a.  m.,  left  the  Hill,  sending  in  advance  the  two  chil- 
dren with  Jane,  and  some  Fan  we  with  the  last  bundles.  (Only 
by  such  methodic  arrangements  did  I  succeed  with  people  who 
had  no  estimate  of  the  value  of  time.)  We  were  at  Inenga  in 
advance  of  the  appointed  hour.  But,  as  the  favor  was  to  me,  I 
was  not  willing  to  be  late,  even  five  minutes.  When  we  finally 
started,  the  Gaboon  was  ahead  of  us,  and  the  Duala  behind. 
During  the  day,  we  passed  and  were  passed  by  them  several 
times.  Besides  my  boat,  the  Oka  had  in  tow  a  heavy  surf-boat, 
whose  tow-line  parted,  and  delayed  us  some  time.  And,  just 
before  anchoring  for  the  night,  the  Oka  ran  aground.  The  ves- 
sel was  very  small.  So,  I  slept  with  the  children  in  the  stern  of 
my  boat,  that  was  thatched  with  a  little  covering. 


65j  MY  OGOWE 

• 
The  next  day,  Tuesday,  the  25th,  we  reached  Talaguga,  by 
middle  of  the  afternoon.  I  was  suffering'  with  diarrhoea.  A 
half-hour,  after  all  goods  were  safely  landed,  a  tornado  came  up. 
I  was  glad  to  be  at  our  home,  after  more  than  two  months  of 
confusion.  And,  so  was  Mary.  I  immediately  put  all  her  play- 
things into  her  aunt's  vacant  room.  That,  thenceforward,  was 
her  own  playhouse.  The  house  looked  somewhat  empty,  as, 
during  our  absence,  Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teisseres  had  been 
there,  and  had  removed  furniture  they  had  bought  of  my  sister. 

Then,  there  were  busy  days,  of  putting  away  baggage,  settling 
accounts  and  paying  wages,  Londo's  expenditures  during  my 
two  months'  absence,  were  very  economical.  But,  a  little  canoe 
of  Mary's  had  been  lost  by  one  of  the  men.  We  heard  that  it 
was  at  Njomu.  While  Londo  went  there  to  get  it,  Elder 
Abumba  (for,  I  was  still  too  weak)  opened  boxes  of  new  sup- 
plies. In  one,  I  found  a  package  of  mint-drops  for  Mary;  this, 
and  the  return  of  her  canoe  made  her  very  happy.  The  child 
Iga  was  a  pleasant  little  girl ;  but,  she  was  full  of  life  and  pranks. 
At  Libreville,  I  had  placed  her  in  the  care  of  Mrs.  Sneed.  But, 
now,  at  Talaguga,  in  my  care,  I  could  not  control  her.  She  be- 
came a  distress  to  me;  for,  she  misled  Mary.  When  I  paid  the 
four,  who  had  kept  the  premises,  their  three  months'  wages  on 
the  27th,  they  felt  so  rich,  that  they  were  extravagant  in  the 
articles  they  selected  in  pay. 

I  placed  Elder  Abumba  in  charge  of  evening-prayers  (besides 
the  Saturday  village  visitations)  until  Anyentyuwa  should  re- 
turn; as  Alary  needed  me  to  remain  with  her,  for  her  bath,  her 
prayer,  and  the  singing  to  sleep  that  had  been  my  role  since  her 
infancy.  I  was  well  again;  and  everything  was  going  on  ami- 
cably ;  but,  I  felt  lonely,  when  I  came  at  night  to  sit  down  by 
myself. 

On  Sunday,  March  2,  Fan  we,  in  all,  some  thirty,  came  to 
chapel.  Among  them,  was  my  sister's  former  school-girl, 
Bilaga.  Pawa  taught  in  the  Sabbath  school.  And,  at  evening 
monthly  concert,  I  told  my  household  about  the  international 
movement  for  the  suppression  of  African  slavery. 

I  missed  Anyentyuwa's  tactful  control  of  the  children.  T  al- 
lowed Mary  to  have  all  her  extra  dolls  to  play  with,  on  condition 
that  they  were  not  to  be  taken  out  of  the  house.  Then,  at  Iga's 
solicitation,  she  took  them  to  the  kitchen.  I  pitied  the  child 
Iga ;  she  was  lonely  for  her  mother ;  but,  she  was  an  anxiety  to 


THE  TASK  ENDED  653 

me,  by  her  waywardness.     I  could  not  understand  why  it  was 
that  some  days  she  was  good,  and  other  days  not. 

Tuesday,  the  4th,  was  a  "  good  "  day.  Sent  Mary  with  Jane 
on  a  visit  to  Pawa  at  the  cottage.  And.  Iga  gave  me  no  trouble. 
And,  at  evening,  Mary  remarked  that  herself  too  had  been  "  a 
good  girl  to-day."  On  Thursday,  the  6th,  Bilaga  came  to  see 
Mary,  and  played  with  her  awhile.  Both  the  children  happy 
and  behaving  well. 

TOUR    TO    THE    CHURCHES. 

On  Monday,  March  10,  there  were  the  usual  arrangements 
with  Londo  and  those  I  was  to  leave  with  him  in  charge  of  the 
premises  during  my  expected  month's  absence,  and  packing  food 
and  clothing  for  myself  and  Mary.  And,  the  usual  necessary 
stoppages  at  certain  villages.  One  was  at  Njomu,  at  Antyuwa's, 
to  leave  with  him  his  niece  Iga,  until  our  return.  I  had  little 
or  no  difficulty  with  my  own  child.  But,  I  had  been  unable  to 
control  her  playmate',  two  years  older  than  herself.  In  a  canoe, 
was  Elder  Abumba  going  for  his  duty  in  the  Igenja  session. 
The  night  was  passed  at  Bible-reader  Agonjo's.  The  next  day, 
with  no  stops,  except  in  the  forest  for  our  noon  lunch,  we  were 
at  Andende  by  middle  of  the  afternoon.  Leaving  most  of  our 
baggage  in  the  Andende  baggage-room,  I  went  to  the  Hill-house 
alone  with  Mary.  Messrs.  Lesage  and  Allegret  were  away  on 
an  excursion  to  Lake  Azingo,  and  Mr.  Gacon  was  at  Libreville. 
Mr.  Teisseres  kindly  loaned  me  a  mosquito-net;  for,  mine  was 
broken. 

On  Thursday,  the  13th,  started  the  crew  early  with  Mary's 
and  my  baggage,  for  the  boat  at  Andende.  When  I  followed, 
to  start  at  8  a.  m.,  Mr.  Teisseres  advised  that  I  go  up  around 
the  island,  and  down  the  main  stream,  for  the  possibility  of 
Anyentyuwa  being  on  the  expected  Falaba.  But,  I  risked  miss- 
ing her;  and  chose  our  usual  quicker  way  down  the  Ajumba 
branch.  In  my  haste,  I  had  forgotten  a  box  of  soap  needed  for 
purchases,  and  had  failed  to  leave  the  key  of  the  Hill-house  with 
Mr.  Teisseres.  Fortunately,  I  met  a  young  man.  an  employee 
of  Mr.  Allegret's.  on  his  way  to  Kangwe;  with  him,  I  sent  back 
the  key.  And,  when  I  stopped  for  lunch  at  Aveya's,  I  sent  one 
of  my  men  across  river  to  Elder  Yongwe  at  Elovi,  requesting 
him  to  send  of  his  people  messengers  to  Kangwe  for  the  box  of 
soap,  and  to  delay  his  coming  to  Igenja  one  day,  so  that  he  and 
they  with  the  soap  could  follow  me  on.  Friday.  I  was  in  no 
haste.     I  allowed  Jane  and  others  to  go  to  Ovimbiyano  to  see 


654  MY  OGOWE 

their  relatives.  When  I  followed  with  the  boat,  I  did  not  go 
ashore.  The  air  was  hot ;  and  I  sat  in  the  protection  of  the 
thatch  over  the  stern  of  the  boat.  The  crew  pulled  well,  when 
we  resumed  our  way.  ,  So,  we  were  at  Igenja  by  5  p.  m.  The 
new  house,  which  I  had  authorized  Elder  Awora,  three  months 
previously,  to  build  for  me,  was  completed.  It  was  small,  but 
clean,  convenient,  and  had  a  good  view  of  the  river.  I  kept  my 
eye  open  for  any  steamer,  if  perchance  Anyentyuwa  should  be 
on  it.  Only  half  an  hour  after  our  arrival,  I  observed  a  steamer 
coming  up  stream,  and  it  anchored  for  the  night  near  the  town. 
I  pulled  off  to  it.  It  was  a  French  gunboat.  When  I  told  the 
captain  my  errand,  he  said  that  when  he  was  at  Cape  Lopez,  the 
German  Ella  Woermann  had  come  in  from  the  south,  and  he 
had  seen  a  woman  land  from  it,  and  going  ashore  to  Mr.  Knoch's, 
to  await  passage  to  Lembarene.  (Of  course,  government  gun- 
boats did  not  carry  passengers.)  I  felt  sure  that  that  "  woman  " 
was  Anyentyuwa.  I  knew  also  that  the  Oviro  was  at  the  cape ; 
and  the  Frenchman  said  that  it  was  expected  in  five  days.  I 
returned  to  supper,  to  evening  prayers,  and  to  put  to  bed  my 
sleepy  little  girl.  Pawa  was  quite  attentive  to  her.  In  Elder 
Abumba's  village  (of  course  without  his  control)  rum  had  been 
brought  for  the  final  ceremonies  of  closing  a  mourning;  and 
there  were  loud  singing  and  quarreling  until  after  midnight. 

On  Friday,  the  14th,  busy  with  the  usual  receiving  of  visitors, 
teaching  candidates,  and  preparations  for  session  meetings. 
Late  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  face  of  a  threatening  storm.  Elder 
Yongwe  safely  arrived.  In  evening,  held  a  session-meeting. 
Members  of  the  class,  desirous  of  passing  examinations,  hung 
about  the  door,  to  overhear  what  questions  were  asked  of  appli- 
cants. 

On  Sunday,  the  16th,  there  was  no  disturbance  from  rain,  or 
noise  in  the  villages,  nor  any  passing  steamer.  At  the  morning 
communion,  there  were  five  baptisms,  three  young  men  and  two 
women.  And,  at  the  afternoon  service,  two  infants;  a  son 
of  my  friend  Mamba,  and  a  daughter  of  a  former  employee, 
Angeka. 

On  Monday,  the  17th.  the  crowd  dispersed;  people  from  other 
places  going  to  their  homes,  even  though  it  was  a  rainy  day; 
Elder  Yongwe,  to  itinerate  in  the  lakes ;  Elder  Abumba  to  go 
back  to  the  care  of  the  services  at  Talaguga.  Later  in  the  day. 
as  I  thought  rain  had  ceased.  I  started  up-river,  stopping  at  a 
few  places  to  see  former  friends.  One  was  Apoyo.  Piere's  wife. 
Rut,   rain   came  again;  and,   when   I   stopped   for  the  night  at 


THE  TASK  ENDED  655 

"  Liverpool,"  everything  in  the  boat  was  wet.  The  village  also 
was  wet  and  uncomfortable. 

The  next  day,  Tuesday,  the  18th,  I  kept  a  sharp  eye  for  the 
expected  Oviro.  We  were  at  Oranga  by  the  middle  of  the  after- 
noon. Before  5  o'clock,  that  vessel  came  in  sight.  Going  off 
to  it  in  my  boat,  I  found  Anyentyuwa.  She  landed  immedi- 
ately; to  the  great  delight  of  my  little  girl.  I  had  not  yet  dis- 
charged the  boat ;  I  hurried  to  put  everything  to  rights  before  a 
coming  rain.  Sat  up  late,  listening  to  Anyentyuwa's  story  of 
incidents  during  her  two  months'  absence. 

On  Wednesday,  the  12th,  was  delayed  by  the  loss  of  a  rudder- 
pin,  and  had  to  use  a  paddle  as  a  rudder.  There  were  signs  of 
storm ;  thunder  and  lightning,  wind  and  rain  following  us.  The 
crew  pulled  admirably.  In  advance  of  us  there  also  was  rain. 
But,  by  a  great  Providence,  we  kept  between  the  two;  the  wind 
died  down ;  and  we  reached  Ambomani's  at  Ovimbiyano  without 
being  wet  at  all.  On  Friday,  the  21st,  Elder  Re-Montigo  ar- 
rived ;  and  session  meeting  was  held.  Arranged  with  Ambomani, 
that  he  should  build  an  out-station  for  Bible-reader  Ogula,  whom 
I  had  directed  to  leave  Kangwe,  and  come  to  the  third  church  as 
local  teacher  and  evangelist.  The  three  elders  were  late  in 
coming  for  session.  People's  curiosity  and  boisterousness  at  the 
door  was  so  great  as  to  annoy  our  proceedings.  In  the  after- 
noon, preparatory  services.  Afterward,  continued  the  session. 
But,  the  noise  of  the  applicants  at  the  door  was  so  great,  that  I 
declined  to  work  under  such  a  lack  of  solemnity;  and  we  ad- 
journed.    And.  there  were  no  additions  on  Sunday,  the  23d. 

On  Monday,  the  24th,  I  took  into  my  service,  as  Anyentyuwa's 
assistant,  a  young  girl,  Xantye,  betrothed  of  one  of  my  em- 
ployees, Re-Mbendambya.  Though  the  crew  pulled  well,  the 
river  was  high,  and  current  strong  against  us;  and,  we  did  not 
reach  Kangwe  (old-landing)  until  after  8  p.  m.  Messrs.  Alle- 
gret  and  Lesage  with  the  school-boys  and  lanterns  thoughtfully 
awaited  us  at  that  unusual  spot.  (A  very  happy  experience, 
to  be  azcaited  at  Kangwe!)  A  portion  of  our  goods  were  car- 
ried up  the  Hill.  With  the  remainder,  I  went  on,  to  store  them 
at  Andende.     I  finally  was  at  the  Hill  by  10  p.  m. 

On  Tuesday,  the  25th,  went  with  Mary  and  her  governess 
in  my  boat  to  Inenga,  at  Holt's,  to  get  the  latter's  luggage, 
which  had  been  brought  by  the  Oviro.  Also,  there  was  a  large 
quantity  of  skins  of  wild  animals  which  I  had  authorized 
Anyentyuwa  to  buy  at  Sette  Camma,  from  a  Mr.  Drake,  Holt's 
agent  there,  as  a  present  for  my  dear  brother  William,  of  Bur- 


656  MY  OGOWE 

lington,  Iowa,  who  had  offered  his  house  as  a  home  for  my  child 
when  I  should  finally  leave  her  in  the  United  States,  for  her 
education.  He  was  a  noble  man,  and  a  beloved  physician.  By 
his  loving  offer,  he  had  smoothed  for  me  one  of  the  hardest 
places  in  my  life. 

On  Wednesday,  the  26th,  Anyentyuwa,  Jane,  and  two  young 
men  had  a  big  "  washing-day  "  over  Mary's  and  my  accumulated 
soiled  clothing  of  the  journey.  And,  I  was  busy  writing  up  the 
third  church  minutes.  On  Friday,  the  28th,  busy  holding  ses- 
sion meetings ;  and  making  arrangements  with  the  Bible-readers. 
Those  meetings  were  continued  next  day;  with  the  usual  after- 
noon preparatory  service.  And.  communion  was  held  on  Sun- 
day. 

BACK    TO    TALAGUGA. 

I  had  sent  to  Andende,  on  Monday,  most  of  my  luggage,  to 
have  it  ready  for  the  next  day's  journey.  On  Tuesday,  April 
r,  I  started  the  crew  down  to  the  landing,  for  them  to  load  the 
boat.  Then,  leaving  Anyentyuwa.  Mary,  Jane,  and  the  house- 
boys  to  follow.  I  went  myself  to  hasten  the  loading.  (At  the 
coast  tribes,  I  had  had  good  boat-captains  who  would  load  with- 
out me.  But,  in  the  Ogowe.  I  never  had  a  boatman,  however 
good  otherwise,  who  would  attend  to  the  job  without  my  pres- 
ence.) On  reaching  Andende.  I  found  that  the  job  had  not  even 
been  begun !  Such  experiences  were  very  trying  on  patience : 
particularly  as  I  liked  to  avail  myself  of  the  cool  of  the  morn- 
ings, for  an  early  start.  Finally,  started  with  a  crew  of  eight 
paddles,  and  the  boat  crowded  with  passengers  and  luggage. 
The  river  was  risen  high.  Stopped  for  dinner  in  the  forest, 
where,  years  before  T  had  preferred,  but  latterly  had  not  done 
so,  because  of  the  Fanwe  near  it.  But,  they  had  removed. 
My  objection  to  eating  near  them,  was  not  at  all  for  any  fear  of 
danger;  but,  because  (of  all  the  tribes) ,  they  were  the  most  rude 
and  offensive  in  crowding  about  me  as  I  ate.  Before  sunset, 
we  stopped  at  Island  "  factory."  on  invitation  of  its  new  occu- 
pant. Mr.  Bates.  T  felt  quite  at  home  there,  remembering  the 
former  days  with  John  Ermy. 

Next  morning.  Mr.  Bates'  hospitable  breakfast  prevented  an 
early  start.  Tn  the  afternoon,  there  was  a  storm.  I  dreaded 
the  wind ;  the  thatch  house  over  the  boat's  stern,  necessary  for 
Marx's  protection  from  rain,  caught  the  force  of  the  wind,  and 
made  the  boat  careen.  So,  T  kept  in  shore  until  the  wind  calmed ; 
and  then  crossed  the  river  to  the  Osamu-'kita  (left)  bank.     Be- 


THE  TASK  ENDED  657 

fore  reaching-  it,  another  rain  came.  In  passing  that  place,  a 
German  trader  politely  hailed  us,  and  invited  us  to  stop  for  the 
night.  But,  I  went  on  to  Mbomi,  where  was  a  new  house,  of 
Holt's  firm,  just  finished  for  a  trader,  Mr.  Harrington,  who  had 
not  yet  occupied  it.  But,  the  native  in  charge  offered  to  open 
it.  and  I  felt  on  such  free  terms  with  the  Holt  firm,  that  I  saw 
no  impropriety  in  accepting,  especially  as  another  rain  was  fall- 
ing, and  I  wished  to  protect  my  child.  I  took  possession  of  two 
rooms,  had  my  cook  prepare  supper,  and  had  just  sat  down  to 
the  table,  when  he  heard  a  little  steamer  come  to  anchor.  It 
was  the  Oka.  And,  Mr.  Harrington  himself  landed  with  his 
goods,  to  begin  to  occupy  his  house !  I  felt  disconcerted ;  but, 
Mr.  Harrington  was  polite  in  understanding  the  situation,  and 
joined  us  at  the  table. 

On  Thursday,  the  3d,  in  passing  the  homes  of  the  two  Fanwe 
lads  who  had  gone  with  me  to  Libreville,  Adza  desired  to  land 
and  see  his  people,  but  Njega  preferred  to  go  on  with  me. 
Some  of  my  regulations  with  my  crew  were  almost  military. 
Cleanliness  I  insisted  on,  accepting  no  excuse.  The  common 
practice  of  the  natives,  as  to  their  dishes  after  eating,  was  to 
leave  them  unwashed  until  they  were  needed  for  the  next  meal. 
I  required  that  no  unwashed  vessel  should  be  put  into  my  boat. 
Otherwise,  it  would  soon  have  become  filthy.  After  our  noon 
meal,  one  of  the  crew  put  his  dirty  bowl  into  the  boat.  I 
promptly  broke  it. 

On  stopping  at  Erere-volo  by  sunset,  Njega.  was  afraid;  for, 
those  people  had  had  some  difficulty  with  his  family.  I  tried  to 
assure  him;  but,  he  hid  himself  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and 
stayed  there  with  the  four  whom  I  had  left  to  guard  it,  while 
all  the  remainder  of  us  occupied  the  deserted  trading-house 
ashore.  The  head-man,  Magamaga,  was  very  attentive;  and, 
I  held  religious  services. 

Before  reaching  Njomu  next  day.  met  a  canoe  with  three 
white  men.  who  informed  me  that,  in  passing  Talaguga,  they 
had  been  told  that  one  of  my  men  there  was  very  sick.  This 
made  me  anxious  not  to  delay  long  at  dinner  at  Njomu;  where, 
of  course,  Iga  was  rejoiced  again  to  have  her  mother.  We  did 
not  reach  Talaguga  until  after  dark,  though  the  crew,  on  the 
last  mile,  had  put  on  a  splendid  spurt  with  their  eight  paddles. 
The  boat  flew,  even  against  the  swift  current.  On  the  way,  two 
miles  from  Talaguga.  I  saw  the  rare  sight  of  the  moon  rising 
over  Talaguga  mountain.  I  had  never  before  happened  to  ar- 
rive at  that  time  of  night  in  that  stage  of  the  moon.     It  was  an 


658  MY  OGOWE 

exceedingly  beautiful  sight.  We  were  all  glad  to  reach  our 
home.  Mary  forgot  the  fatigues  of  the  confinement  in  the  boat, 
and  vented  her  feelings  in  a  romp  on  the  veranda.  I  found  that 
the  sick  man  was  Elder  Abumba. 

Two  canoes,  one  from  Igenja,  had  overtaken  me  near  the  end 
of  our  journey  on  Friday,  and  had  been  selling  their  produce 
to  me  and  the  Fan  we  on  Saturday,  and  were  to  take  sick  Abumba 
to  his  Igenja  home  on  Monday.  I  supposed  that  they  would 
have  been  interested  to  get  their  relative  away  for  medicine, 
more  promptly,  and  was  surprised  at  their  delay. 

I  was  building  a  new  workman's  house,  on  the  site  of  the 
first  old  hut  I  had  erected  in  March,  1882.  And,  was  planting 
young  trees  which  I  had  obtained  from  the  Libreville  Botanical 
Garden.  In  making  entries  into  my  diary,  the  review  impressed 
me  strongly  as  to  how  hard  a  tour  it  had  been,  with  the  river  in 
flood,  the  rainy  weather,  the  boat  crowded  with  goods  and  peo- 
ple, and  the  need  of  special  protection  of  my  little  daughter.  I 
was  glad  to  be  at  our  house ;  and  all  the  assistants  at  work  in 
their  places.  Except,  that  I  missed  the  evangelistic  aid  of  Elder 
Abumba.  But,  I  advanced  to  the  itineration  work,  another  em- 
ployee, Monkami. 

Now  that  Anyentyuwa  was  settled  again,  the  arrangements 
for  Mary,  which  had  been  somewhat  desultory,  were  made  more 
regular.  Hitherto,  I  had  thought  that  a  child's  sleep  should  not 
be  broken;  but,  now,  I  arranged  that,  if  Mary  was  not  awake 
when  I  left  our  room  to  go  to  the  morning  prayer  out  at  the 
prayer-room,  Anyentyuwa  should  come  and  waken  her,  and 
have  her  dressed  in  time  for  breakfast.  As  to  lessons,  there  had 
been  nothing  regular  or  systematic.  I  daily  told  her  stories ; 
and,  there  was  the  regular  night  Bible-story  and  song  or  hymn, 
with  which  she  went  to  sleep.  And,  she  had  picked  up  the  al- 
phabet herself  from  her  play-blocks  (the  very  first  letters  of  all 
were  those  she  followed  with  her  finger  of  her  mother's  name 
on  the  tomb).  But,  now,  I  arranged  a  little  spelling-lesson 
every  day  at  2  r.  m.  before  her  going  out  to  play  on  the  lawn  at 
the  east  end  of  the  house,  where  Iga  and  she  had  great  fun  with 
her  new  dog  "  Puck,"  an  English  fox-terrier. 

I  regretted  that  I  had  Re-Mbendambya's  betrothed,  Nantye. 
Other  assistants  for  Mary,  however  incompetent,  were  at  least 
clean.  This  young  girl  was  false,  lazy  and  filthy.  But,  I  re- 
tained her,  not  for  any  real  aid  that  she  could  be  to  Mary's 
governess;  but,  for  her  young  man's  sake,  that  she  might  obtain 
some  civilization. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  659 

Anyentyuwa's  role,  while  my  sister  was  with  me,  though  a 
decided  one,  was  a  distinct  one.  Her  control  over  Mary  was 
complete,  but,  she  was  restricted  to  that  one  duty.  She  had  no 
share  in  the  household  arrangements.  Now,  I  placed  her  also 
as  housekeeper.  As  such,  the  house,  my  table,  and  the  servants 
were  under  her  direction.  And,  she  began  a  very  needed  house- 
cleaning.  It  was  a  great  advantage  for  her  comfort,  in  her 
position  at  Talaguga,  as  compared  with  the  conditions  under 
which  Handi  had  worked,  that  there  were  frequent  visitors  of 
her  own  relatives,  or  of  other  members  of  the  Mpongwe  tribe, 
trading  in  the  Ogowe.  Her  uncle  Ongamu  was  still  in  the 
river.  And,  on  Wednesday,  the  16th,  came  Papa,  a  very  nice 
woman,  wife  of  her  relative  Antyuwa.  On  Monday,  the  21st, 
Papa  closed  her  visit;  and,  with  presents  and  the  good-will  of 
all,  I  sent  her  with  a  comfortable  canoe  and  crew  to  her  husband 
at  Njomu. 

Rev.  Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teisseres  at  Kangwe,  had  finally 
completed  their  plans  of  their  Interior  journey,  in  an  inspection 
of  the  Kongo,  as  a  field  for  a  possible  location  of  their  proposed 
mission.  In  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  24th,  on  the  Oka, 
they  slowly  passed  the  house,  on  their  way  to  Asange  Post, 
having  their  goods  for  their  long  journey.  In  the  evening,  I 
announced  two  dismissals :  Nantye's  faults  had  become  intol- 
erable; and  Orumbo-ngani,  for  the  rare  and  daring  offense  of 
having  opened  a  letter  addressed  to  me,  which  had  been  sent 
ashore  from  the  Oka. 

The  next  day.  as  my  little  canoe  started  down-river  with  the 
two  delinquents.  I  went  up-river  in  a  large  canoe,  a  large  crew, 
and  Mary.  Anyentyuwa  and  Iga  to  Asange.  to  say  good-by  to 
our  excellent  friends,  Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teisseres.  On  the 
way,  stopped  to  eat  our  lunch  in  the  forest.  Just  as  we  were 
finishing,  some  Fanwe  women  came  on  the  path,  and  envied  our 
rice.  I  was  never  able  to  understand  the  Fan  we  character,  in 
their  curiosity  and  envy  of  white  man's  food.  Their  reasons 
could  not  have  been  hunger ;  for.  they  had  the  same  opportunity 
for  plantations  that  other  tribes  had.  When  I  ate  in  villages 
of  other  tribes,  though  there  were  always  some  rude  ones  who 
wished  to  stare  at  our  eating,  they  were  promptly  ordered  off 
by  the  better  class  of  the  town.  But.  in  Fanwe  villages,  they 
simply  would  not  leave,  even  on  my  order.  (Had  their  passion 
for  eating,  some  connection  with  their  cannibalism?)  At  the 
Post,  we  were  politely  received  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Allegret  and 
Teisseres,  Teacher  Lesage,  Chef  de  Poste  Du  Val,  M.  Gazengel, 


66o  MY  OGOWE 

and  the  commander  and  lieutenant  of  the  government  gun- 
boat, Basilic.  We  were  quite  interested  at  the  sight  of  a  young 
boa-constrictor  in  a  cage. 

On  Saturday,  the  26th,  a  messenger  from  Chef  Du  Val  came 
for  a  loan  of  milk  and  axes.  I  was  glad  to  be  of  service  to  our 
French  friends;  for  (barring  Kerraoul's  amazing  conduct  in 
1884)   they  had  been  invariably  kind  to  me. 

On  Sunday,  the  27th,  the  Basilic  passed  down,  and  did  not 
stop,  though  the  commandant  had  intimated  that  he  would,  to 
inspect  the  premises.  I  was  pleased  that  our  Sunday  quiet  was 
not  broken. 

I  had  placed  Okendo  temporarily  in  Elder  Agonjo's  place  at 
Magenene.  He  came  for  his  month's  pay  on  Monday,  the 
28th.  bringing  with  him  Adza  and  Ngwa  (returning),  and  a 
new  one,  a  young  man,  Ngiye,  from  Akuri  village,  who  wished 
employment,  and  who  also  professed  to  be  an  inquirer.  On 
Tuesday,  the  29th,  a  large  government  canoe  brought  Mr. 
Lesage  from  Asange.  He  wished  a  canoe  and  crew  to  take  him 
to  his  school-work  at  Kangwe.  He  professed  that  he  had  not 
availed  himself  of  the  Basilic,  because  of  its  Sunday  travel.  I 
approved  of  that ;  but.  was  agreeably  surprised  that  he  felt  that 
way;  for,  the  French  Protestant  teachers  came  to  us  with  the 
European  continental-Sunday  point  of  view.  I  made  him  as 
comfortable  as  the  house,  its  food,  etc..  could  display;  and  gave 
up  my  time  for  his  entertainment.  Okendo  left;  and,  I  sent 
with  him  the  lad  Njega,  who  was  failing  with  some  lingering 
disease.  Sometime  before,  I  had  observed  his  strange  conduct, 
and  made  the  mistake  of  supposing  it  was  stupidity  and  laziness, 
and  had  rebuked  him  for  it.  T  was  in  error.  The  poor  lad 
was  really  sick.  T  had  hoped  that  he  would  come  out  as  a 
Christian.  He  died,  later;  and.  T  had.  from  what  I  heard,  a 
Christian  hope  in  his  death.  Next  day.  as  six  of  my  people  were 
sent  in  the  canoe  with  Mr.  Lesage,  the  remaining  company  was 
small. 

On  Thursday,  May  r.  1  was  busy,  as  stated  clerk,  in  copying 
minutes  of  presbytery  to  send  to  Synod  in  the  United  States. 
House-cleaning  having  reached  the  "parlor"  sitting-room, 
Mary  was  happy  in  being  allowed  to  think  she  was  helpful  in 
the  scrubbing  of  the  floor.      Her  taste  for  dabbling  in  water! 

On  the  following  day,  the  former  school-girl  Bilaga  made  a 
visit,  and  remained  to  help  in  digging  the  peanut  garden;  which 
was  quite  a  play  for  Mary  and  the  household  servants.  They, 
with  Anyentvuwa,  were  at  it  all  the  morning. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  66 1 

On  Sunday,  the  4th,  Nyare's  widow  Nyamba  and  some  other 
Fafiwe  were  at  chapel.  Two  of  my  household,  Ngwa  and 
Ohwa-sango  asked  to  be  enrolled  in  the  inquiry  class;  the  latter 
seemed  to  me  very  unworthy.  And,  next  day,  two  others, 
Ampamba  and  Odimbo-suka  surprised  me  by  asking  for  bap- 
tism.    The  latter  seemed  to  me  lazy  and  indifferent. 

In  the  rear  of  the  house,  there  was  a  steep  grass-covered  piece 
of  ground,  with  a  descent  down  to  and  under  the  house.  Nail- 
ing together  two  barrel  staves  with  cleats,  I  made  rough  sleds, 
which  Alary  and  Iga  used  with  frantic  enjoyment  for  sliding 
down  that  hill.  Those  "  toboggan "  rides  were  a  frequent 
source  of  exercise  and  fun.  Londo,  whom  I  had  sent  as  cap- 
tain of  the  canoe  with  Mr.  Lesage,  returned,  with  a  large  mail, 
and  with  two  monkeys,  a  present  to  Mary  from  Mr.  Lesage. 
In  the  mail  was  a  letter  from  Provost  Pepper,  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  requesting  me  to  gather  for  the  university  an 
African  Ethnographic  collection.  [This  I  did.  and  presented 
it  to  the  university,  when  I  reached  the  United  States  on  a  fur- 
lough in  May,  1891.] 

JOURNEY    TO    THE    BAMBOO-SWAMP. 

Thatch  could  be  bought  at  any  time,  and  stored.  But,  the 
palm-fronds,  used  for  rafters  that  were  to  be  broken  over  the 
ridge-pole  of  a  house,  had  to  be  used  fresh  and  green.  Need- 
ing some,  and  requiring  all  my  men,  I  decided,  on  Thursday, 
the  8th,  to  close  the  house,  leaving  only  two  men,  and  go  myself 
with  the  family.  At  Njomu,  leaving  Anyentyuwa  and  the  two 
children  with  her  brother,  I  went  with  the  men  into  the  forest; 
and,  at  the  swamp,  divided  them  into  squads.  Then,  I  returned 
to  Antyuwa's ;  and,  as  the  grass  and  branches  on  the  path  were 
now  sun-dried  I  called  her  and  the  children  to  come  and  see. 
Arrived  there,  she  sat  and  sewed;  they  played;  and  I  read  and 
rested,  as  the  men  sang  in  their  enthusiastic  competition  of  their 
squads.  It  was  almost  like  a  picnic.  The  cutting  and  carry- 
ing to  the  village  was  completed;  and,  we  returned  to  Sika's 
late  in  the  afternoon.  And,  all  went  to  bed;  tired,  but  happy  at 
the  day's  success. 

On  Friday,  the  9th.  started  Londo  with  his  load,  up-river. 
But,  I  remained  with  the  family,  in  Monkami's  canoe  until  the 
afternoon,  for  Anyentyuwa  to  complete  her  visit  with  her 
brother.  Less  than  an  hour  after  starting,  a  rain  came  on,  near 
Mpoko-njonga.  A  Galwa  canoe  is  a  very  unsafe  thing  in  a 
storm.     Stopping  in  the  forest  until  the  wind  should  subside, 


662  MY  OGOWE 

the  children  and  Anyentyuwa  could  be  protected  by  the  one 
umbrella  and  the  usual  travel-rugs.  The  rest  of  us  took  the 
rain.  When  the  storm  passed,  we  proceeded.  Though  the 
crew  pulled  well,  I  was  chilled  by  the  time,  after  sunset,  when 
we  reached  home.  Hurried  for  a  warm  supper;  and  excused 
the  men  from  the  evening,  as  rain  was  again  falling.  Anye- 
ntyuwa was  saddened  by  news  of  the  death  of  four  Mpongwe  at 
Libreville,  in  an  epidemic  of  la  grippe.  One  of  them  was  the 
man  Xjalele.  at  whose  trading-house  I  had  often  stopped  at 
Erere-volo;  two  others  were  her  relatives,  one  of  them  her  half- 
sister  Laura. 

One  of  the  almost  daily  jobs  was  the  protection  of  the  house 
from  the  invasion  of  white  ants.  Other  annoyances  were  ac- 
cepted in  the  ordinary  course  of  events ;  they  happened ;  and  they 
passed.  But,  the  fight  against  these  ants  was  never  ended. 
That  was  the  weariness  of  it.  They  were  harmless  to  ourselves. 
But,  they  ate  wood  and  all  products  of  vegetable  fiber;  that 
meant  our  books  and  clothing.  They  lived  in  dampness  and 
darkness  of  the  ground.  But.  at  night,  climbed  up  the  hard- 
wood posts,  on  which  our  dwellings  were  erected,  to  eat  our 
pine  floors,  our  libraries,  and  our  boxes  of  clothing,  etc.  Daily 
watch  was  to  be  had  on  those  posts.  After  each  journey,  f 
found  them  in  the  house;  they  had  evaded  the  inspection  of 
those  I  had  left  in  charge. 

On  Tuesday,  the  13th,  1  had  seated  myself  to  write  an  im- 
portant letter  to  my  son  Charles,  but  was  interrupted  again  and 
again;  workmen  coming  for  direction  about  their  jobs:  Mary 
asking  for  amusement ;  and  then  Anyentyuwa  deciding  that  she 
must  go  to  her  sister's  mourning.  Mary's  governess  was  re- 
markable for  having  divested  herself  of  all  superstition.  But, 
to  some  of  the  customs,  she  still  clung.  All  natives  expected 
to  go  to  a  family  mourning.  And,  "  families  "  were  so  exten- 
sive in  their  consanguinities!  Our  household  servants  were 
constantly  going  away  on  such  calls  of  "  duty."  It  was  of  no 
use  to  refuse.  If  they  remained,  they  were  sullen  and  useless. 
The  only  persons  who  did  not  yield  to  that  "  duty-claim  "  of 
their  employees,  were  the  foreign  traders.  They  had  their  as- 
sistants under  contract,  and  the  men  stayed;  for.  their  trade  was 
at  stake.  The  funeral  was  long  past ;  she  could  do  her  mourn- 
ing when  we  went  to  Libreville  six  months  later  at  the  close  of 
the  year.  But.  if  she  must  go,  I  wished  her  to  go  at  once  by 
first  steamer  chance;  and  hurry  back  in  time  to  help  me  in  my 


THE  TASK  ENDED  663 

quarterly  tour  of  the  churches  in  the  end  of  June.  So,  she  con- 
cluded to  remain  until  December;  and,  I  was  greatly  relieved. 
Later  in  the  day,  there  was  excitement  in  the  pursuit  of  two 
Eaiiwe,  who  not  only  were  trespassing  on  the  premises,  but  actu- 
ally were  shouting  in  a  hunt.  Outrages  of  that  kind  had  been 
frequent  in  the  earlier  Talaguga  days;  and,  I  had  been  patient. 
Latterly,  my  rights  had  been  respected.  My  Gal  was  joined  me 
in  a  pursuit  of  the  two  men;  and,  had  they  been  caught,  they 
would  have  been  given  a  flogging. 

On  Wednesday,  the  14th,  when  I  left  my  bedroom,  and  was 
passing  through  the  sitting-room,  on  my  way  to  ring  the  6.45 
a.  m.  prayer-bell,  I  met  cook  Etendi,  who  excitedly  told  me  that 
young  Abumba  (no  relative  of  the  ruling  elder)  had  left  his 
box  of  goods  in  his  (Etendi's)  house  in  the  night,  under  sus- 
picious circumstances;  that  he  had  examined  the  contents  of  the 
box,  and  had  found  what  he  believed  were  goods  stolen  from 
me.  As  Etendi's  room  lay  on  the  way  to  the  prayer-room,  I 
went  through  it,  and  saw  the  box  there.  I  said  nothing.  After 
breakfast,  1  called  Etendi  to  his  room,  and  inquired  all  the  cir- 
cumstances. Then,  I  summoned  Abumba,  and  told  him  my  sus- 
picions. He  said  that  there  was  nothing  wrong  about  the  box. 
I  demanded,  if  that  was  the  case,  that  he  open  it  in  my  presence. 
He  hesitated,  and  said  that  he  had  not  the  keys,  that  Mbigino 
had  them.  On  summoning  Mbigino,  the  latter  said  that  Abumba 
had  the  keys.  Then,  he  yielded,  and  opened  the  box.  I  found 
certain  of  my  goods,  of  which  I  took  possession.  But,  amaz- 
ingly, he  denied  that  he  had  either  stolen  or  lied!  However, 
when  I  went  away  with  the  goods,  he  admitted  that  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  when  I  had  excused  him  from  Sabbath  school  on  his 
plea  of  toothache,  he  had  climbed  by  a  plank  into  the  storeroom 
through  an  open  window,  and  had  stolen.  It  was  usually  safe 
to  have  that  window  open ;  for,  it  was  high  above  the  ground ; 
and.  it  was  only  a  rod  from  my  study  where  I  could  see  it. 
And,  it  was  desirable  to  have  sunshine  come  in  to  keep  goods 
from  dampness.  But,  it  should  not  have  been  left  open  when 
I  was  away  at  Sabbath  school ;  though,  I  never  imagined  that 
any  of  my  own  people  would  rob.  There  had  been  small  thefts. 
Even  good  Etendi,  I  had  suspected  of  appropriating  food  in  the 
kitchen.  (But,  cooks,  the  world  over,  do  not  think  that  that  is 
"  stealing.")  An  hour  later,  a  passing  canoe  on  its  way  down- 
river, was  hailed,  and  young  Abumba  was  dismissed.  I  was 
much  cast  down  by  this  revelation.     A  heavy  rain  came,  and, 


m,,  MY  OGOWE 

there  being  no  thunder  or  lightning,  Mary  was  happy  in  being 
allowed  to  race  out-doors  in  her  bath  clothes,  under  die  pouring 
drops.     She  was  improving  in  her  spelling. 

I  regretted  that  all  semblance  of  a  school  should  disappear 
with  tny  sister's  departure.  So,  though  1  bad  always  kept  up 
a  desultory  instruction  for  individuals,  generally  in  an  evening 
hour,  I  began  a  regular  lesson  (following  my  lesson  with  Mary) 
for  Monkami  in  the  afternoon,  giving  him  explanations  to  his 
reading  of  the  Epistles,  for  use  in  his  Saturday  itinerations. 
I  also  began  to  gather  insects,  etc.,  etc.,  as  an  entomological  col- 
lection, for  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  inciting  my  own 
employees  and  other  natives  to  bring  me  all  new  specimens  which 
they  found  in  their  works  or  on  their  journeys.  Mary  was  very 
well  those  days;  she  was  rapidly  improving  in  her  lessons;  and 
was  growing  heavy  physically.      (She  bad  always  been  slight.) 

On  Tuesday,  the  20th,  had  a  talk  with  Monkami  about  young 
Abumba's  recent  stealing;  from  which,  J  gathered,  that  it  was 
probable  that  there  bad  been  other  stealing  a  year  or  more  before, 
of  which  I  bad  not  been  aware.  The  occasional  presence  of  a 
wild  animal  at  night  made  me  careful  about  allowing  the  cbil 
dren  to  play  out  of  doors  in  the  evening.  I  had  never  forgotten 
the  leopard  on  the  night  preceding  Mrs.  Nassau's  death;  and 
the  leopard  al  Mrs.  (iood's  Mill  bouse.  During  those  days,  a 
"bltsll-cat"  (genet)  killed  one  of  my  chickens.  The  genet 
would  not  attack  a  human  being;  but,  it  belonged  to  the  leopard 
family;  it   was  something  to  be  avoided. 

Paii we  came  from  Njomu,  in  afternoon  of  Thursday,  the 
22i\,  to  remain  overnight,  not  trusting  (for  that  purpose)  the 
other  clans  farther  up  rivet.  I  gave  them  good  quarters. 
(  Ever  since  my  light  with  Nyare,  in  1883,  the  sanctity  of  my 
premises,  as  a  place  of  refuge,  had  been  fully  recognized  and 
used.)  One  of  the  women  bad  an  unusually  clean  little  baby, 
to  which  she  bad  given  the  name  "  Nasa."  (I  newer  consented 
to  the  use  of  my  name,  when  parties  asked  permission;  so,  some- 
times, it  was  done  without  permission.  I  bad  two  reasons,  for 
my  refusal  (  1  )  if  the  child  grew  up  disreputable,  I  did  not  wish 
disgrace  to  the  name,  (2)  even  if  it  grew  worthily,  I  did  not 
wish  the  demands  that  would  be  made  <»n  me  for  frequent  gilts.  ) 

(  )n  Sunday,  the  25th,  many   I'anwe  at  chapel.      In  the  even 
ing,   Anyentyuwa  gave  me  interesting  recitals  of  what   she  bad 
known,  when  she  was  a   I'araka  school  girl,  of  vacation  school 
pranks,      |  These,    and    similar   narrations,    which    she    gave    me 
some  years  later,  I  published  in  t<;if,  under  the  title,  "  Tales  out 


w 
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THE  TASK  ENDED  665 

of  school."]  In  the  daily  war  with  white  ants,  I  found  that 
they  had  outwitted  me,  and  had  reached  the  attic  in  Anye- 
ntyuwa's  room.  At  once,  a  thorough  search  was  made  for  their 
base  of  approach  under  the  house;  and  clearance  was  made  of 
a  pile  of  rubbish.  There  were  found  the  remains  of  a  duck 
which  had  been  missed  four  months  before,  and  also  part  of  a 
snake  skin.     The  latter  explained  the  loss  of  the  former. 

Notwithstanding-  care  and  forethought  in  making  my  semi- 
annual orders  for  provisions  and  supplies,  there  was  frequently 
some  article  on  which  I  "  ran  short."  For  missionaries  on  the 
coast,  e.  g.,  at  Libreville,  such  wants  could  almost  always  be 
supplied  from  the  many  trading-houses  there ;  for,  they  kept  a 
wide  range  of  articles.  The  houses  at  Asange  kept  an  abun- 
dance on  only  a  limited  range  of  articles.  Starch  was  not  one 
of  them.  I  needed  starch.  Anyentyuwa,  in  her  resourceful- 
ness, said  that  she  could  make  some.  I  bought  a  quantity  of 
the  cassava  roots;  she  and  the  children  had  a  merry  time  grat- 
ing them  on  big  improvised  graters,  in  a  tub  of  water.  The 
starch  grains  precipitated;  and  my  needs  for  washing-day  were 
supplied. 

Some  two  weeks  before  Saturday,  September  31,  Anyentyuwa 
had  told  me  that  she  had  a  premonition  that  a  certain  Mpongwe 
man  was  dead.  She  was  not  superstitious ;  but,  on  several  occa- 
sions she  had  given  me  similar  instances  of  clairvoyance.  That 
a  Mpongwe  man  should  be  dead  was  nothing  strange.  But,  the 
remarkable  part  of  the  story  was  that  she  said  she  saw  him  sur- 
rounded by  several  white  men,  in  a  very  clear  vision.  This  day, 
came  the  news  that  Komanandi  was  dead  at  Duala,  Kamerun. 
after  a  flogging  by  white  men,  in  the  jail.  (He  had  been  an 
elder  in  the  Gaboon  church,  at  the  time  of  Anyentyuwa's  excom- 
munication. She  knew,  and  he  knew  that  she  knew,  at  that  very 
time,  that  he  was  living  an  immoral  life.  He  finally  abandoned 
the  church,  went  into  trade,  committed  some  crime,  was  jailed, 
flogged,  and  died.)  *i 

On  Sunday,  June  1,  just  as  we  were  going  to  chapel,  th£ 
Eclaircur  appeared  on  its  way  down,  whistling  steadily.  This 
was  so  rare  that  I  felt  that  the  occasion  was  important,  and  sent 
off  a  canoe.  It  came  back  with  the  surprising  news  that  Air. 
Teisseres  was  on  board,  and  that  he  "  would  soon  return  "  from 
Kangwe!  Where  had  he  come  from?  And  why?  Wherefore 
this  early  return  from  the  Kongo?  And,  where  was  Mr.  Alle- 
gret  ? 

On  Thursday,  the  5th,  Mr.  Teisseres,  on  his  way  to  the  Post, 


666  MY  OGOW'R 

in  a  Kangwe  canoe,  stopped  to  take  dinner  with  me.  He 
brought  me  Kangwe  news,  among  others,  of  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Carmien.  The  canoe,  on  its  return  from  the  Post,  next 
day,  reported  that  Mr.  Allegret  had  just  arrived  from  the  In- 
terior with  a  sick  Frenchman ;  and,  that,  in  their  descent  of  the 
rapids,  their  canoe  had  upset,  and  all  their  goods  were  lost. 

On  Saturday,  the  7th,  my  Fanwe  friend,  Nje-Ntula,  of 
Xjomu,  whom  I  had  "  trusted  "  for  thatch,  and  of  whom  I  had 
been  complaining  for  his  slowness  in  paying  up,  honestly  fin- 
ished his  debt.  I  immediately  "  trusted "  him  with  $30,  for 
1500  more  pieces,  and  gave  him  a  present  of  $5. 

TOUR    OF    THE    CHURCHES. 

On  Monday,  June  9,  starting  at  noon,  with  my  family  in  the 
boat,  and  cook  Etendi  in  a  canoe,  there  was  the  usual  stop  near 
Njomu.  Farther  down,  the  children  were  electrified  by  the 
sight  of  some  large  hippopotami  on  a  sand-bank.  At  Ongamu's 
( who  had  left  the  government  service  at  Asange,  and  who  was 
trading  near  Abange  Creek)  we  enjoyed  an  igczcu  of  fish  with 
the  rich  oily  pa  nut.  Before  sunset,  at  Magenene.  I  was  pleased 
with  Okendo's  attentions,  about  fire  and  other  points  of  hospi- 
tality, greater  than  had  been  Agonjo's. 

Xext  day,  the  crew  pulled  well ;  and  we  landed  at  Andende, 
l>efore  5  p.  m.  Mr.  Gacon  at  once  met  me  with  a  distressing 
story  of  his  troubles  with  Mr.  Lesage.  Felt  depressed,  in  hav- 
ing at  once  to  meet  and  try  to  settle  the  troubles  of  these  two 
white  men.  the  while  I  had  so  much  to  contend  with  from  the 
natives.  In  the  evening,  Mr.  Lesage  sent  me  a  note,  asking  for 
a  private  conference.  When  he  came,  he  said  that  he  wished  to 
close  his  service  at  Kangwe.  I  did  not  know  the  merits  of 
either  side,  and  did  not  wish  to  interfere;  but,  the  conditions 
were  so  bad,  that  I  gave  my  prompt  consent. 

I  awoke  on  Wednesday,  the  nth,  with  nausea  and  headache, 
and  had  bilious  vomiting  all  day.  Mr.  Gacon  also  was  taken  sud- 
denly sick.  We  both  were  in  bed.  Mr.  Lesage  was  continu- 
ing arrangements  for  his  departure,  and  tried  to  induce  the 
native  teacher.  Xdaka,  to  desert  and  go  with  him  to  Libreville. 
This,  with  Mr.  Gacon's  accounts  of  Lesage's  evil  doings,  even 
if  they  were  exaggerated  (which  probably  they  were),  made 
me  anxious  to  have  the  latter  go.  The  evil  spirit  of  quarrel  be- 
tween the  two  men  spread  itself  to  the  school-boys:  and  they  had 
a  fight,  out  in  their  yard.  I  was  distressed  about  how  and  when 
my  church-journey  should  be  made;  for,  I  did  not  like  to  leave 


THE  TASK  ENDED  667 

Mr.  Gacon  alone,  while  he  was  sick,  especially  while  his  enemy 
Lesage  had  the  range  of  the  house. 

The  confusion  between  the  two  men  continued.  Mr.  Lesage 
vacillated  about  going;  he  called  Mr.  Gacon  opprobrious  names. 
I  interfered  quietly.  And,  shortly  afterward,  Mr.  Lesage  left. 
Both  Mr.  Gacon  and  I,  though  better,  were  still  weak.  But,  I 
prepared  for  the  next  day's  journey.  I  had  planned  to  go  down 
the  "  back  creek  "  to  a  place,  Longwe,  that  had  been  on  my  pro- 
gram, as  a  locality  for  organizing  a  fourth  Ogowe  church,  on 
the  occasion  of  my  presbyterial  committee  journey,  with  Mr. 
Good.  But,  his  side  issue  of  an  itineration  into  the  lakes  had 
prevented  that  at  the  time;  and  he  had  not  subsequently  com- 
plied with  my  wish  to  have  a  Longwe  church  organized.  But, 
the  delay  at  Andende  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  go  to 
Longwe,  and  reach  Igenja  in  time  for  Saturday. 

On  Friday,  the  13th,  the  river  was  so  low,  that  I  was  advised 
not  to  attempt  to  go  down  the  Kangwe  branch,  as  usual,  but  to 
go  up  around  the  island,  and  out  into  and  down  the  main  stream. 
There  were  stoppages  at  Aveva's;  at  Ovimbiyano;  at  Oranga ; 
and  we  hurried  on  to  Igenja,  arriving  there  just  at  dusk.  It 
was  very  trying  to  see  how  careless  my  crew  was  of  luggage. 
/  had  to  see  to  everything;  and,  in  the  multiplicity,  I  sometimes 
forgot.  My  bedcot  had  not  been  put  on  board  at  Andende. 
Not  well,  and  depressed  at  the  crew's  lack  of  faithfulness  (how 
I  missed  the  devotion  of  my  former  employee  Mamba!).  I  left 
the  evening-prayers  to  Elder  Yongwe,  who  had  arrived  shortly 
after  I  had.  Mary  also  was  not  well,  and  needed  me.  On  Sat- 
urday the  14th,  went  a  half-mile  down-river  to  a  Fafiwe  village, 
to  see  sick  Elder  Abumba.  He  was  better,  but  unable  to  take 
part  in  session-work.  And,  as  Elder  Simeon  had  thought  more 
of  his  trading  than  of  his  session  duty,  he  had  failed  to  come. 
So,  there  was  no  quorum,  and  no  meeting.  But,  I  visited  in 
the  villages,  seeing  former  friends.  Ankombie,  the  carpenter 
of  1884,  came  with  his  wife  and  child  "  Nassau,"  and  a  present. 
And,  Ombagho's  mother  did  not  resent  my  dismissal  of  her 
son. 

On  Sunday,  the  15th,  the  communion  service  was  held;  but, 
the  attendance  was  small.  I  did  not  find  myself  able  to  enjoy 
the  service :  for,  in  the  morning,  I  had  heard  of  the  death  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Brier  at  Batanga,  the  news  being  brought  by  a  lad 
who  had  come  from  Libreville  on  the  Falaba.  (This  was  the 
fate,  always  expected,  in  sending  a  new  man,  alone,  to  a  new 
station.) 


668  MY  OGOWE 

On  Monday,  while  Anyentyuwa  and  Jane  were  at  their 
week's  washing  of  clothes,  for  that  purpose  standing  in  the 
river's  edge,  I  yielded  to  Mary's  entreaty,  and  allowed  her  to 
wade  in  the  water  with  them.  In  the  afternoon,  1  made  a  good- 
by  visit  to  Elder  Abumba,  and  engaged  two  new  lads. 

Faithful  Mamba  joined  me,  on  Tuesday,  and  relieved  my 
wearied  head,  by  taking  the  rudder,  so  that  I  could  sit  with 
closed  eyes.  Stopping  for  dinner  at  another  former  employee's, 
Re-Mondo's,  there  was  an  early  stop  at  Lambe  by  4  p.  m.,  for 
the  night.  But,  for  a  very,  very  rare  inhospitality,  the  people 
would  not  receive  us!  I  know  no  other  reason  than  that  the 
Roman  Catholic  priest  had  influence  in  that  village.  My  crew 
were  indignant,  and  were  ashamed  for  their  Galwa  tribe.  So,  we 
went  on  to  my  hunter  friend  Azaze,  at  Ngomu,  by  5  p.  m.  But, 
he  was  not  at  home.  So,  we  crossed  the  river  to  Oranga;  and 
were  given  comfortable  quarters  by  Simbuve,  and  a  kind  recep- 
tion by  Etendi  and  Mwanyeno,  whom  Mary  was  pleased  again 
to  meet.  There  was  a  news  of  the  loss,  by  upsetting  of  a  canoe, 
of  Mr.  Gacon's  machinery  for  the  saw-mill  at  Talaguga,  in 
which  I  was  pecuniarily  interested.  On  Wednesday,  the  18th, 
clothes  were  being  ironed ;  I  was  teaching  classes  to  read ;  Mary 
enjoyed  playing  in  the  street;  and,  there  were  good  supplies 
of  eggs,  and  fowls,  and  fruits. 

It  being  dry  season,  and  no  danger  of  rain,  I  had  no  trouble 
about  unloading  and  reloading.  I  had  left  the  load  in  the  boat, 
with  two  of  the  crew  on  guard  at  night.  With  eyes  still  sore, 
I  took  the  journey  on  the  19th,  easily;  stopping  to  gather  flowers 
for  the  two  children ;  eating  in  the  forest ;  and  reaching  Wa- 
mbalya  early,  with  many  welcomes.  People  brought  for  sale 
ample  supplies  of  eggs,  fowls,  and  vegetables.  In  the  evening, 
Okendo  arrived,  bringing  a  mail  sent  by  Mr.  Gacon.  On  Fri- 
day, though  my  headache  was  still  bad  all  day,  I  attended  to 
session.  A  canoe  from  Oranga,  brought  the  dying  wife 
of  a  former  employee,  Rilevi,  to  Aveya's  village.  Session 
meetings  continued  on  Saturday.  Rilevi's  wife  died.  The 
Falaba  passed  down.  (I  supposed  that  Mr.  Lesage  was  on 
board.) 

On  Sunday,  the  22(1,  my  influenza  was  better ;  but,  the  com- 
munion services  were  somewhat  heavy  on  my  voice.  Two 
young  men  were  baptized.  Rilevi's  wife  was  buried.  Every- 
where, I  had  let  people  know  that  I  wanted  to  buy  insect  speci- 
mens, for  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  One  man  so  far 
forgot  the  difference  between  mission-work  and  scientific  col- 


THE  TASK  ENDED  669 

lection,  that,  as  he  entered  the  church,  he  offered  me  for  sale  a 
large  locust. 

On  Monday,  the  23d,  very  early  in  the  morning,  was  awak- 
ened by  Mary  being  seized  with  dysenteric  pains,  which  con- 
tinued for  several  hours.  I  gave  her  whites  of  eggs ;  and,  by 
sunrise,  she  seemed  almost  well,  and  wished  to  be  dressed.  I 
hasted  to  load  the  boat,  in  order  to  get  back  to  Kangwe,  if  she 
was  to  be  farther  sick.  But,  after  we  had  started,  she  seemed 
so  well,  that  I  ventured  to  delay  at  Aveya's,  to  bargain  for  a 
young  gorilla.  For  years,  I  had  been  trying  to  get  a  gorilla, 
alive  or  dead,  for  my  friend  Dr.  T.  G.  Morton,  of  Philadelphia; 
had  failed,  in  one  way  and  another.  And,  here,  unsought,  was 
a  live  one,  at  my  hands!  The  price  demanded,  $40,  I  would 
have  paid,  if,  after  the  usual  haggling,  the  owner  refused  less. 
But,  the  real  owner  was  not  there;  and,  I  was  sure  he  would 
make  trouble,  if  a  sale  was  made  without  his  presence.  Regret- 
fully, I  went  on  my  way.  A  long  hard  pull  against  the  swift 
current  of  the  main  stream  (for,  I  was  warned  not  to  enter  the 
unusual  shallows  of  our  usual  route,  the  small  Ajumba  branch). 
Then,  in  passing  a  Faiiwe  village,  I  was  electrified  by  being 
offered  another  young  gorilla,  for  $50.  After  a  proper  amount 
of  haggling,  the  little  beast  was  mine  for  $25.  But,  I  had  not 
the  goods  with  me,  and  the  owner,  at  my  invitation  (but,  to  the 
annoyance  of  the  crew),  crowded  his  presence  and  weight  into 
the  boat,  to  get  his  pay  at  Kangwe.  Darkness  came.  We 
passed  the  Basilic  at  Lembarene  at  7  p.  m.,  and  reached  Andende 
by  8  p.  m.  After  I  had  put  my  tired  Mary  to  bed,  and  paid 
for  the  gorilla,  Mr.  Gacon  (who  still  was  sick)  told  me  of  Mr. 
Lesage's  dramatic  leaving  on  the  Falaba. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  24th,  was  awakened  by  Mary, 
with  a  return  of  her  dysenteric  symptoms,  though  not  as  severe 
as  twenty-four  hours  previously.  After  breakfast,  she  seemed 
better,  and  I  moved  her,  and  all  our  goods  to  the  Hill  house. 
There,  in  quiet.  I  paid  the  quarterly  dues,  arranged  accounts, 
and  rested.  Very  strangely,  Mary's  symptoms  returned  again, 
though  less  than  on  the  previous  day.  And,  on  the  26th,  she 
was  well.  So.  we  all  went  in  the  boat,  around  to  Lembarene 
to  the  house  of  H.  &  C.  where  one  of  the  gentlemen  promised 
her  a  kitten.  Then,  up-river  to  Holt's,  and  took  dinner  with 
Mr.  Deemin.  There,  Mary's  colicky  pains  returned;  and.  ex- 
hausted, she  fell  asleep  on  Mr.  Deemin's  bed.  I  was  distressed 
to  discover  the  cause  of  the  singular  returns  of  pain,  and  then, 
as  suddenly,  apparent  good  health. 


670  MY  OGOWE 

On  Friday,  the  27th,  began  session  meetings ;  and  continued 
them  on  the  28th.  And,  on  Sunday,  at  the  communion,  baptized 
three  women,  and  two  infants. 

On  Monday,  the  30th,  I  removed  to  Andende,  to  be  ready  for 
a  trip  the  next  day  to  the  lakes.  I  had  not  forgotten  the  pro- 
posed gorilla-hunt  that  had  been  dropped  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Good's  sickness.  And,  the  unexpected  obtaining  of  the  young 
gorilla  fired  my  desire  to  get  a  grown  one.  So,  I  arranged  for 
a  journey  into  the  lake  region,  taking  with  me  my  household, 
as  I  had  done,  the  year  before.  But,  I  did  not  invite  Mr. 
Gacon.  I  did  not  intend  to  do  hunting  myself.  But,  going 
to  a  new  neighborhood,  I  would  arouse  the  cupidity  of  the 
native  hunters,  while  I  rested  in  their  village.  For,  I  was  con- 
scious that  I  had  little  strength  remaining,  after  more  than  eight 
years'  continuous  work  and  travel  and  care  and  responsibility. 
To  my  delight,  another  young  gorilla  was  brought  me  by  a  man 
from  Wambalya.  The  two  little  animals  I  left  on  the  Hill,  in 
care  of  one  of  my  men.  Gasita  and  his  wife  Jane  had  com- 
pleted their  year's  contract;  and,  they  left  for  their  home. 

TO    THE    LAKES,    FOR    A    GORILLA. 

On  Tuesday,  July  1,  though  I  still  had  good  Mamba  with 
me,  I  was  rather  short-handed :  and,  on  the  way  down-river, 
stopped  at  Aveya's,  to  call  another  hand.  Entering  Lake 
Onanga,  stopped  at  sunset  at  the  Bird-island  camping-ground 
of  the  year  before.  I  landed,  with  fever  and  ague ;  and  hastily 
put  up  the  tent  for  Anyentyuwa  and  the  children,  and  my  own 
cot  and  net.  The  next  day,  as  I  was  in  no  haste,  and  wished 
to  combine  my  scientific  interests  with  an  excursion  for  Mary, 
I  stayed  at  the  camp,  where  she  could  romp,  and  sent  out  the 
men  to  shoot  birds  for  dinner.  They  were  not  successful ;  and, 
in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  we  pushed  on  to  a  village  where 
Anyentyuwa's  aunt  Anyure  was  married  to  an  Orungu.  They 
were  both  away;  but,  we  remained  with  his  brother  Isoko.  I 
at  once  engaged  three  Bakele  to  hunt  gorillas  tor  me.  T  re- 
mained there,  Thursday,  Friday.  Saturday  and  Sunday :  during 
most  of  which  time  I  had  chills  and  fever.  The  Bakele  failed. 
But,  some  Gal  was  brought  a  half-grown  male  gorilla.  Its  brain 
I  unfortunately  spoiled  in  an  effort  to  open  the  skull.  One  of 
those  days,  I  sent  the  boat  with  Anyentyuwa  and  the  children 
across  the  bay,  to  romp  and  gather  flowers  on  the  rolling  prairie, 
even  the  distant  view  of  which  was  to  me  certainly  beautiful. 
On  the  Sunday,  I  held  public  religious  services,  in  the  morning. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  671 

But,  the  remainder  of  the  day  was  marred  by  a  street  fight  be- 
tween two  of  the  village  slaves. 

Then,  there  was  the  return  journey  to  Andende  on  Monday, 
the  7th,  and  Tuesday,  the  8th.  The  changing  views  of  the 
many  islands  in  the  lake  were  very  fine,  at  the  water's  edge  of 
one  of  which  were  great  rows  of  amaryllis  flowers.  And,  at 
Lembarene,  at  the  house  of  H.  &  C,  on  inquiring  for  the  prom- 
ised kitten,  to  Mary's  great  disappointment,  it  could  not  be 
found.  On  arriving  at  Andende,  we  remained  there  that  night, 
to  be  with  Mr.  Gacon,  who  still  was  not  well. 

And,  next  day,  there  was  the  shameful  story  of  how  my  man 
Mbala  had  neglected  my  two  gorilla  treasures,  and  that  very 
morning  had  made  no  effort  to  save  them  from  an  army  of 
driver  ants.  When  I  demanded  why  he  had  not  responded  to 
their  cries,  he  said,  "  they  were  always  crying."  That  was 
only  partly  true.  They  were  indeed  almost  constantly  whining. 
And,  I  said,  "  Surely,  you  could  have  heard  a  difference  between 
whines  of  discontent  and  agonized  cries  of  pain  under  torture 
of  the  ants."  My  little  animals  died  of  their  torture;  but,  I 
successfully  and  with  exceeding  care  preserved  their  brains. 
(These,  a  year  later  were  handed  to  Dr.  Morton:  and  were  re- 
ported on  by  Dr.  Chapman  to  the  Academy  of  Natural  Science 
in  Philadelphia.)  [A  detailed  account  of  this  gorilla  week  in 
the  lake,  appears  in  my  "  In  an  Elephant  Corral,''  Neale,  1912.] 

I  was  tired  of  journeying;  and  Mary  was  longing  for  her 
Talaguga.  I  spent  the  day  in  gathering  the  luggage  for  our 
return  home. 

RETURN    TO    TALAGUGA. 

On  Thursday,  the  10th,  Londo  had  kept  his  promise  to  return 
in  time  from  a  visit  to  his  village.  So,  I  had,  in  him  and  Mamba, 
two  reliable  hands  on  the  journey.  Our  camp,  at  night,  was 
on  a  large  sand-bank,  beyond  the  Island  "  factory."  There  it 
was  that  the  second  gorilla  died ;  and,  with  Mambas  aid,  under 
a  torchlight,  working  slowly  and  carefully  until  midnight,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  opening  the  skull,  and  secured  the  brain  complete. 

The  next  day,  at  Belambla ;  and  at  Magenene ;  and,  at  night 
camped  on  the  Ngwilaka  sand-bar.  An  incident  that  evening 
revealed  to  me  how  the  climate  and  tasks  were  weakening  me, 
and  brought  before  me  the  duty  of  taking  a  furlough  before  I 
became  any  weaker.  Fanwe  came  to  sell  us  plantains.  I 
needed  them ;  but,  I  refused  to  buy,  because  they  mispronounced 


672  MY  OGOWE 

my  name,  calling  me  "  Nasi  "  instead  of  "  Nasa."  When  I 
awoke  to  the  consciousness  of  how  foolish  I  had  been,  I  began 
to  be  alarmed  at  the  nervous  condition  that  could  cause  such 
childishness  in  my  manhood. 

By  4  p.  m.  of  Saturday,  the  12th,  we  stopped  with  Antyuwa 
at  Njomu,  for  over  Sunday.  There,  I  began  to  hear  whispers 
that  my  Talaguga  people  had  been  stealing  from  my  house,  and 
that  their  boxes  of  stolen  goods  were  stored  in  Sika's  trading- 
house  near  by.  After  my  morning  services,  himself  honestly 
came  privately  to  tell  me  that  my  three  young  men,  Mbigino, 
Ampamba,  and  Endondo,  had  sent  goods  to  his  sub-trader  near 
Talaguga,  who  had  brought  the  boxes  on  down  to  him,  and  that 
he  was  suspicious  of  their  number,  and  of  the  character  of  their 
contents.  I  tried  to  put  away  the  distressing  thoughts  during 
the  day.  But,  at  night,  I  went  to  Sika's  to  see  the  boxes.  I 
recognized  most  of  the  goods  as  having  come  from  my  store- 
room, not  from  trading-houses.  The  amount  in  those  boxes 
could  not  have  been  the  monthly  savings  of  any  of  my  work- 
men. In  all  the  years  of  my  dealings  with  Sika,  I  had  found 
him  truthful  and  honest. 

On  Monday,  the  14th,  I  took  the  boxes,  stowed  them  in  the 
boat ;  and  we  started  homeward,  planning  how  to  catch  the 
thieves.  A  very  suspicious  incident  was,  that,  when  we  had 
gone  about  half-way,  a  small  canoe  was  seen  coming  with  three 
young  men  who  were  recognized  at  a  distance  as  my  people. 
When  the  canoe  saw  us,  it  suddenly  turned  back,  and  frantically 
hasted  ahead  of  us  to  Talaguga.  I  said  to  myself:  Those 
thieves  were  on  their  way  to  Sika's  with  another  consignment 
of  my  goods!  On  landing  at  Talaguga,  and  before  anyone  had 
come  to  welcome  us,  T  left  everything  in  the  boat,  and  immedi- 
ately went  to  ail  the  huts  of  the  five  J  had  left  in  charge,  and, 
without  assigning  any  reason,  ordered  them  to  bring  their  boxes 
to  iny  house.  Monkami  was  their  leader,  and  I  told  him  that 
there  had  been  stealing.  He  was  able  to  satisfy  me  that  he 
knew  nothing  of  it.  On  requiring  the  five  to  open  their  boxes. 
f  found  nothing  incriminating.  Then,  the  boat  was  discharged. 
And.  then  the  thieves  saw  their  own  boxes  of  stolen  goods  which 
I  had  recovered!  Their  faces  were  a  study!  I  said  nothing; 
nor  did  they.  After  dinner.  T  sent  word  for  "the  thieves"  to 
come  to  me.  meaning  the  three  whom  Sika  had  named;  they 
came,  and  Odimbo-suka  also  came  with  them.  T  showed  them 
the  boxes  of  stolen  goods ;  and  they  confessed:  but,  they  denied 
that    thev    had    any    more    hidden   elsewhere.     T    demanded,    as 


THE  TASK  ENDED  673 

proof  of  their  truth,  that  they  go  with  me  to  all  the  adjacent 
trading-houses,  for  me  to  investigate.  Fearing  that  I  would 
take  them  to  Asange  for  arrest,  they  refused.  I  had  three  men 
on  whom  I  could  rely,  Mamba,  Monkami,  and  Londo.  I  took 
a  fourth,  and  crossed  the  river  to  Mpaga's  trading-house.  (My 
house  now  was  safe,  with  Anyentyuwa  in  it.)  There,  I  found 
a  box  belonging  to  Mbigino.  Then,  I  went  on  to  Asange.  I 
did  not  consult  with  even  good  Mamba.  I  went  by  myself  to 
Chef  Gazengel,  for  authority  to  arrest  the  thieves.  He  arranged 
that  his  Goree  sergeant  should  come  to  Talaguga,  not  openly, 
lest  the  thieves  should  see  him  and  flee,  but  hidden  in  the  Oka 
that  was  going  down-river  next  morning.  I  went  to  the  white 
trader  in  charge  of  the  Oka;  he  entered  heartily  into  my  plans. 
I  came  back ;  and,  stopping  again  at  Mpaga's,  took  possession 
of  Mbigino's  box.  I  sat  up  late  at  night,  making  an  inventory 
of  the  recovered  goods,  amounting  to  at  least  $250.00.  And, 
wrote  a  letter  of  advice  to  Mr.  Gacon;  and,  a  letter  of  accusa- 
tion of  the  four  parties,  to  the  administrator  at  Lembarene. 
And  I  dismissed  the  four  young  men  from  my  service,  with 
loss  of  all  due  pay;  and  kindly  (?)  told  them  that  I  had  ar- 
ranged for  their  passage  on  the  Oka,  for  the  next  morning.  No 
one,  not  even  Mamba  or  Anyentyuwa,  knew  anything  about  the 
expected  arrest. 

As  the  vessel  appeared  in  sight  on  Tuesday,  the  15th,  I  went 
off  with  the  four.  They  stepped  into  it  without  hesitation,  not 
noticing  the  sergeant  and  his  assistant.  Suddenly,  at  a  signal 
from  me,  he  seized  them,  and  tied  them  with  a  rope  which  I  had 
secreted  under  my  coat.  They  were  amazed..  The  sergeant 
gave  orders  to  the  Oka  to  allow  no  landing  elsewhere  than  at 
the  French  Post.  And,  then,  the  two  officers  came  ashore  with 
me,  drank  coffee,  and  I  sent  them  back  to  Asange  by  canoe. 
In  the  confession  that  the  thieves  made,  they  said  that  they  were 
tempted  by  finding  a  window  shutter  that  had  not  been  fastened. 
(That  I  doubted.)  Also,  one  of  them  said  that  when  he  had 
come  to  me  in  my  study,  at  times  for  errands,  he  had  seen  the 
drawer  in  my  desk  where  I  kept  the  store-room  key.  Having 
entered  the  house  by  the  window  (unfastened  or  forced)  after 
that,  everything  was  easy. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  the  17th,  some  of  Sika's  people 
came  with  a  large  box  containing  a  few  tools,  which  they  said 
that  the  thieves  had  left  in  their  care.  I  was  so  wearied  by  the 
whole  affair,  that  at  night,  I  had  Mamba  relieve  me  in  charge 
of  evening  prayers.     In  trying  to  take  care  of  Kangwe,  my  own 


674  MY  OGOWE 

station  had  been  injured.  "  They  made  me  keeper  of  the  vine- 
yards; but  mine  own  vineyard  have  I  not  kept." 

On  Sunday,  the  20th,  a  very  quiet  day  on  the  river.  Mary 
was  recovering-  her  memory  of  the  lessons  which  had  been  for- 
gotten during  the  irregularities  of  the  journeys.  On  Saturday, 
the  26th,  went  with  a  company  of  six  to  Mary's  Ozege,  for  the 
sake  of  an  excursion  to  relieve  myself  of  troublesome  thoughts. 
But,  again,  as  in  almost  every  journey,  unless  I  looked  for 
everything,  something  would  be  forgotten.  The  cook's  assist- 
ant forgot  to  bring  even  his  cooking  utensils !  And,  we  had 
to  turn  back  for  them.  While  we  were  at  the  Ozege.  some  pass- 
ing Galwa  canoes  reported  that  the  Oka  had  faithfully  delivered 
my  four  thieves  to  the  administrator  at  Lembarene ;  but,  that 
they  had  escaped  from  the  little  hut  in  which  he  had  placed  them. 
(Any  child  can  break  out  of  a  bamboo  hut!) 

Because  I  had  fined  Ngawe  for  a  series  of  neglects  in  the 
kitchen,  he  deserted.  A  very  ungrateful  return  for  the  doctor- 
ing which  Anyentyuwa  had  done  for  him  when  he  was  sick,  and, 
for  the  clothing  T  had  given  him  when  his  box  had  been  lost. 
At  chapel  services  of  Sunday.  August  3d,  there  were  six  tribal 
lines,  ten  Gafwas.  five  Ajumba,  five  Faiiwe,  two  Mpongwe,  two 
whites,  and  one  Inenga. 

On  Tuesday,  the  5th,  Sika  and  Antyuwa  came  to  buy  tools. 
The  former  had  behaved  so  well  in  the  matter  of  the  robbery, 
and  had  in  no  way  hinted  at  a  reward.  So,  I  made  him  a  pres- 
ent; for  which  he  was  quite  grateful. 

EXCURSION   TO   BITAGA   LAGOON. 

On  Wednesday,  the  6th.  leaving  two  in  charge  of  the  prem- 
ises, and  taking  a  crew  of  four  in  the  large  canoe,  and  only  one 
in  a  small  canoe.  T  went  with  my  household  on  the  annual  fish- 
ing excursion  for  Mary's  birthday.  Stopping  at  Njomu,  we 
added  Antyuwa' s  wife  Papa,  to  our  company.  Some  of  the 
Faiiwe  there  were  so  surprised  at  a  white  man's  going  fishing, 
that  they  said  something  unusual  would  happen,  either  rain,  or 
something  else,  and  advised  me  not  to  go.  I  smiled  at  the  idea 
of  rain  in  August.  When  T  reached  the  lagoon.  I  suspected 
that  a  reason  why  T  was  advised  was  lest  T  should  interfere  with 
the  num1>er  of  Faiiwe  who  were  already  there.  Tt  was  the  first 
of  my  Bitaga  excursions  on  which  T  found  Fan  we  already  occu- 
pying our  pleasant  camp.  But,  I  went  to  another  good  place; 
and,  at  once  sent  two  of  the  men  fishing,  while  the  others  put 
up  the  tent.  etc. 


THE  TASK  ENDED  675 

Next  clay,  the  former  routine  of  doing-as-we-pleased  was  fol- 
lowed. I  read  Maria  Monk's  Awful  Disclosures  of  Convent 
Life.  Many  Fail  we  came  simply  to  stare  at  us.  The  staring 
of  other  tribes  had  been  with  an  amused  look,  that  was  soon 
satisfied,  and  then  passed.  But,  the  Fafiwe  stare  was  long, 
steady,  stolidly  passive,  and  persistent  even  against  protest.  It 
finally  caused  me  to  dislike  the  tribe;  and  that,  of  course,  inter- 
fered with  success  in  work  for  them.  That  night,  there  was  a 
rain ;  and  I  and  the  men  got  wet. 

On  Saturday,  the  9th,  started  homeward,  stopping,  of  course, 
at  Njomu.  The  Fafiwe  there  were  sure  that  it  was  my  "  fetish  " 
that  had  caused  the  rain.  And,  we  were  comfortably  at  our 
home,  in  time  to  stow  away  everything  before  the  night. 

On  Sunday,  the  10th,  after  dark  the  Brazza  came,  bringing 
Mr.  Gacon.  He  had  expected  to  arrive  on  Saturday;  but,  the 
engine  was  out  of  order.  He  brought  a  mail.  It  contained  a 
blessed  letter  from  my  noble  brother  William.  The  criticisms 
of  some,  even  of  my  relatives,  for  my  retaining  of  Anyentyuwa 
in  my  household  after  my  sister's  departure,  had  cut  me  severely 
and  indelibly.  They  had  unjustly  failed  to  appreciate  all  the 
points  of  the  unprecedented  situation.  My  brother  was  not  a 
professing  Christian ;  but,  his  letter  was  the  most  Christian  I  re- 
ceived from  anyone,  relating  to  that  subject.  He  justified,  and 
commended  my  course.  For  it,  I  have  most  lovingly  cherished 
his  memory.  And,  I  rejoiced  that  the  home  to  which  my  little 
daughter  was  to  go  was  one  in  which  the  name  of  her  good  "  Ma 
Janie  "  would  not  be  despised. 

On  Friday,  the  15th,  Mr.  Gacon  completed  his  visit;  and, 
with  my  canoe  and  Mamba  and  crew,  he  returned  to  Kangwe. 
It  was  a  showery  day,  and  chilly;  and,  none  of  us  felt  well. 
The  absence  of  the  crew  left  me  fewer  and  weaker  than  had 
been  the  case  for  years. 

Xative  African  females  cannot  dress  their  own  hair,  espe- 
cially if  it  is  long,  as  was  Anyentyuwa's.  So,  in  a  canoe  with 
the  two  children  for  their  amusement,  she  went  across  the  river, 
to  trader  Mpaga's  wife,  to  be  braided  by  her.  Mary's  dog 
Puck  was  unable  to  resist  the  temptation  to  follow.  On  our 
down-stream  journeys,  he  ceased  to  follow,  when  we  disap- 
peared behind  a  point.  But.  with  the  canoe  in  sight  that  Satur- 
day, he  followed ;  and  actually  swam  across  the  swift  stream. 
On  Sunday,  the  17th.  no  Fan  we  present  at  chapel.  A  war- 
drum  was  being  beaten  in  their  villages,  about  some  quarrel 
over  a  stolen  woman. 


676  MY  OGOWE 

By  Friday,  the  22<d,  Mamba.  had  returned  from  Kangwe, 
bringing  some  recruits  for  work.  I  began  the  re-roofing  of  the 
hill-side  house,  Mrs.  Nassau's  cottage,  of  1883.  Mary  was  with 
me  part  of  the  time.  With  her  in  that  house,  her  mother's,  the 
memories  were  impressive. 

TOUR    TO    THE    CHURCHES. 

On  Monday,  September  8th.  warned  by  the  thieving  of  three 
months  before,  I  left  a  very  reliable  company  in  charge,  Mamba, 
Londo,  and  two  others,  and  started  down-river  in  the  boat  with 
my  household  and  a  weak  crew  of  six.  Did  not  reach  Okendo's 
at  Magenene,  until  after  sunset.  Next  day,  expecting  difficulty 
in  the  low  water,  our  start  was  very  early.  The  boat  grounded 
badly  before  passing  Mbomi ;  and,  again,  before  the  noon  stop 
in  the  forest  opposite  to  the  Ozege  Nkatya.  The  only  open 
channel  took  us  down  the  left  bank  and  around  by  Inenga ; 
reaching  Andende  landing  just  at  sundown.  A  warm  welcome 
from  Mr.  Gacon. 

On  Thursday,  the  nth,  in  the  boat,  the  usual  stop  was  made 
for  lunch  at  Ovimbiyano ;  and  then  on  to  Igenja.  On  the  way, 
was  surprised  by  a  strong  wind  and  some  rain.  But,  the  little 
thatch  over  the  stern  kept  my  household  dry.  The  welcomes 
we're  good.     And,  Elder  Abumba  was  well  again. 

People  were  so  slow  at  gathering  in  from  the  adjacent  dis- 
tricts, that  I  did  not  call  the  session  together  on  Friday.  Mary 
enjoyed  herself  playing  on  the  little  sand-bar  at  the  landing, 
and  in  sitting  in  the  boat,  and  working  with  a  paddle.  On 
Saturday,  the  13th,  session  meetings  were  held.  And,  on  Sun- 
day, two  adults  were  baptized  at  the  communion.  The  church 
company  scattered,  on  Monday:  but,  I  remained,  writing  up 
minutes  of  session.  Next  day,  in  the  boat,  I  stopped,  as  usual. 
at  places,  to  teach  members  of  the  inquiry  class.  This  was  jus- 
tice to  them,  in  following  my  presbyterial  position  of  requiring 
ability  to  read  the  Bible  as  a  condition  precedent  to  baptism 
(excepting  in  certain  evident  cases).  And,  for  the  night  at 
"  Liverpool." 

On  Wednesday,  the  17th.  happening  to  meet  friend  Azaze 
near  the  Fanwe  village  on  the  site  of  his  old  Nandi-po  town,  he 
claimed  that  I  should  stay  with  him  that  night,  at  his  new  place 
near  Ngomu.  I  did  not  weary  myself  to  push  the  crew,  and 
took  our  leisurely  way  for  comfort,  reaching  Azaze's  before 
himself  arrived.     When  he  came,  he  gave  us  good  rooms  in  a 


THE  TASK  ENDED  677 

big  house;  but,  some  of  his  women  annoyed  us  by  being  unwill- 
ing to  vacate  them. 

In  parting,  next  day,  as  a  return  for  the  hospitality  of  the 
village,  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  buy  a  quantity  (which  I  really  did 
not  need)  of  the  abundance  of  potatoes,  etc.,  etc.,  which  the 
people  crowded  to  sell.  I  admired  the  site.  [It  is  now  the 
location  of  one  of  the  stations  of  my  successors,  the  French 
Protestant  Society.]  Our  progress  was  slow  around  the 
Aningo-arevo  and  Aromba  sands.  But  we  were  at  Ovimbiyano 
by  middle  of  afternoon. 

On  Friday,  the  19th,  began  session  meetings.  Late  in  the 
afternoon,  Elder  Agon  jo  arrived  from  Kangwe,  confirming 
(what  Okendo  had  already  told  me)  of  his  difficulties  with  Mr. 
Gacon.  I  was  very  much  distressed.  I  had  been  friendly  with 
Mr.  Gacon,  and  he  had  been  very  kind  to  me.  But,  I  began  to 
doubt  him.  When  he  first  came  from  Switzerland,  he  was  a 
Perfectionist.  He  had  maintained  that  belief,  in  the  helpful 
religious  surroundings  of  his  home.  In  Africa,  with  its  law- 
lessness, and  its  small  means  of  grace,  he  found  that  he  was  im- 
perfect. Then,  in  his  disappointment,  while  not  losing  his 
Christian  faith,  he  became  reckless,  and  went  to  the  other  ex- 
treme. He  became  passionate  in  his  anger,  and  violent  in  his 
treatment  of  the  natives.  Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teisseres,  in 
leaving  Kangwe  for  their  Kongo  journey,  had  passed  over 
to  him  the  control  of  the  station  that  Mr.  Good  had  entrusted 
to  them.  And,  Mr.  Gacon  had  voluntarily  shared  it  with  me. 
But,  he  did  not  know  how  to  exercise  power.  I  had  to  believe 
that  he  abused  it. 

On  Saturday,  the  20th,  Agon  jo  returned  to  Kangwe,  for  his 
duty  with  the  church.  A  boat  came  on  its  way  up-river,  with 
the  white  engineer  of  the  Duala,  and  the  news  of  the  wreck  of 
that  vessel  at  Ashuka. 

On  Sunday,  the  21st,  arrived  Bible-reader  Mbora,  from  his 
out-station  in  the  Nkami  portion  of  the  river,  with  the  news  of 
the  death  at  Libreville,  of  Anyure-gula,  a  cousin  of  Anyentyuwa. 
(This  increased  her  desire  to  go  to  Gaboon,  for  the  mournings.) 
In  the  evening,  came  the  astounding  news  that  Mr.  Gacon  had 
had  Elder  Agonjo  arrested.  I  felt  sure  of  his  innocence,  and, 
with  my  former  friendship  for  Mr.  Gacon,  I  felt  much  cast 
down.  Being  in  charge  of  Kangwe,  I  knew  that  I  would  have 
to  take  some  action. 

After  a  restless  night  of  anxiety,  I  arose  early,  on  Monday 


678  MY  OGOWE 

morning,  and  hurried  the  loading  of  the  hoat,  so  as  to  haste  to 
the  aid  of  Elder  Agonjo.  The  crew  pulled  slowly;  I  had  to 
beg  them  to  haste  to  the  relief  of  their  friend.  When  nearing 
Lembarene,  I  went  into  the  forest  alone,  to  put  on  clothing- 
better  fitted  for  calling  at  the  French  Post.  1  feared  that  my 
reception  might  not  be  cordial ;  for,  the  administrator  was  the 
J)r.  Reol  (in  company,  nine  months  l>efore,  with  that  sergeant 
at  Cape  Lopez)  ;  and,  he  had  made  no  effort  to  re-arrest  my 
four  escaped  thieves.  (Mr.  Gacon  had  told  me  that  this  admin- 
istrator was  displeased  at  what  he  thought  my  discourtesy  in 
not  paying  my  respects  to  him  at  my  quarterly  visits  to  Kangwe. 
1  certainly  had  not  intended  disrespect,  J  had  been  so  very  busy 
with  so  many  church  duties.  Perhaps  my  failure  to  make  an 
official  call  was  an  error.  But,  it  did  not  justify  his  neglect  to 
give  me  justice,  in  the  case  of  the  thieves.)  I  then  went  on, 
and  landed  at  H.  &  C.  house,  and  asked  the  agent,  Mr.  Smith, 
for  the  use  of  his  interpreter.  At  the  Post.  1  had  a  long  dis- 
cussion with  the  administrator.  Mr.  Gacon's  charge  against 
Elder  Agonjo  and  two  other  young  men  was  that  they  had  en- 
couraged a  certain  young  man,  Rere-ntyolo,  in  an  attempt  to 
shoot  him.  (Rere-ntyolo  had  then  fled.)  Of  that  attempt  I 
knew  nothing,  and  made  no  plea.  Nor,  for  the  two  young  men 
did  I  take  any  position,  as  to  their  guilt  or  innocence.  But,  for 
Elder  Agonjo,  I  staked  my  truth  and  honor  for  his  innocence, 
simply  on  his  character  as  I  knew  it.  He  also  asserted  the  in- 
nocence of  the  two  young  men.  Finally,  the  administrator 
did  me  the  compliment  to  accept  my  word,  and  released  the 
three,  unconditionally;  except,  that  as  he  said  that  Agonjo  had 
been  held  only  as  a  hostage,  as  a  means  of  compelling  Rere- 
ntyolo  to  deliver  himself  up  in  his  place,  1  should  bring  pressure 
on  proper  persons  to  compel  his  return.  I  accepted  the  condi- 
tion ;  and  was  greatly  relieved.  There  was  rejoicing  when 
Elder  Agonjo  entered  the  boat.  It  was  dark  when  we  reached 
Andende.  Thanks  were  given  me  by  the  crowd  that  awaited 
us  at  the  landing,  led  by  Ntyango  and  other  prominent  Kangwe 
employees.  There  was  evident  increased  respect  for  me,  be- 
cause of  my  apparent  influence  with  the  government.  I  at  once 
took  Elder  Agonjo  to  Mr.  Gacon,  expecting  that  the  latter  would 
be  displeased  that  I  had  released  him.  To  my  agreeable  sur- 
prise, he  was  not;  though  he  still  believed  that  Agonjo  had 
aided  Rere-ntyolo.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Gacon  and  1  had  a 
somewhat  excited  conversation. 

On   Tuesday,   the  23d,    I    was  busy  paying  the    Kangwe  em- 


THE  TASK  ENDED  679 

ployees.  After  a  decided  talk  with  Agonjo  and  Ntyango,  I 
sent  them,  to  appeal  to  the  Galwa  chiefs,  on  the  various  grounds 
of  justice  to  Mr.  Gacon,  to  Agonjo,  and  to  myself,  that  they 
should  capture  Rere-ntyolo,  and  deliver  him  to  the  government. 
In  the  evening,  I  had  another  exciting  talk  with  Mr.  Gacon ; 
the  end  of  which  was  a  better  understanding.  Though  he  still 
doubted  Agonjo,  he  was  convinced  of  my  sympathy  for  himself, 
as  against  Rere-ntyolo;  and  my  desire  to  be  just  both  to  himself 
and  Agonjo. 

Next  day,  Anyentyuwa  went  to  the  Hill,  with  five  of  the  em- 
ployees, to  superintend  their  cleaning  of  the  house,  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  return  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good  from  the  United  States. 

On  Thursday,  the  25th,  I  wrote  for  Mr.  Good  a  letter,  in  the 
nature  of  a  report  of  my  administration  of  his  station  and 
churches,  during  his  absence.  I  had  felt  hurt  at  his  estimate 
of  my  work  during  his  former  absence.  But,  I  was  indifferent 
as  to  how  he  might  regard  the  present  one.  For,  I  myself  was 
dissatisfied  with  it.  I  knew  however  that  I  had  done  the  best  I 
could,  in  my  ill-health,  in  charge  of  two  stations  and  three 
churches,  and  limited  by  my  first  duty  to  my  little  child.  No 
human  hand  could  have  worked  perfectly  under  those  combined 
circumstances.  In  the  afternoon,  Elder  Agonjo  and  Ntyango 
returned,  having  obtained  possession  of  Rere-ntyolo,  and  accom- 
panied by  a  large  delegation  of  the  heads  of  many  villages.  The 
people  of  "  England  "  village  had  yielded  to  Agonjo's  pleas, 
and  had  given  up  the  prisoner.  I  went  out  on  to  the  large  front 
veranda,  to  receive  the  delegation,  and  to  listen,  according  to 
native  etiquette,  to  the  dignified  statement  they  desired  to  make. 
I  was  shocked  when  Mr.  Gacon  rushed  out  of  the  house,  into 
our  midst,  and  began  to  beat  the  prisoner.  However  guilty  the 
latter  was,  and  however  indignant  I  might  be  at  his  attempted 
assault  on  my  white  brother,  I  appreciated  that  he  had  been 
brought  to  me,  not  to  Mr.  Gacon ;  and,  as  it  were,  under  a  flag* 
of  truce ;  that  he  was  my  prisoner,  not  Mr.  Gacon's ;  and  that 
neither  of  us  had  right  to  punish,  in  advance  of  the  civil  author- 
ity. The  delegation  looked  on  in  astonishment.  I  interfered. 
Mr.  Gacon,  by  that  undignified  conduct,  lost  all  the  sympathy  the 
natives  otherwise  would  have  had  for  him.  I  sent  the  prisoner 
to  the  Post,  with  Mr.  Gacon  to  make  his  plea  against  him  to 
the  administrator. 

I  was  told  of  a  cruel  crime  that  had  recently  occurred  down 
the  Ajumba  branch  of  the  river.  An  Ajumba  man,  angry  at 
one  of  his  wives,  tied  her  feet,  also  her  hands  behind  her  back, 


680  MY  OGOWE 

threw  her  on  the  ground,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  a  slave  to 
hold  her  head  firmly,  had  cut  away  the  skin  and  flesh  of  her  face, 
below  the  eyes.  Then,  releasing  her,  he  ordered  her  to  go  away 
to  her  father's  village.  (That  occurred  in  a  morning.)  She 
went  to  her  father's  people.  They  were  horrified.  But,  in- 
stead of  receiving  and  helping  her,  they  regarded  her  as  prac- 
tically dead,  and  thought  only  of  the  native  judicial  point  of 
view,  for  her  murderer's  punishment.  They  felt  that,  if  they 
received  her,  and  the  expected  death  occurred  on  their  hands, 
part  of  the  blame  would  be  laid  against  them.  So,  they  said, 
"  this  is  a  dead  person,"  and  told  her  to  go  back  to  her  husband, 
in  order  that  he  might  complete  the  killing;  and,  then,  they  would 
kill  him.  The  poor  woman  started  back  to  her  husband's  vil- 
lage; but,  he  threatened  to  shoot  anyone  who  should  bring  her. 
So,  she  wandered  to  her  mother's  family,  and  they,  in  pity, 
received  her,  in  the  evening,  after  she  had  stood  a  long  while  at 
the  entrance  of  the  village.  Her  relatives  demanded  the  hus- 
band's life.  But,  his  people  protected  him,  with  the  claim  that 
a  man  was  at  liberty  to  do  what  he  pleased  with  a  wife,  she 
being  the  property  he  had  bought.  After  discussion,  the  claim 
against  his  life  was  changed  to  a  demand  for  a  substitute,  who 
was  to  be  treated  as  the  husband  had  treated  their  sister.  He 
yielded  to  the  demand,  and  sent  to  them  a  little  slave.  They 
sent  back  the  slave,  saying,  that  a  slave's  blood  did  not  equal 
their  sister's;  and,  demanded  a  freeman,  naming  a  sister  of  the 
husband,  a  woman  who  was  the  mother  of  five  children.  And, 
the  "  palaver  "  was  still  being  talked. 

I  held  a  session  meeting  in  the  afternoon.  And,  continued  it 
on  Saturday. 

On  Sunday,  the  28th,  I  had  several  boils  that  hurt  me  very 
much;  but,  I  managed  to  dress  for  church.  Two  young  men 
were  baptized. 

On  Monday,  Mary  was  sick,  and  I  attended  to  her;  though 
I  had  intended  to  begin  to  pack  a  quantity  of  native  implements 
and  other  curios,  that  Mr.  Gacon  had  been  kindly  collecting  for 
me,  for  the  university.  But,  as  I  could  sit  by  her  bed,  I  wrote 
up  the  first-church  records. 

On  Tuesday,  the  30th,  Mary  was  a  little  better,  and  could  lie 
on  rugs  on  the  floor  in  the  baggage-room,  and  watch  me  as  I 
worked  at  my  packing.  Mr.  Gacon,  too,  was  busy,  putting  the 
Andende  premises  in  order,  in  expectation  of  Mr.  Good's  com- 
ing. One  of  my  men  had  finished  his  year's  contract,  was  paid, 
and  left  with  Elder  Yongwe.     With  them,  T  also  dismissed  the 


FAX  WE  WARRIOR 


Facing  page  681 


THE  TASK  ENDED  68 1 

young  woman  assistant,  Oka-oningo,  for  disobedience.  It  was 
noticeable,  in  my  Talaguga  life,  how  almost  all  my  Galwa  em- 
ployees, male  and  female,  came  from  principally  only  three  dis- 
tricts, Wambalya,  Oranga,  and  Igenja. 

On  Wednesday,  October  i,  Mary  being  better,  I  was  safe  to 
leave  her,  when  I  had  finished  the  packing,  and  went  on  errands 
to  the  trading-houses ;  and  called,  to  pay  my  official  respects,  on 
the  administrator;  and  make  inquiries  about  a  possible  tow  up- 
river.  But,  prospects  were  slight;  the  Daala  was  wrecked,  the 
Yasi  sunk,  and  the  Oviro  disabled.  Next  day,  I  completed  the 
closing  and  addressing  of  my  five  boxes  of  African  specimens, 
for  Provost  Pepper  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  and  sent 
them  to  one  of  the  Lembarene  houses,  to  be  forwarded  to  Libre- 
ville, for  shipment  to  England  and  the  United  States. 

TO    TALAGUGA. 

On  Friday,  October  3,  we  bade  good-by  to  Mr.  Gacon,  who 
was  not  well,  and  who  expected  to  return  to  Switzerland,  as 
soon  as  Mr.  Good  should  come.  He  was  very  earnest  in  plan- 
ning for  me  to  visit  him  at  Neuchatel,  when  I  should  be  on  my 
way  to  America  in  the  next  year.  I  fully  intended  to  accept  his 
invitation ;  for,  of  all  the  European  countries,  Switzerland  was 
the  one  that  I  had,  all  my  life,  desired  to  see.  The  river  was 
rising,  and  I  had  not  much  difficulty  in  getting  around  the  shal- 
lows of  old  Aguma  Island  beyond  old  Adali-na-nanga.  Our 
lunch  at  Nenge-Nkanga,  where  a  good  dinner  had  been  prepared, 
was  spoiled  by  a  heavy  shower  of  rain.  We  were  at  the  old 
Island  "  factory "  late  in  the  afternoon,  where  the  trader. 
Nkombe-nyondo,  received  us  kindly.  But,  my  boils,  and  the 
Fanwe,  armed,  and  peering  at  my  crew,  if  haply  they  might 
discover  a  Faiiwe  of  a  hostile  clan,  took  away  my  appetite  for 
supper;  and  I  went  to  bed  early.  Next  day,  fortunately,  there 
was  no  rain,  though  there  were  signs  of  heavy  storms  as  we 
passed  Mbomi.  With  a  good  run  we  were  at  Okendo's  before 
sunset;  and  discharged  the  boat,  arranging  for  Sunday  rest. 
On  Sunday,  there  was  the  false  report  that  the  lad  Njega  was 
dead.  Some  native  traders  came  to  service.  The  degree  of 
civilization  and  the  slight  education  that  our  mission  gave  the 
young  men.  when  not  sanctified  by  a  change  of  heart,  showed 
itself,  with  some  of  them,  in  the  form  of  offensive  vanity.  One 
of  them,  Rikange.  that  day  came  dressed  in  a  tailor  suit,  hair 
parted  in  the  middle  like  a  woman,  striking  attitudes,  and  af- 
fected lisping  in  his  language. 


682  MY  OGOWE 

On  Monday,  the  6th,  in  passing  Ongamu's,  he  gave  us  a  de- 
licious fish  igcixnt;  which  we  utilized  at  our  forest-camp  near 
Krere-volo  beach.  Long  before  6  o'clock,  by  an  excellent  run, 
we  were  at  Njomu. 

On  Tuesday,  the  7th,  though  Iga  was  sick,  we  ate  our  dinner 
on  Ozege-Irandi.  And,  were  at  our  Talaguga  by  the  middle  of 
the  afternoon.  At  first,  the  children  felt  disappointed  that  dog 
J  }uck  had  not  promptly  come  to  welcome  them.  They  feared 
that  he  was  lost ;  but,  he  presently  appeared. 

The  next  day,  Wednesday,  I  sent  messengers  on  an  errand, 
to  the  Post.  On  their  return,  they  brought  from  an  Knglish 
trader,  a  kitten  for  Mary,  in  place  of  the  promised  one  he  had 
failed  to  find,  at  Lembarene  in  1889.  Chef  Du  Val,  with 
another  white  man.  from  the  Post,  stopped  to  say  good-by,  on 
the  9th,  as  he  was  about  to  return  to  France.  Alary  lost  some 
of  her  enjoyment  of  Puck;  he  being  now  full  grown,  his  play 
was  too  violent. 

Friday,  the  10th.  (An  anniversary.)  The  Falaba  anchored, 
and  landed  me  a  dozen  boxes  and  packages  of  goods,  and  a  very 
large  mail,  that  had  been  detained  by  the  low  water  of  the  previ- 
ous three  months.  Among  the  good  things,  were  shoes  for 
Mary,  which  she  shared  with  Iga.  I  was  so  excited  by  the  com- 
ing of  the  mail  so  longed-for,  that  I  had  to  control  myself  and 
read  the  letters  very  slowly ;  for,  the  excitement  made  my  head 
ache  worse.  Among  the  mail  from  Gaboon,  was  a  photograph 
of  little  Harry  Davidson  Gault,  Mrs.  Gault  with  the  child  hav- 
ing arrived  from  America,  and  joining  Mr.  Gault  in  Libreville. 
Also,  a  photo  of  my  excellent  friend.  Dr.  T.  G.  Morton's  coun- 
try home,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  main  line,  near  Phila- 
delphia, United  States. 

On  Sunday,  the  12th,  some  sixteen  Fan  we  were  at  chapel. 
Mary  again  in  good  health,  and  good  appetite. 

Though  I  had  no  positive  assurance,  1  believed  that  some  one 
would  be  sent,  at  the  January,  1891,  annual  meetings,  as  my 
relief;  that  I  might  take  a  furlough  to  the  United  States.  It 
so,  I  needed  to  prepare  all  the  thousand-and-one  items  of  travel 
and  baggage,  l)efore  leaving  the  Ogowe  for  Libreville  in  the 
middle  of  December.  Thus,  with  only  two  full  months  before 
me,  it  was  necessary  to  have  luggage  ready,  from  time  to  time, 
to  send  on  chance  steamers  to  Lembarene :  there  to  await  what- 
ever vessel  should  finally  take  me  to  the  meetings.  So,  I  began, 
on  Thursday,  the  16th,  on  certain  trunks;  and,  as  opportunity 


FAX  WE  WARRIOR 


Facing  page  683 


THE  TASK  ENDED  683 

came,  sent  them  and  others  to  Lembarene  during  October  and 
November. 

On  Friday,  the  17th,  in  the  midst  of  a  rain,  a  Frenchman 
stopped  in  a  large  canoe,  to  leave  messages  sent  by  Rev.  Messrs. 
Allegret  and  Teisseres,  whom  he  had  met  in  the  Interior  at 
Franceville.  I  appreciated  very  highly  the  unfailing  courtesy 
of  both  those  gentlemen.  In  the  methodic  spirit  with  which  I 
attended  to  all  business,  so  that  nothing  should  be  forgotten,  I 
already  began  to  make  memoranda  of  things  to  be  done  or 
bought,  on  the  prospective  voyage  to  America,  six  months  in 
advance. 

On  Wednesday,  the  22(1,  at  Asange,  paying  accounts  and 
settling  debts  at  the  houses,  and  announcing  to  them  my  furni- 
ture and  other  goods  for  sale.  At  the  Post,  was  informed  by 
Chef  Gazengel  that,  within  a  month,  the  Ecclaircur  and  a  new 
vessel  the  Milamine,  would  be  in  the  river  for  freight  and  pas- 
senger traffic.  That  exactly  coincided  with  my  plans  for  send- 
ing baggage  for  Libreville,  in  the  last  of  December.  It  was  a 
very  successful  day's  business,  that  enlivened  my  spirits,  and 
gave  me  hearty  appetite  for  food,  notwithstanding  the  phleg- 
monous boil  on  my  left  scapula. 

The  regular  weekly  village  itineration,  though  I  was  unable, 
had  been  attended  to  by  Elder  Abumba  or  others.  On  Satur- 
day, the  25th.  I  sent  Mamba  as  far  as  Njomu.  On  his  return, 
he  brought  some  fine  Faiiwe  daggers,  as  a  parting  present  from 
Antyuwa.  [Those  daggers  I  presented  to  five  members  of  my 
Synod  of  New  Jersey;  and  one  of  them  was  wielded  in  the  pul- 
pit at  Belvidere,  N.  J.,  in  October,  1892,  by  Rev.  Dr.  C.  D. 
Shaw,  when  I  succeeded  him  in  the  moderator's  chair.] 

During  those  days,  the  phlegmon  on  my  left  scapula  was  so 
very  painful,  and  made  me  so  feverish,  that  I  could  do  no  work, 
though  I  was  anxious  to  attend  to  some  packing,  to  bet  ready 
for  any  chance  steamer.  By  an  irony  of  fate,  I  was  overrun 
with  offers  of  food.  In  the  earlier  years,  I  had  a  large  work- 
ing force,  in  the  erection  of  the  many  buildings  necessary  at 
any  new  station ;  for  them,  I  needed  food.  The  Faiiwe  had 
none  to  sell ;  and  the  Galwas,  seventy  miles  away,  did  not  feel 
that  there  was  inducement  to  bring  their  extra  supply  for  the 
needs  of  only  one  purchaser.  And,  inevitably  I  had  had  fre- 
quent desertions  because  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  food  supply. 
Now,  at  the  end  of  my  years,  with  houses  all  built,  and  with 
but  few  employees  (for  whom  I  had  small  need)  even  the 
Faiiwe  had  learned  to  raise  extra  food ;  and  the  large  trade  set- 


684  MY  OGOWE 

tlement  at  Asange  Post  made  it  worth  while  for  Galwas  one 
hundred  miles  distant  to  come  with  their  canoe  loads  of  plan- 
tains, cassava,  and  fish.  Lest  they  should  pass  me  by  during  the 
remaining  few  months  of  my  stay,  I  bought  a  little  from  each 
one.  Formerly,  I  would  gladly  have  taken  the  whole  canoe- 
load.  So  sore  was  my  back,  that  I  could  not  even  hand  out 
articles  in  payment  from  the  store.  Elder  Abumba  and  Anye- 
ntyuwa  had  to  do  it  for  me. 

On  Saturday,  November  i,  I  started  Mamba  in  a  canoe  with 
five  crew,  to  take  down-river  four  boxes  of  Mrs.  Nassau's  books 
and  other  relics  which  I  was  preserving  for  her  child.  It  was  the 
rainy  season ;  but,  I  risked  the  chance  of  their  running  through 
in  one  day,  without  a  shower. 

On  Sunday,  November  2,  I  myself  was  not  well,,  and  felt  de- 
pressed about  my  work.  Alary  was  unhappy  because  her  hair 
had  not  been  arranged  as  she  wished.  And,  Puck  was  so  noisy 
in  the  chapel,  that  he  had  to  be  put  out.  And,  then  I  shortened 
the  services. 

On  Monday,  Chef  Gazengel.  from  the  Post,  sent  his  ser- 
geant to  buy  my  provisions.  I  sold  him  $100  worth.  On 
Thursday,  the  6th,  hearing  that  the  Falaba  was  expected  soon, 
anxiety  about  my  packing  was  increased;  and,  I  set  Elder 
Abumba  to  do  some  of  it,  as  I  sat  by  to  superintend,  ^'hen  he 
brought  out  my  best  tea-set,  to  pack  it,  I  discovered  that  the 
entire  dozen  of  plates,  the  tea-pot,  and  other  pieces  were  miss- 
ing. As  I  had  used  the  set  on  only  special  occasions,  the  loss 
was  thus  late  in  being  revealed.  Evidently,  this  was  part  of  the 
work  of  the  thief  Mbigino  and  his  three  companions.  It  in- 
creased my  indignation  over  the  fact  that  they  had  received  no 
punishment. 

On  Saturday,  the  8th,  Sergeant  Malamine  came  again,  to  state, 
from  Chef  Gazengel,  that  two  of  the  twenty-five  tins  of  sugar 
I  had  charged,  were  missing  from  the  case  I  had  sent  him ! 
This  was,  for  the  moment,  annoying,  though  no  fault  was  at- 
tached to  me.  That  ease  had  never  been  opened  by  me.  The 
explanation  was  not  an  unusual  one.  Kru-men  on  the  ocean- 
steamers,  in  their  handling  of  freight  in  the  holds  of  the  ves- 
sels, without  white  supervision,  often  skillfully  opened  boxes, 
and  stole.  Of  course,  I  rectified  the  bill,  and  salved  it  with  a 
can  of  cranberries. 

At  noon  came  the  Elobi.  There  was  a  mail,  and  a  Wardian 
case  of  geraniums  and  grape-vines,  delayed  from  an  order  I  had 
sent  to  England.     The  kindness  of  the  steamers  had  noticeably 


FANWE  WARRIOR 


Facing  page  685 


THE  TASK  ENDED  685 

diminished,  since  the  era  of  charges  for  transportation  and  pass- 
age had  begun.  The  captain  declined  to  land  the  big  case  for 
me ;  my  old  freight  canoe  was  dangerously  small  into  which  to 
load  so  large  a  box.  But,  it  was  done,  safely.  In  the  mail,  a 
letter  of  Mr.  Good's  surprised  me.  It  stated  that  a  Rev.  Wm. 
S.  Bannerman  would  probably  be  sent  to  take  my  place  at  Tala- 
guga;  and,  Mr.  Good  suggested  that  I  should  retain  my  furni- 
ture, etc.,  for  sale  to  Mr.  Bannerman.  I  had  hoped  that  some- 
body would  be  sent  for  my  relief.  But,  I  had  decided  that  I 
would  go  in  1891,  even  if  no  one  should  be  sent  to  me.  I  had 
twice  stepped  into  the  Kangwe  breach,  to  save  Mr.  Good. 
Equally,  from  Kangwe,  he  could  supervise  my  Talaguga,  espe- 
cially as  he  had  returned  in  good  health,  with  associates  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  Jacot.  Nothing  had  been  said  about  relief  for  me. 
I  would  no  longer  stand  "  on  the  burning  deck."  Having  been 
left  alone  all  the  six  years,  I  had  had  only  myself  with  whom 
to  advise.  The  timely  sale  of  my  goods  was  over.  I  wondered 
why  the  intimation  of  Mr.  Bannerman's  coming  had  not  been 
made  earlier.  Why  had  the  suggestion  as  to  retaining  my  furni- 
ture been  delayed?  How  could  I  know  but  that  my  successor 
would  have  his  own  goods  and  supplies?  My  furniture  had  al- 
ready been  sold.  The  purchasers  expected  me  to  send  it  on  the 
Elobi.  I  was  excited.  So,  I  quieted  myself  by  planting  the 
geraniums  and  grapes,  for  which  I  had  been  longing.  In  the 
mail,  Miss  Lombard,  the  tactful  editress  of  Over  Sea  and  Land, 
the  Presbyterian  children's  Foreign  Missionary  magazine,  of 
Philadelphia,  had  sent  Mary  the  new  play,  "  Pigs-in-clover,"  and 
some  alphabet  cards.  [I  have  reverently  visited  her  grave  in 
the  Lower  Providence  cemetery,  near  Norristown,  Pa.] 

In  my  frequent  absences  during  the  year,  the  white  ants  had 
obtained  a  hold  in  the  house,  which  I  feared  was  more  than  the 
passing  presence  of  their  usual  daily  attacks.  And,  while  I 
should  be  away  in  January  at  Libreville,  the  insects  would  be  in- 
vading still  more.  An  unpleasant  set  of  welcomes  for  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bannerman  when  they  should  arrive !  I  was  building  noth- 
ing new;  and,  most  of  the  houses  were  in  good  repair;  but,  as  a 
preparation  for  my  successor,  I  had  many  jobs  of  painting  and 
cleaning.  Mary  began  to  appreciate  that  her  home  was  being 
broken  up ;  for,  her  cat  was  sent  back  to  the  trader  who  had 
given  it.  and  her  play- room  was  vacated  of  its  toys,  etc.,  that  it 
might  be  left  properly  clean. 

On  Friday,  the  14th,  a  pleasant  addition  to  our  company  ar- 
rived on  the  new  steamer  Sergeant  M diamine,  in  the  persons  of 


686  MY  OGOWK 

Mamba's  wife  and  two  of  her  children  (himself  was  in  the  canoe 
in  which  I  had  sent  him  on  the  ist,  still  on  his  way  up).  Also, 
Agaia  and  his  wife,  and  two  other  young  men. 

On  Saturday,  the  15th,  the  precious  little  Swan,  which  I  had 
carefully  guarded  since  1882,  for  sake  of  its  donors,  and  of  its 
owner.  Mrs.  Nassau,  and  of  its  present  possessor,  my  child,  al- 
most ended  its  life.  In  it,  Anyentyuwa  with  the  two  children 
had  gone  across  the  river  to  visit  her  cousin  Ozume,  wife  of  the 
man  "James,"  at  the  new  German  trading-house  on  Mpaga's 
abandoned  site.  They  had  just  entered  the  boat  to  return,  when 
it  was  stove  in  against  a  snag,  and  so  badly  damaged  that  they 
had  to  come  in  a  canoe. 

On  Wednesday,  the  19th,  at  the  tiresome  job  of  making  an 
inventory  of  the  utensils  in  the  pantry.  It  took  labor,  to  look 
up  the  prices  in  bills  of  years  past.  The  Oviro  had  passed  up ; 
and  I  got  six  more  boxes  and  trunks  ready  for  the  vessel  when 
it  should  come  down.  In  the  evenings,  after  Mary  had  been 
sung  to  sleep,  I  usually  read  aloud  to  Anyentyuwa,  while  she 
sewed.  Friends  in  the  United  States  frequently  sent  us  the 
monthly  magazines. 

I  had  sent  Mamba,  on  the  18th,  with  a  letter  of  inquiry  to 
Mr.  Good,  at  Kangwe.  On  Saturday,  the  22d,  he  returned.  \ 
felt  relieved  by  Mr.  Good's  very  definite  letter.  I  was  also  glad 
that  all  my  people  were  together  again. 

On  Saturday,  the  29th,  I  had  a  lot  of  my  luggage  ready  in  a 
canoe,  early  in  the  morning,  so  as  not  to  detain  the  expected 
Oka  when  it  should  come  down  from  the  Post.  When  it  came 
in  sight.  T  hurried  off  two  loads,  while  the  vessel  waited,  though 
the  engineer  shouted  ashore  that  there  was  no  more  room. 
Nevertheless,  I  sent  all  the  eighteen  pieces ;  for,  the  agent,  Mr. 
Deemin.  had  promised  me  the  use  of  the  Oka  "at  any  time." 
On  Sunday,  the  30th.  a  large  number  of  Fail  we  at  chapel. 
Mary  was  not  present;  she  was  watching  with  her  kind  "Ma 
Janie,"  who  was  sick. 

On  Monday.  December  1,  discovered  that  one  of  the  employees 
had  the  contagious  skin-disease,  abukzve.  Elder  Abumba's  con- 
tract-year had  just  closed  ;  he  would  have  stayed  a  week  or  two 
longer,  until  T  should  finally  leave.  But,  T  did  not  like  to  have 
that  contagious  eruption  on  the  premises.  T  dreaded  it  more 
than  smallpox.  So,  Abumba  prepared  to  go;  and  took  him 
with  him.  % 

On  Wednesday,  the  t,(\.  with  Abumba's  canoe  went  also 
Mamba's.     The  coming  of  his   wife   Ntinosamu   on    November 


O 


- 


THE  TASK  ENDED  687 

14,  which  I  had  legarded  as  a  blessing,  proved  to  be  anything 
else.  She  was  unhappy,  dissatisfied,  complaining,  and  did  not 
wish  to  remain.  The  sickness  of  her  children  (the  result  of  her 
own  neglect)  caused  Mamba  to  ask  for  the  canoe,  in  which  to 
take  them  away.  But,  he  was  to  hasten  back  to  Talaguga,  as  I 
was  depending  on  him  to  take  charge  of  the  premises,  after  I 
was  gone,  and  until  a  successor  should  come. 

Shortly  after  the  two  canoes  were  gone,  came  the  Eclaireur, 
and  I  made  arrangements  with  it  that  it  should  take  some  of  my 
baggage,  when  again  it  should  come  on  the  16th. 

On  Thursday,  the  4th,  the  Elobi  came  with  a  mail.  While 
it  was  discharging  at  "  James  "  German  house  across  the  river, 
I  went  to  it,  and  engaged  to  send  other  pieces  of  my  baggage  by 
it  when  it  should  return  from  Asange  next  day  at  noon.  With 
these  confusions  of  planning  and  packing,  I  could  not  think  or 
work  methodically.  At  night,  wrote  a  long  letter  to  Mr.  Good. 
And,  at  10  p.  m.  resumed  packing,  aided  by  Anyentyuwa.  But, 
I  stopped,  tired  out  before  midnight. 

While  I  was  labeling,  marking,  and  strapping  trunks,  etc..  on 
Friday,  the  5th,  and  writing  business  directions  to  some  traders, 
the  Elobi  suddenly  appeared  at  10  a.  m.,  in  advance  of  its  prom- 
ised noon  hour.  In  great  haste,  I  sent  off  five  pieces.  The  ex- 
citement, with  the  night's  work,  made  me  sick.  House-clean- 
ing was  going  on,  for  our  final  leaving  of  the  house.  On  Mon- 
day, the  8th,  I  began  my  final  stock-taking.  Anyentyuwa's 
brother  Antyuwa  with  his  wife  Papa,  and  other  native  traders 
and  their  wives  came  to  make  their  good-by  visit.  To  entertain 
them  in  the  evening,  I  used  my  last  pieces  of  fireworks. 

On  Thursday,  the  nth,  I  was  awakened  by  the  whistle  of  a 
gunboat  that  stopped  at  my  landing".  It  handed  a  letter  to  me, 
and  asked  whether  it  was  for  me.  It  was  for  a  man  at  Lasteur- 
ville.  hundreds  of  miles  in  the  Interior!  It  was  very  strange. 
Was  it  possible  that  none  on  board  could  read  that  address? 
Or,  if  they  could  read,  why  did  they  think  that  I  was  he?  I11 
the  afternoon,  as  a  last  job,  I  took  all  the  men  to  cut  clear  the 
outline  path  of  the  entire  premises,  so  that  my  successor  should 
have  no  doubt  where  the  line  was.  By  Friday,  the  12th,  all  my 
packing  except  of  clothing,  was  finished.  Gave  out  supplies  for 
Mamba' s  expenses  during  my  absence  at  Libreville. 

On  Sunday,  the  14th,  no  persons  were  present  from  the  vil- 
lages ;  they  were  dazed  at  the  idea  of  my  going  away.  So,  the 
audience  was  very  small.  It  might  be  my  last  Sunday  at  Tala- 
guga.    I  had  many  thoughts,  in  going  over  the  history  of  the 


688  MY  OGOWE 

previous  eight  years.  Apparently,  there  was  so  little  fruit  to  my 
labor  at  Talaguga.  And.  doubtless,  some  critics  would  say  there 
was  none;  for.  I  had  no  church  organization,  and  no  Fanwe  pro- 
fessors of  religion.  I  began  to  consider  that  I  had  erred,  as  to 
the  matter  of  church  organization.  For,  there  were  converts, 
many ;  but,  all  of  them  Galwas.  And,  with  the  same  courtesy 
which,  while  I  was  at  Kangwe  in  1876—  '78,  I  had  shown  to  Rev. 
Dr.  Bushnell,  of  Libreville  as  "  bishop "  of  the  region,  until 
there  should  be  converts  who  could  be  erected  into  an  Ogowe 
church  (and,  I  had  sent  my  first  converts,  for  baptism  at  his 
Gaboon  church).  So,  in  the  same  courtesy,  for  the  eight  years 
at  Talaguga,  I  had  sent  my  Galwa  converts,  to  Mr.  Good,  as 
"  bishop  "  of  the  Ogowe,  hoping  for  the  day  when  I  should  have 
some  Fanwe  converts,  who  could  be  organized  into  a  Talaguga 
church.  I  think  I  erred.  My  courtesy  was  ideal,  ecclesiasti- 
cally ;  but,  I  carried  it  too  far.  Had  I  asked  presbytery  for  an 
organization,  even  of  only  Galwas,  the  effect  would  have  been 
more  impressive  on  the  surrounding  Fanwe.  The  view  of  the 
administration  of  the  Sacraments  would  have  been  a  means  of 
grace  to  them.  It  would  have  had  the  effect  of  a  clinching  call 
to  the  appeals  I  had  made  to  them.  The  presence  of  a  church 
would  have  been  an  encouragement  to  myself. 

On  Monday,  the  15th.  some  inquiries  I  had  made  on  the  13th 
in  regard  to  the  Ecloircur  caused  me  to  doubt  its  coming.  So. 
I  hurried  off  Londo  in  a  canoe  to  Kangwe,  with  a  dozen  pieces 
of  baggage.  Only  an  hour  later,  the  steamer  did  come!  Tt 
stopped  across  the  river,  to  try  to  recover  an  anchor  which  had 
been  lost  by  the  gunboat  of  the  nth.  I  hurried  excessively,  and 
sent  three  pieces  of  baggage  to  the  vessel.  In  the  haste,  one  of 
the  pieces,  Mary's,  had  not  been  strapped.  When  this  was  re- 
membered, a  small  canoe  was  sent  rapidly,  reaching  the  vessel 
just  in  the  last  moment  of  time,  to  fasten  the  little  chest. 

On  Wednesday,  the  17th,  the  uncle,  Ongamu,  came  to  visit 
his  niece ;  he  and  she  and  the  children  went  a  long  walk  around 
the  entire  premises,  for  a  last  view;  while  I  made  a  last  de- 
struction of  some  old  letters  and  many  bills  and  documents. 

On  Sunday,  the  21st,  very  few  people  were  present  at  chapel. 
With  Mary.  I  made  a  good-by  visit  to  the  grave.  I  was  proud 
of  the  child's  tears  for  the  mother  she  had  never  known. 
Antyuwa  and  Sika  came  on  Monday,  the  22d ;  and,  the  former 
took  his  sister  across  the  river  to  make  her  last  visit  to  her 
cousin  Ozume.  When  they  returned  in  the  afternoon,  my 
formerlv  reliable  friend  Sika  was  drunk! 


THE  TASK  ENDED  689 


LAST  JOURNEY  TO  KANGWE. 

On  Tuesday,  December  23,  while  loading  my  boat  and  canoe, 
the  Jeanne-Louise  passing  down,  suddenly  offered  to  take  any 
baggage  for  me.  It  was  a  difficult  place  for  a  steamer  to  stop 
without  anchoring;  in  some  of  its  bottoms,  anchors  were  lost  on 
rocks.  I  hurried  the  canoe  to  the  vessel,  putting  on  board  four 
pieces  of  luggage;  thus  making  room  for  some  other  smaller 
things  in  the  boat.  We  ate  our  last  meal  at  Talaguga;  and,  at 
1  p.  m.  exactly,  having  sent  the  canoe  in  advance,  my  faithful 
Nelly-Howard  started  its  last  journey  for  me  down-river. 
Mary's  little  chickie  was  one  of  the  last  things  to  enter  the  boat. 
It  had  been  almost  forgotten;  and.  itself  stepped  in,  and  quietly 
nestled  by  its  mistress.  It  was  the  only  one  surviving  of  a 
brood,  only  a  day  old,  whose  hen  had  been  killed  by  a  snake 
under  the  house.  The  two  children  had  nursed  and  fed  it  in 
Mary's  play-room.  And,  thence,  it  joined  them  in  their  plays, 
was  allowed  to  come  to  the  table,  and  entered  the  boat  on  our 
journeys,  following  like  a  dog. 

We  all  had  our  tears  for  the  memories  of  the  joys  and  mingled 
sorrow's  of  the  Talaguga  home  that  disappeared  from  our  sight, 
as  the  current  swept  us  around  a  point  of  land.  With  a  stoppage 
at  Njomu  to  take  some  letters,  and  to  leave  Puck  in  Antyuwa's 
care :  and,  at  Abange  Creek,  where  Ongamu  gave  Mary  a  man- 
drill monkey,  we  were  at  Okendo's  for  the  night  before  sunset. 

Next  day,  there  were  a  few  stops:  At  one  white  trader's, 
who  had  just  bought  an  entire  manatee,  that  Mary  might  have  a 
close  view  and  memory  of  it;  at  two  others,  for  a  sale,  and  a 
small  debt ;  and,  then,  in  the  forest  for  our  meal.  Another  stop 
in  the  forest  was  made  a  few  miles  from  Andende,  to  change  our 
clothing.  In  the  previous  years,  any  clothing  was  allowable,  in 
consideration  of  our  being  missionary  travelers.  Now,  that  my 
work  in  the  Ogowe  was  done,  and  I  was  a  visitor  at  Kangwe,  I 
resumed  again  civilization's  code. 

We  reached  Andende  a  half-hour  after  sunset ;  and,  were  met 
at  the  landing  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Good  and  young  Albert.  Soon, 
the  new  missionary,  Rev.  Mr.  Jacot  came  down  the  path  to  greet 
us.  And,  on  the  Andende  veranda,  we  were  presented  to  Mrs. 
Jacot.  The  Jacots  were  going,  on  invitation,  to  a  Christmas  Eve 
supper  at  the  German  house.  This  was  something  new  in  the 
relations  between  missionaries  and  traders  in  the  Ogowe. 


690  MY  OGOWE 


AT   KANGWE. 

On  Thursday,  December  25,  we  rested;  and  ate  our  Christmas 
dinner  on  the  Hill,  with  Mrs.  Good.  On  Friday,  the  26th,  went 
to  all  the  trading-houses,  paying  bills  at  some,  and  being  paid  at 
others ;  collecting  my  freight  sent  from  Talaguga,  all  at  the  most 
convenient  spot,  the  English  house  of  H.  &  C.  (the  first  one  with 
which  I  had  dealt,  in  the  beginning,  in  1874),  and  inquiring  as 
to  possibilities  of  steamers  to  Cape  Lopez.  On  Saturday,  the 
27th,  Mr.  Good  invited  me  to  sit  in  the  session  meetings,  and  to 
preach  the  afternoon  preparatory  sermon.  Also,  the  sermon  on 
Sunday;  and  he  attended  to  the  baptisms.  On  the  Monday,  I 
paid  some  of  my  crew  who  wished  to  go  to  their  homes  at  once. 
Others  waited  for  my  final  departure.  Said  good-by  to  Monka- 
mi  and  others. 

On  Wednesday,  the  31st.  made  the  last  of  my  monthly  pay- 
ments to  my  Bible-readers  and  other  employees ;  and  chose 
three  of  the  younger  ones  and  the  young  women  Iguwe  to  ac- 
company us  to  Libreville.  It  was  the  custom  of  traveling  mis- 
sionaries to  take  at  least  one  native  attendant  for  their  errands, 
etc.,  etc.,  as  the  house-servants  of  the  hostess  complained  if  asked 
to  do  extra  service.  And,  Iguwe,  the  last  of  Anyentyuwa's  as- 
sistants, would  be  needed ;  for,  I  knew  that  the  attractions  of  her 
Mpnngwe  home,  and  the  mournings  for  her  relatives  would  les- 
sen her  attentions  to  Mary,  at  a  time  when  I  would  be  specially 
occupied  with  the  annual  meetings.  Londo  was  especially  help- 
ful in  packing  and  marking  one  of  my  last  loads  to  the  H.  &  C. 
house  at  Lembarene.  When  all  was  done,  and  I  said  good-by  to 
him,  he  asked  for  a  parting  prayer!  He  was  the  only  native 
who  had  thus  asked  for  prayer. 

Thursday.  January  I,  1891.  In  my  arrangement  with  Mr. 
Deemin,  for  passage  to  Cape  Lopez.  I  had  expected  to  be  at  his 
house  on  evening  of  the  1st.  ready  for  the  voyage  early  in  morn- 
ing of  the  2d.  But,  he  sent  word,  delaying  the  journey  until 
Saturday.      We  had  New  Year's  dinner  at  Mrs.  Good's. 

On  Friday,  one  of  the  last  jobs  of  my  people,  assisted  by  the 
Andende  employees,  was  to  draw  from  the  water,  my  precious 
Nelly-Howard,  and  carefully  turn  it  upside-down  in  the  boat- 
house  (so  that  it  should  not  be  abused  by  idlers  lolling  in  it). 
It  was  to  await  the  coming  of  my  Talaguga  successor.  And.  I 
would  go  to  Inenga,  to  the  Holt  house,  for  the  night,  with  my 
company,  rather  than  waylay  the  Orirn  next  day.  en  route. 
That  would  delav  the  vessel,  as   I  had   so  many  people  and  so 


THE  TASK  ENDED  691 

many  packages.  But,  Messrs.  Good  and  Jacot,  having  only 
themselves,  and  practically  no  baggage,  would  board  the  Oviro, 
in  the  morning,  on  its  way,  as  it  passed  Lembarene.  I  made  my 
good-bys  to  Mrs.  Good  on  the  Hill ;  and,  loading  the  last  pack- 
ages into  the  Kangwe  boat,  the  Montclair,  with  a  prayer  in  the 
boat  (at  the  request  of  Elder  Agon  jo  and  Ompwenge)  and 
good-by  to  Mrs.  Jacot,  and  a  waved  farewell  to  all  the  Kangwe 
memories,  we  were  off  at  sunset,  and  pulled  up-stream  to  Mr. 
Deemin's.  One  of  the  last  of  the  daylight  views,  as  we  passed 
the  Eyenano  villages,  at  the  head  of  the  island,  was  of  some 
Gahva  dancers.  There  were  threatening  clouds ;  and,  we  did 
not  reach  Mr.  Deemin's  until  7.30  p.  M.  But,  he  had  courteously 
delayed  his  supper  for  us. 

TO    CAPE    LOPEZ. 

On  Saturday,  January  3.  189 1.  we  were  on  the  Ozriro  by  six 
o'clock  sunrise ;  and  slowed  for  Messrs.  Good  and  Jacot ;  but, 
had  to  delay  at  the  Post,  for  the  vessel's  manifest.  At  the 
German  house,  was  lying  a  new  handsome  vessel,  the  Move. 
The  remainder  of  the  day  was  a  sad  ovation,  a  long  series  of 
shouted  farewells,  as  we  were  recognized  (our  intended  de- 
parture being  known)  as  we  passed  Wambalya;  Oranga,  where 
Etendi  was  especially  demonstrative :  Igenja.  where  Elder 
Awora  and  Mpenga's  people  lined  the  shore ;  and  Enyanga. 
where  stood  Mbora.  And,  finally,  after  dark,  the  vessel  entered 
the  Yambe,  the  cross-creek  to  the  Manji  (Prince's)  Bay.  It 
was  slowly  and  safely  reached  from  the  tortuous  creek,  by  9.30 
p.  m.,  and,  then,  at  full  speed,  on  the  top  of  the  tide,  we  crossed 
the  bay,  looking  ahead  for  lights.  When  they  were  discovered, 
anchor  was  cast  at  11  p.  m.  As  I  was  more  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Knoch  of  the  German  house,  I  went  ashore  with  Messrs. 
Good  and  Jacot,  to  find  lodging  for  them :  for,  the  little  Oviro 
had  no  sleeping  room  for  them.  I  returned  to  the  vessel,  and 
slept  on  the  forward  deck. 

Before  sunrise  of  Sunday,  the  4th,  we  were  up  and  dressed: 
and  our  baggage  was  landed.  After  a  slight  breakfast.  Mr. 
Deemin  sent  us  ashore  in  his  boat.  We  were  rather  crowded 
at  Mr.  Knoch's.  He  ordered  his  servants  to  give  Anyentyuwa 
a  place  in  one  of  their  out-houses.  It  was  annoying  that  his 
order  was  not  pleasantly  obeyed  by  them.  Nor,  had  he  food  for 
so  many  unexpected  guests.  So,  we  ate  at  the  Holt  house. 
Under  these  uncomfortable  circumstances.  Sunday  travel  seemed 
a  necessity.     So  that,  when  a  steamer,  the  Adolph  Woermann, 


692  MY  OGOWK 

was  seen  entering  the  bay  early  in  the  afternoon,  we  all  went 
aboard,  notice  having  been  brought  to  us  that  the  vessel  would 
sail  that  night  for  Libreville.  Our  supper  was  on  the  steamer; 
we  went  to  our  comfortable  berths  by  10  p.  m.,  and  the  vessel 
started  at  midnight. 

On  Monday,  the  5th,  by  6  a.  m.  we  were  aproaching  the  mouth 
of  the  Gaboon  River,  and  entered  it  slowly  toward  the  French 
guard-ship.  For  a  little  while,  we  feared  that  we  were  to  be 
quarantined,  because  of  some  sickness  in  ports,  south  of  Cape 
Lopez,  at  which  the  vessel  had  stopped.  As  the  steamer  slowly 
moved  to  its  anchorage,  we  anxiously  looked  for  some  boat  to  be 
coming  for  us.  From  Baraka  Hill,  incoming  steamers  were  al- 
ways visible  an  hour  in  advance;  and,  it  was  the  almost  invari- 
able custom  for  a  boat  to  come,  for  a  possible  passenger,  or,  at 
least  for  news.  No  boat  came.  Then,  Mr.  Good  went  ashore 
in  the  steamer's  boat  that  carried  the  vessel's  official  papers,  and 
hurried  to  Baraka  to  arouse  Mr.  Gault.  (It  appeared  after- 
ward, that  the  steamer  had  not  been  recognized  as  coming  from 
the  south.)  Another  of  the  objects  of  the  Baraka  missionary's 
customary  coming  to  steamers,  was,  with  a  well-filled  pocket,  as 
treasurer,  to  pay  any  freight  or  passage  bills.  On  that,  I  was 
depending.  But,  the  vessel's  steward  became  uncomfortably  in- 
sistent about  the  payment  of  the  passages  of  my  people.  To 
satisfy  him,  I  had  to  go  down  into  the  hold,  and  unstrap  one  of 
my  trunks,  to  get  out  what  little  money  I  had.  Finally,  the 
Baraka  boat  came;  and  we  were  landed  about  1  p.  m.  On  the 
way  ashore,  I  was  told  that  Mr.  Menkel,  who  had  taken  his 
three  children  to  homes  in  the  LTnited  States,  had  re-married, 
and  was  returned  from  his  furlough,  bringing  with  him,  a  white 
wife.  Even  after  landing,  we  were  delayed  an  hour,  under  the 
customs  inspection  of  my  large  baggage  list.  No  difficulty; 
everything  was  passed  without  dispute.  But,  the  unpleasantness 
of  that  day  continued  for  a  month.  At  Baraka.  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  annual  meeting  was  a  new  role  to  our  hostess;  the 
number  of  members  was  unusually  large ;  and  the  Ogowe  con- 
tingent had  arrived  unexpectedly  soon.  It  was  5  p.  M.  before 
I  was  assigned  a  room ;  and,  in  the  arrangements  for  my  native 
assistants,  Anyentyuwa  was  so  separated  from  Mary,  that  she 
could  be  of  little  help  to  her.  Tt  was  dark  1>efore  all  my  luggage 
could  be  stowed  away.  There  was  however,  the  pleasant  priv- 
ilege of  meeting  new  missionaries.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Godduhn,  suc- 
cessors of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brier,  at  Batanga;  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Millan, destined  for  Benita.     So.  every  station,  except  my  Tala- 


THE  TASK  ENDED  693 

guga,  had  been  re-inforced.  And,  Talaguga  was  to  be  saved 
from  abandonment,  only  by  transferring  Mr.  Bannerman  from 
Angom!  It  did  seem  an  unjust  recognition  of  the  labor  I  had 
spent  in  the  Ogowe.  Rev.  Messrs.  Allegret  and  Teisseres,  re- 
cently arrived  from  the  Ogowe,  were  also  guests  at  Baraka. 

When,  on  Wednesday,  the  7th,  Rev.  Mr.  Marling,  Mrs. 
Ogden,  and  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Bannerman,  arrived  from  Angom, 
up  the  Gaboon,  meetings  of  mission  and  of  presbytery  began ; 
and  were  continued  daily.  When  good  old  Mrs.  Sneed  heard 
my  plans  for  going  to  the  United  States,  she  felt  as  if  the  last  of 
her  friends  would  be  gone.  Her  daughter  had  died;  the  chil- 
dren had  been  sent  to  homes  in  the  United  States ;  the  hus- 
band had  re-married,  and  she  exclaimed  to  me,  "  O  Doctor !  I 
wish  I  could  lay  my  old  bones  in  America!"  "Do  you  really 
mean  it  ?  "  "  Sure,  I  do !  "  "  Then,  you  shall  go ;  and,  I  will 
take  you."  (The  possibility  of  all  this  had  occurred  to  me 
months  before :  and  I  had  written  to  Rev.  Dr.  Addison  Henry  of 
Philadelphia,  and  had  been  informed  of  a  Home  for  Aged  Col- 
ored People.)  Her  going  with  me  did  not  remove  the  necessity 
of  my  taking  Anyentyuwa  as  far  as  Liverpool ;  rather,  it  in- 
creased it.  Mrs.  Sneed  would  be  of  no  aid  whatever  in  the  care 
of  Mary  on  the  sea ;  indeed,  herself  would  be  another  helpless 
care.  The  north-bound  steamers  had  no  stewardess,  to  whom  I 
might  look  for  help,  until  on  arrival  at  the  Canary  Islands ; 
and,  my  inevitable  sea-sickness  would  make  impossible  the  con- 
stant watching  on  a  ship's  deck,  required  for  an  active  child.  On 
Saturday,  the  10th,  word  was  brought  early  that  the  Eclair eur 
had  arrived  from  the  Ogowe,  and  would  return  thither  in  the 
evening.  Messrs.  Good  and  Jacot  hurried,  left  the  meetings, 
and  returned  to  Kangwe  by  that  vessel.  I  made  an  official  call, 
to  pay  my  respects  to  the  new  governor,  my  former  friend. 
Count  De  Brazza. 

On  Sunday,  the  nth,  the  dismissed  French  teacher,  Lesage. 
who  had  gone  into  government  employ,  entered  the  church.  At 
close  of  services,  he  came  forward  to  salute  the  new  arrivals ; 
who  shook  hands  with  him,  not  knowing  who  he  was.  When 
lie  advanced  to  me,  my  memory  of  his  outrageous  doings  at 
Andende.  so  overcame  me,  that  I  did  not  extend  my  hand  in 
response,  but  only  coolly  bowed.  He  went  out  doors,  and  began 
an  angry  talk  with  Mr.  Allegret.  After  the  afternoon  services, 
a  letter  came  to  me  from  Lesage.  As  I  could  not  read  French 
script.  I  took  it  to  my  friend  Mr.  Allegret.  He  looked  at  it. 
and  then  declined  to  read  it  to  me.  saying  that  it  was  too  absurd 


694  MY  OGOWE 

and  insulting.  He  retained  the  letter.  I  sent  no  reply;  and 
never  knew  its  contents ;  though  I  was  afterwards  told  that  it 
was  a  challenge  to  a  duel,  for  my  insult  of  refusing  to  take  his 
hand ! 

Next  day,  he  sent  a  letter  to  Mr.  Allegret,  quarreling  with 
him,  for  the  apparent  endorsement  the  latter  had  made  of  my 
action.  Also,  a  letter  to  Mr.  Gault,  demanding  a  certificate  of 
character. 

I  appreciated  the  kindness  which  one  of  the  ladies,  Mrs.  God- 
duhn  showed  me,  by  her  assisting  Anyentyuwa  with  advice  about 
clothing  for  Mary  on  the  ocean  voyage.  I  felt  this  very  much. 
After  all  my  years  from  civilization,  I  did  not  know  what  dress 
was  appropriate  even  for  myself,  much  less  for  a  child. 

On  one  of  the  days,  one  of  the  French  merchants,  Mr.  Gravicr, 
was  invited  to  Baraka  with  his  wife.  This  unusual  invitation 
to  a  trader,  was  made,  I  suppose,  because  of  his  wife.  It  was 
so  rare  that  traders  brought  their  wives  to  Africa.  When  Mary 
was  brought  into  the  parlor,  Madame  Gravier  was  delighted  to 
see  a  white  girl.  While  we  were  at  coffee,  Governor  De  Brazza, 
with  his  secretary,  returned  my  call.  He  too  was  pleased  with 
the  fact  (which  he  said  he  had  reported  to  his  government)  that 
it  was  possible  for  white  children  to  live  in  Africa;  and  promised 
to  send  some  fruits  to  Mary  Nassau  and  Harry  Gault.  And.  on 
Saturday,  the  17th,  the  apples  and  candy  came,  while  Mr.  Alle- 
gret was  taking  a  photo  of  the  entire  missionary  company. 

On  Monday,  the  19th,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Godduhn  returned  to 
Batanga  station.  And,  at  night,  we  adjourned  our  meetings. 
The  next  day,  Rev.  Mr.  Marling  and  Mrs.  Ogden  returned  to 
Angom  station.  And,  on  Thursday,  the  22d,  the  Mary-Nassau 
went  north  to  Benita  and  Batanga,  with  the  native  brethren  of 
presbytery,  and  Mr.  and  Airs.  Menkel.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Millan were  both  sick;  and  when  they  recovered  they  were  un- 
happy that  no  arrangements  were  made  for  their  reaching  their 
Benita  station. 

I  was  then  free  to  make  plans  for  my  own  voyage,  after  I 
should  have  performed  all  my  duty  as  clerk,  on  the  minutes  of 
the  meetings.  The  monthly  English  steamer  for  Liverpool  had 
gone,  on  the  19th.  There  would  be  at  least  thirty  days  before 
there  would  be  another.  That  interval  became  a  trying  one. 
Sometimes  I  took  walks  with  Mary  to  the  homes  of  native 
friends,  particularly  to  Njivo  (Mbora's  wife),  who  had  returned 
from  Batanga.  after  Mr.  Brier's  death.  Sometimes  shopping  at 
various  of  the  trading-houses,  buying  a  large  quantity  of  native 


THE  TASK  ENDED  695 

curios  for  my  American  friends.  The  twelve  boxes  of  ethno- 
logical specimens  I  had  collected  for  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, I  re-marked  to  be  sent  by  a  German  steamer  expected 
from  the  south. 

And,  on  Saturday,  the  24th,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Bannerman  em- 
barked on  the  Malaminc,  for  their  Talaguga  station.  These 
two  had  endeared  themselves  to  me,  in  a  friendship  that,  without 
a  jar,  has  deepened  to  the  present  day.  Mr.  Bannerman's  un- 
selfish nobility,  and  the  lady's  grace,  refinement,  and  amiability, 
have  made  a  rare  oasis  in  my  African  memory.  We  went  to 
the  beach  with  them.  And,  at  the  parting,  Mary  too,  for  what 
she  had  found  in  her,  gave  to  Mrs.  Bannerman,  what  she  had 
given  to  no  other  white  lady,  tears.  And,  I  felt  that  my  mother- 
task  was  ended. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

FURLOUGHED,    FEBRUARY,    I&CjI-JULY,    1893 

1  CONSIDERED  that  my  furlough  had  begun.  My  Ogowe 
station  was  in  other  hands.  I  had  no  responsibility  at 
Baraka.  With  all  my  love  for  Africa,  there  was  no  duty 
for  her,  until  I  should  return  to  her.     And,  I  looked  westward. 

One  day,  with  a  very  bad  headache,  I  strolled  for  exercise 
into  the  villages,  and  visited  Njivo.  When  I  told  her  of  my 
headache,  she  quietly  handed  me  a  small  white  object,  like  a 
bean-kernel,  and  told  me  to  rub  it  on  my  forehead.  Almost  in- 
stantly, it  relieved  my  pain !  It  was  menthol ;  the  first  that  I 
had  ever  seen  or  even  heard  of  that  medicine.  I  have  always 
carried  it  with  me,  since  then.  Uncertain  of  the  Liverpool 
steamer,  I  even  entertained  the  thought  of  going  by  a  German 
to  Hamburg. 

1  took  my  company  of  Alary,  Anyentyuwa  and  Iga,  and  Iguvve 
and  her  husband,  a  tour  of  the  trading-houses,  and  bought  them 
souvenirs.  At  the  restaurant  of  the  White  Men's  Club,  ordered 
a  special  dinner,  where,  for  the  first  time,  Mary  drank  ice-water, 
and  had  her  curiosity  gratified  in  seeing  a  collection  of  geese, 
canary  birds,  pigeons,  pigs,  etc.  French  beef-steak  was  such  a 
rare  thing  that  we  brought  to  Baraka  a  piece  for  Mrs.  McMil- 
lan ;  but,  she  was  too  sick  to  eat  it. 

On  Sunday,  February  1,  Licentiate  Owondo  preached  in 
•  Mpongwe,  and  I  in  English.  I  also  attended  afternoon  Sabbath 
school;  was  annoyed  by  disorderly  Roman  Catholic  boys  who 
were  noisy  on  the  path  in  front  of  the  church  door. 

The  work  of  careful  entry  of  mission  and  presbytery  records 
was  still  (Hi  hand;  and  also  the  annual  copy  of  presbytery  min- 
utes for  New  Jersey  Synod  in  the  United  States.  Recreated 
myself  by  reading  Stanley's  "  Darkest  Africa." 

My  little  girl  missed  her  Talaguga  home;  there  were  few 
amusements  at  Baraka.  As  an  alternative,  one  day,  she  went  to 
see  the  church  women  at  their  monthly  sewing  society,  who 
were  sewing   for   Mrs.    Sneed's   journey.      Another  day,   in   the 


FURLOUGHED  697 

evening,  I  took  her  to  the  end  of  the  pier  of  H.  &  C,  and 
watched  the  waves  as  they  rolled  in  from  the  west;  and,  I  told 
her  of  her  relatives  who  lived  beyond  the  setting  sun,  and  to 
whom,  we  were  soon  to  go. 

On  Sunday,  the  15th,  I  was  too  sick  to  go  to  church.  But,  on 
Monday.  I  was  better ;  and,  was  able  to  superintend  Anyentyuwa, 
as  she  did  some  re-packing  of  my  trunks. 

On  Thursday,  the  19th,  I  had  finished  most  of  my  writing, 
and  had  to  do  something  to  relieve  the  depressing  conditions 
that  existed  at  Baraka.  So,  I  played  on  my  guitar,  with  Mary 
amusing  herself  by  thrumming  on  the  strings.  Mrs.  McMillan 
(who,  with  her  husband,  had  recovered  from  their  sickness,  and 
who  were  distressed  at  not  being  able  to  get  away  from  Baraka 
to  their  Benita  station)  came  into  my  room  to  enjoy  it. 

I  obtained  a  very  rare  and  very  appetizing  fish,  the  Mpongwe 
ompoi,  which  I  divided  between  Anyentyuwa,  Mr.  Presset,  and 
Mrs.  McMillan;  they  all  enjoyed  it.  I  bought  many  parrots,  to 
take  to  friends  in  the  United  States. 

On  Tuesday,  the  24th,  for  recreation,  went  on  a.  walk  with 
Mr.  Presset  and  Mr.  Robert  (the  newr  teacher  for  Kangwe)  to 
the  Sibange  Farm.  Anyentyuwa  and  Mary  wished  to  go  with 
us ;  but,  the  eight  or  nine  miles  of  the  walk  even  on  a  good  path, 
would  have  been  impossible  for  them.  At  Sibange,  we  were  en- 
tertained hospitably  by  the  two  traders  there ;  and,  after  the  rain 
ceased,  we  walked  back,  in  time  for  supper,  not  as  tired  as  I  had 
been  in  the  unfortunate  walk  with  Mr.  Good,  a  few  years  before. 
Finally,  on  Thursday,  the  26th,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  McMillan, 
though  still  sick  from  their  repeated  disappointments,  obtained 
a  sail-boat  to  take  them  to  their  station.  And,  on  the  same  day, 
Mr.  Robert  and  his  company  boarded  the  Ecclaireur  for  the 
Ogowe.  I  and  my  company  were  left,  the  last  of  the  mission 
gathering  that,  for  two  months,  had  drafted  on  the  hospitality  of 
Baraka.  And,  I  looked  to  the  coming  of  some  English  steamer, 
expected  in  two  weeks. 

Sunday,  March  1.  The  day  was  quiet,  except  for  the  noise  of 
the  shouting  at  the  Njembe  Dance.  This  was  a  secret  female 
society,  of  which  but  little  was  known,  except  that  some  of  their 
ceremonies  were  immodest.  A  certain  woman,  Suna  Moore, 
who  had  formerly  stood  quite  high  as  a  Baraka  school-girl,  had 
degraded  herself  to  accept  initiation. 

Mary's  desultory  education  continued ;  but,  as  far  as  I  was 
aware,  she  never  had  been  in  a  school-room,  until,  at  her  re- 
quest, I  allowed  her  to  go  to  Mr.  Presset's;  she  said  she  liked  it. 


698  MY  OGOWE 

On  Saturday,  the  7th,  a  Sierra  Leone  man,  George  Rose,  came 
ashore  from  a  steamer,  representing  himself  as  an  evangelist. 
But,  neither  Mr.  Gault  nor  1  had  any  faith  in  him.  (He  proved 
to  be  a  fraud ;  and,  subsequently  made  much  division  in  a  church 
of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  mission  in  the  Old  Calabar  River.) 

1  walked  with  Mary,  to  a  quiet  beach  up  the  river,  and  allowed 
her  a  good  bath  in  the  sea.  My  little  girl  sometimes  asked 
startling  questions.  Watching  some  parrots  Hying  by,  she  in- 
quired whether  their  souls  "  went  to  Heaven."  The  thought  of 
the  United  States  had  no  attraction  for  her.  She  had  only 
learned  that  it  was  utterly  unlike  Africa.  She  asked,  "Father! 
what  will  1  eat  there?  Are  there  plantains?"'  (I  quite  justify 
her  in  love  for  the  plantain. )  I  was  rilling  my  Wardian  case 
with  rare  African  plants,  for  the  horticultural  hall  in  Fairmount 
J 'ark,  Philadelphia.  To  satisfy  her,  I  put  in  a  plantain-set, 
whose  fruit  she  was  to  eat  in  the  United  States ! 

On  Wednesday,  March  11,  news  of  steamers  had  become 
definite.  The  Benguela  was  the  one  named ;  and  it  was  expected 
daily.  I  finally  packed  the  box  of  skins  I  had  been  collecting 
for  my  dear  brother  William.  On  Sunday,  the  15th,  after  Sab- 
bath school.  Governor  De  Brazza,  lame  and  carried  in  a  ham- 
mock, came  to  respond  to  my  farewell  call  I  had  made  a  few- 
days  before.  Early  in  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  18th, 
friend  Njivo,  coming  up  the  hill  to  see  her  sister,  signaled  to 
me,  as  I  stood  on  the  veranda  of  Baraka  house,  that  a  steamer 
was  entering  the  estuary.  Her  sharper  eyes  had  discovered  it. 
It  was  the  Benguela!  After  breakfast,  went  off,  and  saw  Cap- 
tain Glasscock,  and  the  chief  steward.  Purser  Fothergill  was 
ashore.  When  he  returned,  I  engaged  first  class  passages  for 
self  and  Mary,  Mrs.  Sneed,  Anyentyuwa  and  her  child.  Return- 
ing to  Baraka,  Mr.  Gault  sent  off  such  luggage  as  was  ready ; 
and,  the  inevitable  last  things  were  gotten  together.  Rain  de- 
layed the  afternoon  start  until  5  p.  m.  Native  female  church- 
members  were  at  the  beach  to  say  good-by.  With  two  other 
boat-loads,  ourselves  and  our  baggage  were  on  board  by  sun- 
down. All  arrangements  on  the  vessel  were  satisfactory.  My 
company  were  the  only  ones  in  the  ladies'  cabin.  And,  they 
were  all  at  "dinner"  at  the  saloon  table.  There  was  some 
delay,  the  next  day,  about  the  steamer's  taking  on  board  logs  of 
African  mahogany. 

Finally,  earlv  on  Friday,  March  20,  the  Benguela  started  on 
its  seven  weeks'  voyage  to  Liverpool.  The  vessel  made  many 
stops   on  the  coast;  at  some  of  which,   we  went  ashore:     At 


FURLOUGHED  699 

Duala  in  the  Kamerun  River,  remaining  three  days,  and  we  all 
visited  ashore  at  a  trader's,  a  brother  of  Anyentyuwa,  who  pre- 
sented me  with  an  ivory-tusk  (Mary  has  it  to-day)  ;  at  Old  Cala- 
bar, for  eight  days.  There,  at  church,  ashore,  I  met  the  Metho- 
dist Bishop  Taylor  and  a  number  of  his  recruits;  at  Bonny,  two 
days;  bought  a  quantity  of  the  pretty  Bonny-grass  table-mats; 
at  Freetown,  Sierra  Leone,  where  we  could  not  go  ashore,  being 
quarantined  by  the  death  of  a  sailor;  at  Grand  Canary;  quaran- 
tined, but  was  allowed  to  buy  from  boats  alongside.  Bought 
for  Mary,  her  "  Bengy,"  a  little  white  Teneriffe  dog;  at  Havre; 
and  took  a  two  hours'  ride  in  a  carriage  through  the  streets; 
and,  landed  at  Liverpool  on  Wednesday,  May  6.  Then,  for  a 
week  in  Liverpool,  where  we  received  most  courteous  attention 
from  the  Messrs.  Holt;  in  whose  care  Anyentyuwa  and  her 
child  were  to  remain,  until  the  sailing  of  the  excellent  Captain 
Fred.  Davis,  who  would  safely  carry  them  back  to  Gaboon. 
"  On  Wednesday,  May  13,  I,  utterly  prostrated  and  helpless  with 
la  grippe,  and  Mary,  weeping  in  the  parting  from  Anyentyuwa, 
we  boarded  the  British  Princess,  on  which  there  was  a  dis- 
tressing voyage  for  myself  and  child.  I  was  in  bed,  and  could 
do  nothing  for  her.  A  passenger,  a  Miss  Brown,  of  Philadel- 
phia, kindly  showed  her  some  attention.  And,  on  Monday,  May 
25,  we  landed  at  Philadelphia.  And,  the  first  news  was  that  my 
dear  brother  William  was  dead. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  OGOWE  PASSES,   1 892 

DURING  my  absence  in  the  United  States,  my  entire 
Ogowe  work  was  passed  (because  of  difficulties  with  the 
French  government)  into  the  hands  of  the  Paris  Evan- 
gelical Society.  When  I  returned  to  Africa,  in  1893,  I  re-vis- 
ited the  Ogowe,  and  was  welcomed  there  by  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Allegret  and  Teisseres  and  others  of  the  French  missionaries,  and 
my  former  employees.  And,  when  I  resigned  from  the  mission, 
in  1906,  I  made  to  the  river  a  farewell  visit,  which  those  French 
brethren  converted  into  a  continuous  ovation.  That  mission  is 
successfully  carried  on  by  my  French  successors,  who,  with  rare 
courtesy,  unselfishly  recognize  my  almost  seventeen  years  of 
foundation  work  for  their  Ogowe. 

R.  H.  Nassau. 


700 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Animals: 

Antelope,   79 
Bat,    90 
Beetle,    488 
Boa,    265 
Butterfly,   205 
Canary   birds,    696 
Cerastes,    220 
Chameleon,    219 
Chigo,    36 
Chimpanzee,  91 
Civet,   301 
Crocodile,   26 
Duck,    31 
Electric   fish,    198 
Elephant,    633 
Eye-worm,    146,    255 
Flamingo,   3s 
Gazelle,    1 17 
Genet,    301,    664 
Geese,   696 
Gorilla,    616,    669 
Guinea   fowl,   650 
Heron,    90 
Hippopotamus,    620 
Hog,   642 
King-fisher,    31 
Lemur,    207 
Leopard,    61 1 
Manis,    317 
Monkey,   90 
Mosquito,   90 
Mygale  spider,   138 
Owl,  220 
Ox,   646 
Parrot,   697 
Pelican,   90 
Pigeons,   696 
Porcupine,   80 
Python,   79 
Saw-fish,    97 
Scorpion,   382 
Snakes,   69,   626 
Turtle,   226 
Assistants: 
Evangelists; 

Abumba,  614 

Agonjo,   382,   613 

Awora,   627 

Kongolo,   147 

Makanga,    226 

Mbora,   629 

Monkami,   658 

Ndaka,  666 

Xguva,   205 

Ntyango,   629 

Ogula,  641 

Okendo,   620 

Ompwenge,   691 

Owondo,  635 

Petiye,    129 

Re-Montigo,  643 

Re-Xyiko,  650 

Yongwe,   620 
Workmen ; 

Agaia.   686 

Agonjo-amwenge,    244 


703 


Akaga,    129 
Akendenge,    231 
Ambamani,   629 
Ambangila,   214 
Ananga-rewe,    144 
Angeka,   616 
Ankombie,  667 
Aveya,   39,  620 
A  wore,   410 
Ayenwe,    144 
Bayio,   228 
Bilane,    389 
Daniel,   642 
Dumawebe,  98 
Ekomba,   87 
Eliva-ntyani,    199 
Etendi,    650 
Gasita,  640 
Igamba,   207 
Ikunduku,  87 
Ingumu,    16 
James,    628 
Jenagani,    144 
Kengenge,   70 
Lendaginya,    39 
Londo,   625 
Mamwemi,   207 
Manga,   87 
Masomami,   75 
Mamba,  628 
Mangiarina,   642 
Mbala,   613 

Mbigino,    616 
Mbumba,    162 

Mhara,  228 
Mburu,  293 
Mediko,   16 

Melumu,    128 

Metyeba,   228 

Mitimambi,  98 

Mpenga,   691 

Mwanyatyi,    78 

Mwarogaso,   331 

Xganga,   79 

Xgawe,   674 

Xgiye,    660 

Xtyege,   252 

Xtvindiorema,    247 

Ntula,    389 

Xjambi,   426 

Xtyango,   678 

Xandi-kijemba.   92 

Ogandaga,   629 

Ogula,    199 

Oguma,   205 

Ombagho,   614 

Onganga,  247 

Oraniga,    39 

Orumbo-ngani,  659 

Oselowe,    642 

Pendaningani,   331 

Piere,   231 

Ke-Ganjwe,    265 

Re-Mondo,   630 

Re-Mbendambya,   65; 

Re-Xguwa,    1 14 

Re-Xjogo,   627 


;°4 


INDEX 


Rere-ntyolo,  678 

Re-Singani,   1 1 3 

Re-Teno.    1  n 

Re-Yayo,    183 

Rilevi,  668 

Samhunaga.   228 

Simbuve,  643 

Tivino,  70 

I'panga,  81 

Zintango,    145 
Alembe    rapids.    372 
Ants,    driver,    671 

White,   662 
Ashanti    chicken,    48 

Renga    grammar,    614 
Rlowing   a   blessing,    J4 
Ravs: 

Corisco,    100 

Gaboon   estuary,    50 

Prince's,   632 

Nazareth.   647 
Boats,   mission: 

Christine,   340 

Kvangeline,   645 

Hudson.    16 

Mary-Nassau,   611,   649 

Montclair,   601 

Nelly-Howard,   211,   637 

Swan,   686 

Canes: 

Cape   Lopez,   632 

Sette   Camma,    648 

Cape    Verde.    341 
Christian    Endeavor,    271 
Clairvoyance,   665 
Convolvulus,    23 
Children,    natives: 

Adza.   632 

Akaea.  316 

Awethe,  44 

Awora,   234 

Aworo,   202 

Aziza.   222 

Rakala,   =522 

Rakara.    188 

Rjdeli.   98 

Rilaga,   652 

Dupakwe,    105 

Ekanga,    105 

Icruve,    2,4 

Kimagwe,  07 

Konea,    215 

Makata,    105 

Mokun.  Q7 

Mula.   21  s 

Mutyi,    ;o 

Mwarogase,    1  35 

Mveli.    388 

N'ambo,    116 

Xgara.   388 

N'eawe,   317 

N'ieca,   632 

Ntyere.   258 

Nyanda.   27" 

Onganga,   uj 

' hvanga,    r  1  3 

Oyembo,   253 

Re-Nkagu,  320 
Captains : 

of   ocean    vessels, 
Clancy.   648 
J.    YV.    Davis.    330 
I  red.    Davis,    699 
Fawcett.   33s 
Cdasscock,   636 


Hamilton.   361 

Morrison,   360 

Thomas,   337 

Yates,   335 
of  river  boats. 

Ra-hman,    530 

Rirchman,   556 

Breman,   292 

Rryant,    115 

DeCirauchy,    130 

Johns,    16 

Johnson,   650 

Eindt.    522 

Eudovici.  454 

Miller,   226 

Oesterwold,    333 

Stephens.  287 

Czarski,   646 

Watkins,   60; 
Chiefs: 
Aleke,   121 
A  male,    174 
Anege,    53 
Anvambe-jena,   47 
Aramba,   91 
Avyake.   41 
Azaze,   676 
Esongi,    22 
Fanga-nanga.   52 
Ibanyi,   48 
Tsagi,   650 
Tseme,   44 
Tvinene,   77 
Jongafie.    108 
Kasa,    39 
Kakamba,   48 
Mabe.  46 
Magamaga,  657 
Magisi,    175 
Mamyaga,  375 
Mboko.    47 
Niagu,    25 
Niagu-demba.   370 
Xjwivi-njanda,   370 
Ntambi,  44 
Nyare,  375 
Nando,    104 
Onanga.   93 
On  dene.   41 
Onwa-ombe,   25 
Ra-Noki.    124 
Re-Nkombe,    170 
Walinja,    134 

Dogs.   26.    730,   233.   2-6,  341.   425.   616,   658. 

699 
Dwarfs.    50 

Elephant   corral.    293.    294 
Eugenie    Falls,    213 
Evil    eye.    24 

Freetown,   341 

1 'ire-crackers,   216 

< '.orcc    traders.     139 
Government    officials : 

Moos.    Alliot,    38; 

Gov.    Rallav,   648' 

Count    DeRrazza.    610 

M.    Jacques    DeRrazza,    424 

Mons.    Dunot,    547 

Mons.   DuVal.  014 

Mons.    Eminent,   465 

Mons.   Gazengel,   616 

Mons.    Kerraoul,   616 

Mons.    Eabastie,    619 

I.aplots,   645 


INDEX 


/05 


M.    tie    Lestour,   424 
nr.    Manas,   460 
T.ieut.   Michaud.  424 
Lieut.   Michelez,   429 
Lieut.   Montaignac,   429 
Lieut.   Mizon,   391 
Dr.    Reol,  678 

Highwaymen  : 
Aziza-njeTe,    150 
Xdambenje,    150 

Ice-water,   696 

Kasa's  death.  215 
Kangwe  Hill.  200 
Kangwe  Mountain,   375 

Lakes: 

Azingo,   653 
Ezanga,   620 
Ogemwe,   257 
Onanga,   257 

Madeira.   341 

Maternal    impressions,    265 
Mt.    Otombo,    374 
Ministers,    natives: 

Etiyani.    601 

Tbiya.    147,    649 

Myongo,    147 

Truman,    511,    649 
Missionaries.    American  : 

Dr.    and    Mrs.    P>acheler.    305 

Rev.   and  Mrs.    Rannennan,  685 

Rev.   and   Mrs.   Rrier,   623 

Rev.   and  Mrs.   Rusbnell,   29 

Miss    Cameron,    ^26 

Rev.   and   Mrs.    Campbell.   365 

Rev.   and   Mrs.    He   Heer,   65 

Miss   Dewsnap,   87 

Rev.   and   Mrs.    Gai'lt.   624 

Rev.   and   Mrs.   Godduhn.    602 

Rev.   and   Mrs.    Good,    610.    638 

Miss    Harding,    418 

Rev.   and  Mrs.   Jacot.   685 

Miss    Tones,    41 

Miss    Lush.    87 

Rev.   and  Mrs.   Marling,   693 

Mr.    and    Mrs.    Menkel.    692 

Rev.   and   Mrs.   McMillan.   692 

Rev.    S.   H.   Murphy,    237 

Miss   Xassau.   29.   625 

Mrs.    Xassau.    350 

Mrs.    Ogden.    693 

Rev.    and    Mrs.    Preston,    14 

Mr.    and    Mrs.    Reading.    616 

Rev.    and    Mrs.    Robinson.    360,    4S4 

Rev.    W.    Schorsch.    64 

Mrs.    Smith.    240 

Mrs.    Sneed,    693 

Miss    L.    R.    Walker.    240 

Rev.    and   Mrs.   Walker.    14 
Missionaries,    French: 

Rev.   Mr.   Allegret.   614 

Mr.   Garmien.    619 

Mr.   Gacon.   587 

Mr.   Lesaee.   6^0 

Mr.   Presset.   634 

Mr.    Robert.    697 

Rev.    Mr.    Teisseres.    614 

Xassau    relatives: 

Rev.    R.    IT.    Davis.    Ph.D.,    348 

Mrs.   Garman.   357 

Rev.    A.    Gosman.    D.D..    626 

Mrs.    Letitia    Xassnu    Gosman.    34? 

Rev.    S.    M.    Hamill.    D.D.,    626' 


34i 


Mrs.    Hamill,    346 

Mr.    Hugh    H.    Hamill,    348 

Miss    Maud    Hamill,    33J 

The    Latta    Family,    346 

Mr.   J.    R.    Lowrie,   354 

Mrs.    Matilda    X'assau    Lowrie,    354 

Rev.   J.    E.    Xassau,    D.D.,    349 

Mrs.    Xassau.    349 

Miss    Elizabeth    Xassau,    346 

W.    \V.    Xassau.    M.D.,    655 

Mrs.    Xassau,    675 

William   Latta   Xassau.   253 

Charles    Francis    Xassau,    662 

Mrs.    Anna   H.    Sweeney,   45 

Rev.    W.    Swan.    349 

Mrs.    Emma   X'assau    Swan,    349 

Mrs.    Stewart,    357 

Edward    Wells,    Esq.,    348 

Mrs.    Hannah    Xassau    Wells,    348 

Mrs.    Mary    Wood,    355 
Xjembe    dance,    697 
North    star,    340 


Orunda,  48 

Other    Men    and    Women: 
Mr.    F.    W.    Ainy,    649 
Miss   Brown,    690 
Rev.   and    Mrs.    Buxton, 
Rev.   Dr.   Calkins,   346 
Rev.   Dr.   Chandler,   211 
Commander    Coffin,    540 
Rev.    Mr.    Comber,    240 
Mr.    Christie.    344 
Marquis   de   Comneigne.    15 
Rev.    and    Mrs.    Crowther,    1 
T.ieut.   R.   Dickens,   540 
Lieut.   E.    F.   Domville.    649 
Lieut.   F.   J.   Drake.   540 
Sec"y    Ellinwood.    12 
S.    R.    Forman,   M.D.,    211 
Rev.    Dr.    Freeman.   346 
Rev.    and   Mrs.   Fuller,    130 
Sec'y   Gillesnie,   630 
Rev.   and   Mrs.    Goldie.    130 
Rev.    Mr.    Grenfell,    240 
Rev.    Mr.    Griffiths,    130 
Mr.   J.    E.   Harran.   21  t 
Rev.    Dr.    Henry.    693 
Genl.   Herndon,   346 
Lieut.    X.    T.    Houston.    540 
Consul    Jackson,    237 
Miss    Tohnson,    128 
Rev.   Dr.   Kellogg.   336 
S.    R.    Knapp,    Esq..    210 
Baron    de    Koppenfels,    34 
Dr.    Lenz.    34 
Consul    Lewis.    340 
Miss    Lombard.    685 
Sec'y    Lowrie,    116 
Mons.    Marche,    15 
Capt.   Monroe.    340 
T.    G.    Morton,    M.D..    660 
Mr.    and    Mrs.    Patten,    210 
Rev.    T.    Parr.    130 
Provost    Pepper.    66r 
Lieut.    F.    Singer,    540 
Rev.    R.    Smith,    130 
Lieut.    Com.    Soerry.    540 
Rev.    Bp.    W.    Taylor,    690 
Surtreon   J.    R.   Tyson,    540 
Calvin    Wadhams,    21  1 
Mis.    Williams.    326 


Palm-cabbage. 

Polygamy.    S3 
Papyrus,    23 


7o6 


/ 


INDEX 


Ki\ ers: 

Abange,   370 
Ajumba,   200 
Fernan    Vaz,    13 
lsango,   44 
l.ebo,    ?7 1 
Mbilye,  48 
Mexias,    13 
N'gunye,   300 
Nkogo,   3/< 
Ogowe,   jo 
Okono,   372 
Ozugavizya,    156 
Rembwe,   15 
Yambe,  632 


Salt.    71 

Sea-sickness,  272 
Seasons,    622 : 

Long,    cool,    dry    (June-Sept.) 

Short,    middle,    dry    (Jan. -Feb.) 

Rainy     (former)     (Oct.-Dec.) 

Rainy    (latter)    (Mar.-May) 
Skin-disease,   686 
Suspension    bridge,    46 
Stations: 

Angora,   693 

Andende,   35 

Baraka,  616 

Batanga,  624 

Belambla,  82 

Kangwe,  35 

N'gomu,   677 

Talaguga,  371 

Teneriffe,   341 
Thieves,    672: 

Ampamba 

Endondo 

Mbigino 

Adimbo-suka 
Traders,   foreigners: 

Ahrens,    476 

Allam,  614 

Rates.   656 

Boccaria,    1  1  5 

Bohn,   409 

Boy,    262 

Bramwell,  520 

Buscb,   547 

C'arlill.302 

Carrothers,   585 

("rcssman.   497 

Czech,   603 

Deane,   340 

Deemin,    637 

Detmering,   190 

Dixon,    38 

Drake.   655 

Krmy,   27 

Findley,    140 

Foster,    337 

(iallibcrt,    404 

(iebauer,    47S 

fiihson,    404 

( ira\  ier,   69  1 

Habcr,   603 

Harrington,   657 

Flervy,    (147 

Holland.    255 

II ..It.    262 

Hutchinson,    145 

Jobet,    1  15 

Jones,    5(12 

Knoch,    633 

Koflany,   627 


Kuhtz,  045 
Letz,    636 
Louis,   145 
Lubcke,  636 
Mane,    124 
McFarland,  86 
M^Taggart,    594 
Mooney,   548 
Nielson,   125 
Neumann,   315 
Percy,   31 
Quayle,   505 
Rene,    408 
Romahn,  404 
Saiou,    543 
Schiff,    125 
Schwartz,   263 
Schultze,   125 
Seddons,   496 
Schmieder,   29 
Sinclair,   28 
Smith,   672 
Surry,    278 
Stone,   37 
Travis,   69 
Walker,    i? 
Wheeler,    637 
Williams,    576 
Woodward,    31 
Wolber,    237 

Traders,   natives: 
Agaia,  39 
Ambura,   216 
Angila-kukulani, 
Aniniba,  371 
Antyttwa,    653 
Apoma,  91 
Disingwe,   07 
Dose,  80 
Howe,   255 
Isamba,  371 
Laseni,  228 
Mpaga,   673 
Morris,   86 
Ndeg-oma,  221 
N'treza,    175 
Xiombi,   86 
Nialele,  662 
Xkotnhe-nyondo, 
()Rombe-denge,   04 
'  Inganui,    659 
Olimbo,   371 
Owondo,  86 
Re-Njage.   48 
Re-Xjega,   or 
Re-Mombi,   74 
Rikange,  681 
Roiromu,   200 
Sakweli,    83 
Semegwe,    roi 
Sika.    dor 

Trading-firms: 
I  •aiimas  &  ( 
Hatton  &  C 
1.  Holt  &  ( 
Stein,  497 
T.ivlor,  138 
Wocrmann, 

Tree    climbing, 


681 


ft. 17 


199 


1  ices: 
('cilia  (silk-cotton), 
F.hony,  ^'.-i 
(in in  copal,  203 
Mahogany,  203 
Mangrove,   21 
I'andamus.  22 
I'alm:  bamboo,  22 


INDEX 


707 


caramus,   22 

oil,    22 
Tribes: 

Akele,   643 
Ajumba,   110 
Benga,   649 
Faiiwe,    14 
Galwa,   13 
Inenga,    113 
Ivili,   212 
Mpongwe,  636 
Xkami,   650 
Okota,    14 
Orungu,    647 
Okanda,   35 

Vessels,    ocean: 

Adolph   Woermann,    69: 

Africa,    569 

Angola,    305 

Renin,   336 

Benguela,   698 

Bonny,    636 

British   Princess,    699 

Cameroons,    648 

Cardenas,    335 

Celtic,   345 

Coanza,    633 

Corisco,   361 

Eboe.   649 

Ella    Woermann,    654 

Ethiopia,    191 

Kisanga,   635 

Kongo,    130 

Liberia,    335 

Magpie,   649 

Mandingo,  418 

Xubia,   633 

Ocean   Eagle,   339 

Ohio,   360 

Ouinnebaug,    540 

Roquelle,    263 

Venus.    146 
Vessels,    river: 

Akele.    475 

Basilique,   660 

riatanca.    384 

Brazza,    630 

Conquez,   472 

Duala.   630 

Eclaireur,   683 

Elobi,   618 

Ewaffa,   440 

Falaba,   417 

Fan,  497 

(Gambia,   487 

Gaboon,    618 

Wm.    Johnson,    226 

Jeanne-Louise,   644 

Malamine.   683 

Move,    691 

Mnongwe.    243 

Xjega,    125 

Oka,   651 

Okota.   437 

Orungu,    218 

Oviro,   637 

Papilio.   440 

Pioneer,    15 

Pionnier,    502 

Saphire,    555 

Turquoise.   497 

Yasi,    681 
Villages: 

Aguma,  636 

Akuri,    660 

Adali-na-nanga,    6'8i 


Abun-awiri,    259 
Angala,    650 
Aningo-arewe,   629 
Aromba,   91 
Asange,   614 
Ashuka,   265 
Atangina,    170 
Atangino,    160 
Bitaga,  626 
Elovi,   621 
England,   629 
Enyanga,   691 
Erere-volo,    370 
Esira,   267 
Eyenano,   636 
G'inigo,    162 
Igenja,   90 
Inenga,    620 
Isangaladi,    372 

Isosa,   370 
Izyuwa,    629 
Lembarene,   617 
Lambe,    643 
Liverpool,   642 
Loango-ayili,   176 
Longwe,    667 
Magenene,   613 
Mbomi,   657 
Xandipo,   676 
Xgumbe,    27 
Xgwilaka,   623 
Xioli,   371 
Njomu,   613 
Xtyuwa-guma,    162 
Xango,   650 
Oranga,   623 
Osamu-kita,    656 
Ovimbiyano,   629 
Sanjala,  370 
Sene,    121 
Sibange,    697 
Wambalya,   620 
Yefia,   370 


Witchcraft,   623 
Women,    natives: 

Akera,    127 

Anyentyuwa,   610,   640 

Anyingila,    94 

Apoyo,   654 

Arangi-nomie,    266 

.\ziza,   610 

Azize,    500 

Azizya,    195 

Beyana,    147 

Bya-utata,    50 

Charity,   247 

Celia   Dorsey,    314 

Dombina,   628 

Handi,   659 

Iguwe,   690 

Irandi,    558 

Irina,   265 

Jane,   640 

Julia    Green,    634 

Keva,    516 

Lucy,    570 

Mburu,   268 

Mwanyeno,   613 

Mwenanga,    203 

X'antye,   655 

Xgwanji,    529 

XTg\va-njanga,   271 

Xtin-osamu,   686 

X'jivo.   634 

Xyamba,   614 


;o8 


INDEX 


Nwanaja,  43  Ozume,  686 

Oka-oningo,  681  Pando,    177 

Onivi,  400  Papa,   659 

Ovtmbwe,   177  Pawa,  614 

Ozenge,    202  Sisingaye,    52 


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